The current ACCA Qualification syllabus structure has been in place since it was relaunched in December 2007. As far as syllabus development is concerned, it is planned to adapt and improve syllabuses and study guides in line with feedback from ACCA’s key
stakeholders to meet their continuously changing requirements. These developments reflect updates relating to statutory, regulatory and advisory bodies such as complying with tax and company law as applicable to variant papers, meeting international financial reporting and auditing standards and incorporating updates to education standards as issued by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).
From time to time, syllabuses and study guides will also need to be updated in line with changes in applicable professional occupational standards and the requirements of educational regulators, accounting benchmark statements and those of other key qualification or educational frameworks.The syllabuses and study guides are also adapted and developed to take into account the following:
Survey findings from stakeholder surveys, including students, members and employers.
Feedback obtained from external examiners and reviewers appointed by accrediting and awarding bodies.
Feedback obtained from Examination Review Boards, from representative learning providers and from exam candidates.
Feedback from internal examiners on candidate performance from successive exam sessions.
Quality assurance and continuous improvement
There are many external factors and influences affecting the ACCA Qualification. To ensure that the ACCA Qualification meets these requirements and remains compliant, there is a need to continuously review the external environment, including the needs of ACCA’s stakeholders. To ensure that ACCA remains a relevant and valid qualification, the syllabuses and study guides are to be updated every year and this article will be the first of a series of annually published summaries in which ACCA explains the changes that have been made to the individual syllabuses, study guides, exams or other components within the ACCA Qualification. There will also be a corresponding article published in September annually, explaining any changes and updates to syllabuses, study guides and other components of the Foundations in Accountancy suite of awards. Any changes from year to year will be detailed in the appendix included with each individual syllabus, which will contain a list of additions, deletions and any potential clarifications to thesyllabus. The following is a summary of these changes that apply to the ACCA Qualification from 2011–2012:
Summary of changes to Paper F1, Accountant in Business, Paper F2, Management Accounting and Paper F3, Financial Accounting
The Papers F1–F3 syllabuses – which are also the syllabuses for the Foundations in Accountancy Papers FAB, FMA and FFA – will not change from December 2011 to 2012. The structure of all three of these papers will also remain as 50 x two-mark questions and this will apply throughout 2012.
Summary of changes to Paper F4, Corporate and Business Law
Paper F4 (ENG)
The main areas that have been clarified in the Paper F4 (ENG) syllabus (all were implicitly included previously) are shown in Table 1.
Table 1 – Amendments to Paper F4 (ENG)
Section and subject area | Syllabus content |
D2e) Partnerships | Termination of partnerships |
D4b) Company formations | Pre-incorporation contracts |
E1b) Share capital | Allotment of shares |
E2c) Loan capital | Rights of debenture holders and rights of shareholders |
F1c) Company directors | Types of directors |
F2b) Other company officers | Rights and removal of company auditors |
G1b) Insolvency | Grounds for compulsory liquidation |
G1c) | Order of payment of company debts |
G2b) Administration | Appointment, powers and duties of administrators |
H1b) Corporate governance | Explain extra-legal codes of corporate governance |
H2a) Fraudulent and criminal behaviour | Market abuse |
The main areas that have been added to the Paper F4 (ENG) syllabus are
shown in Table 2.
Table 2 – Additions to Paper F4 (ENG)
Syllabus content | |
E3b) Capital maintenance | Treasury shares |
H2c) Fraudulent and criminal behaviour | Bribery |
There have been no deletions to Paper F4 (ENG) for 2012.
Paper F4 (GLO)
The areas that have been clarified in the Paper F4 (GLO) syllabus (all were implicitly included) are shown in Table 3.
