What is the full form of ACCA

ACCA: Association of Chartered Certified Accountants

ACCA stands for Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. ACCA was established in 1904 and is currently the international professional accounting body that grants the Chartered Certified Accountant designation. Globally, it has over 2.33 lakh regular members and 5.36 lakh potential members. The ACCA's main administrative office is in Glasgow, United Kingdom. However, its headquarters are in London, United Kingdom. It has more than 110 offices and centres which are spread across 51 nations. The ACCA is also present in China, Nepal, and India.

Chartered Certified Accountant

In 1996, the phrase "Chartered Certified Accountant" was first used. Members of the ACCA were referred to as Certified Accountants until that period. An ACCA member is still allowed to use this phrase. Chartered Certified Accountants are employed throughout all sectors of commerce and finance. Some serve in the public sector, some in the private sector, and some are hired by organisations of the government.

Chartered Certified Accountant is a legally protected title. Thus, anyone claiming to be one needs to be an ACCA member. If they perform public practice engagements, they must adhere to additional rules, such as having a practising certificate, having insurance to cover any potential liability claims, and submitting to inspections.

Qualifications

The professional body's primary certification is Chartered Certified Accountant. A person can become a Chartered Certified Accountant by passing up to 13 professional exams, accumulating three years of supervised, pertinent accounting experience, and completing an ethics module. The ACCA professional tests can be given on paper as well as on computers four times annually, particularly in March, June, September, and December.

The qualification is mainly divided into three sections, in addition to a professional experience requirement (PER) and a module on ethics and professional skills.

The following three exams make up the applied knowledge level:

• Financial Accounting (FA)
• Business and Technology (BT)
• Management Accounting (MA)

There are six exams total at the level of applied skills:

• Financial Reporting (FR)
• Corporate and Business Law (LW)
• Taxation (TX)
• Audit and Assurance (AA)
• Performance Management (PM)
• Financial Management (FM)

The Strategic Professional level requires passing four exams: any two of the optional and two of the required ones.

The examinations which are mandatory are:

• Strategic Business Leader (SBL)
• Strategic Business Reporting (SBR)

The Examinations which can be chosen as options are:

• Advanced Audit and Assurance (AAA)
• Advanced Performance Management (APM)
• Advanced Taxation (ATX), and
• Advanced Financial Management (AFM)

Additional Certifications

The ACCA also provides a few additional certifications, such as:

• BSc (Hons) in Applied Accounting, which is provided in collaboration with Oxford Brookes University.
• MSc in Professional Accounting in collaboration with the University of London.
• With Oxford Brookes University, a global MBA program is available to full-time ACCA members.
• A certification in business valuations which is available in both English and French, in collaboration with the French Chartered Accountants Institute.

Additional Offerings

• Certificate in International Financial Reporting and Certificate in International Auditing in both English and Spanish.
• Certificate in International Public Sector Accounting Standards, which is available in both English and Arabic.
• Diploma in International Financial Reporting, which is available in both English and Russian.
• Financial Management Diploma.

Foundational Courses

For those who are new to finance and accounting and who do not satisfy the basic admission criteria for the ACCA Qualification, ACCA presents a variety of foundation-level certifications and diplomas for them. Such programs or courses are generally known as Foundations in Accountancy (FIA).

Online Courses

Early in 2015, ACCA-X began offering online courses for people beginning their studies in accounting and business. These courses, which are offered on edX and had content created by Epigeum, are still now offered for the first 7 Foundations level examinations.

Free Courses

Anyone around the globe can enrol in the below courses, which are all free:

• Introduction to Financial and Management Accounting, and
• Intermediate Financial and Management Accounting.

These programs help in the preparations for FA (1 & 2) and MA (1 & 2), respectively.

Paid Courses

Mentioned below are the paid courses to which not all but only three countries have access:

• Business and Technology,
• Management Accounting, and
• Financial Management.

These programs help in the preparation of the respective courses.

At the International and European Association Awards in 2016, ACCA-X earned the Best eLearning and Online Education Award.

Disciplinary Proceedings

The norms and guidelines of ACCA must be followed by all the associated or linked students, affiliates, and members. If they violate ACCA rules, ACCA may take disciplinary action against them (such as revocation of their ACCA qualification or imposition of a fine).