Table 3 – Amendments to Paper F4 (GLO)
Section and subject area | Syllabus content |
D2e) Partnerships | Termination of partnerships |
D4b) Company formations | Pre-incorporation contracts |
E1b) Share capital | Allotment of shares |
E2c) Loan capital | Rights of debenture holders and rights of shareholders |
F1c) Company directors | Types of directors |
F2b) Other company officers | Rights and removal of company auditors |
G1b) Insolvency | Grounds for compulsory liquidation |
G1c) | Order of payment of company debts |
G2b) Administration | Appointment, powers and duties of administrators |
H1b) Corporate governance | Explain extra-legal codes of corporate governance |
H2a) Fraudulent and criminal behaviour | Market abuse |
The areas to be added to the Paper F4 (GLO) syllabus are shown in Table 4.
Table 4 – Additions to Paper F4 (GLO)
Section and subject area | Syllabus content |
E3b) Capital maintenance | Treasury shares |
H2c) Fraudulent and criminal behaviour | Bribery |
The areas to be deleted from the Paper F4 (GLO) syllabus are shown in Table 5.
Table 5 – Deletions to Paper F4 (GLO)
Section and subject area | Syllabus content |
A2a) Different legal systems | Different types of law |
A3a) International trade, international regulation | Public and private international law |
Summary of changes to Paper F5, Performance Management
There are no changes to the Paper F5 syllabus for 2012. One area, however, has been clarified in the syllabus (it was implicitly included previously) and I shown in Table 6.
Table 6 – Clarifications to Paper F5
Section and subject area | Syllabus content |
B6f) Dealing with risk and uncertainty in decision making | Calculate the value of perfect and imperfect information |
Summary of changes to Paper F6, Taxation (UK)
The main areas that have been added to the Paper F6 (UK) syllabus are shown in Table 7.
Table 7 – Additions to Paper F6 (UK)
Section and subject area Syllabus content
Section and subject area | Syllabus content |
B3 Income from self-employment – Excluded topics | Industrial buildings allowance (IBA) |
B4 Property and investment income – Excluded topics | Junior ISAs |
C4 Group Structure – Excluded topics | Profits from overseas branch |
The main areas that have been deleted from the syllabus are shown in Table 8.
Table 8 – Deletions from Paper F6 (UK)
Section and subject area | Syllabus content |
B3g)vii) Income from self-employment | Industrial buildings allowance (IBA) |
B3g) viii) Income from self-employment | IBA |
B3 Income from self-employment – Excluded topics | 40% FYA |
B3 Income from self-employment – Excluded topics | Apportionment of AIA |
B3 Income from self-employment – Excluded topics | Calculation of IBA |
B3 Income from self-employment – Excluded topics | Additional loss relief |
B4 Property and investment income – Excluded topics | Pension additional tax charge |
B4 Property and investment income – Excluded topics | Anti-forestalling provisions |
C2 Taxable total profits – Excluded topics | Extended loss relief |
C3c) The comprehensive computation of corporation tax liability | Exemptions and reliefs (as repetition of C5) |
C3 The comprehensive computation of corporation tax liability – Excluded topics | Corporate venturing scheme |
C4 Group Structure – Excluded topics | Overseas dividends |
D2 Computing gains and losses – Excluded topics | Disposals prior to 23 June 2010 |
D6 Use of exemptions – Excluded topics | Entrepreneurs』 relief qualifying limits prior to 22 June 2010 |
The main areas that have been amended or clarified in the syllabus are shown in Table 9.
Table 9 – Amendments to Paper F6 (UK)
Section and subject area | Amendment |
Approach to examining | Groups and overseas aspects can also be examined in Question 4 |
Approach to examining | A small element of chargeable gains could be included in questions other than Question 3 |
B6a) Use of exemptions | Pensions rules will only be examined from 6 April 2011 |
E3 The liabilities arising on chargeable lifetime transfers and on death of an individual – Excluded topics | Double grossing up on death amended to grossing up on death |
G3 Computation of VAT liabilities | Serious misdeclaration penalty amended to penalty for incorrect VAT return |
H1b) Corporate self-assessment | Use of iXBRL |
H3a) Procedures relating to compliance checks | 『Enquiry』 changed to 『compliance check』 to agree to HMRC terminology |
H4 Penalties for non-compliance | Interest on overdue tax amended to late payment interest |
Summary of changes to Paper F7, Financial Reporting (INT) and (UK)
Additions to Paper F7 (INT) and (UK)
There have not been any additions to the 2011 Study Guide for 2012. However, there have been minor amendments to the wording of some of the Study Guide outcomes corresponding to changes within examinable documents and to ensure greater clarity.
Summary of changes to Paper F8, Audit and Assurance (INT) and (UK)
Table 10 shows additions to Paper F8 (INT) and (UK).
Table 10 – Additions to Paper F8
Section and subject area | Syllabus content |
C6e) and C6f) Planning an audit | Interim audit |
F2d) Going concern | Going concern indicators |
The main area to be deleted from the syllabus is shown in Table 11.
Table 11 – Deletions to Paper F8
Section and subject area | Syllabus content |
G3b) Internal audit reports | Explain the process for producing an internal audit report |
Summary of changes to F9, Financial Management
There are no changes to the syllabus. One area however has been clarified in the syllabus (it was implicitly included previously) and is shown in Table 12.
Table 12 – Amendments to Paper F9
Section and subject area | Syllabus content |
D3f) Discounted cash flow (DCF) techniques | Calculate discounted payback and discuss its usefulness as an investment appraisal method |
Summary of changes to Paper P1, Governance, Risk and Ethics (GLO)
There are few changes to the Paper P1 syllabus. The additions to the syllabus are shown in Table 13.
Table 13 – Additions to Paper P1
Section and subject area | Syllabus content |
E5d) | Explain and explore 'bribery' and 'corruption' in the context of corporate governance, and assess how these can undermine confidence and trust |
E5e) | Describe and assess best practice measures for reducing and combating bribery and corruption, and the barriers to implementing such measures |
There are no deletions from the Paper P1 (GLO) syllabus.
Summary of changes to Paper P2, Corporate Reporting (INT) and (UK)
There have not been any additions or deletions to the 2011 Study Guide for 2012. However, there have been minor amendment to the wording of some of the study guide outcomes corresponding to changes within examinable documents.
Summary of changes to Paper P3, Business Analysis
There are no changes to Paper P3 for 2012.
Summary of changes to Paper P4, Advanced Financial Management:
There are no changes to Paper P4 for 2012.
Summary of changes to Paper P5, Advanced Performance Management
The main areas that have been clarified in the Paper P5 syllabus (all were implicitly included previously) are shown in Table 14.
Table 14 – Clarifications to Paper P5
Section and subject area | Syllabus content |
A3d) Changes in business structure and management accounting | Analyse the role that performance management systems play in business integration using models such as the value chain and McKinsey’s 7S’s |
B1b) and B1d) Changing business environment | b) Assess the impact of different risk appetites of stakeholders on performance management d) Apply different risk analysis techniques in assessing business performance such as maximin, maximax, minimax regret and expected values |
Other changes: Inclusion of models/methods in A4d, A5a, B2a, C2b,D2c, F1b and D6e. Changes in level descriptors in A3c, C1h and C1i. D2h is moved to D6. |
|
Summary of changes to Paper P6, Advanced Taxation (UK)
Amendments to Paper P6 (UK) are shown in Table 15.
Table 15 – Amendments to P6 (UK)
Section and subject area | Amendment |
A1 – Excluded topics | Industrial buildings allowances have been added to the excluded topics list |
Summary of changes to Paper P7, Advanced Audit and Assurance
(INT) and (UK)
Table 16 shows additions to the Paper P7 (INT) and (UK) syllabus for 2012.
Table 16 – Additions to Paper P7
Section and subject area | Syllabus content |
D1(i)d), g) Assignments | Planning an audit |
D2b) Assignments | Group audit planning issues |
D2d) Assignments | Audit impact of changes in group structure |
F1a) Reporting | Appraisal of auditor’s report |
F1d) Reporting | Actions which may be taken by the auditor where a modified report is issued |
Further additions to P7 (UK) only: | |
E7a)-f) Other assignments | Auditing aspects of insolvency (outcomes revised) |
G1c) Current issues | Current APB developments |
There have been no deletions to Paper P7 (INT) and (UK) for 2012.
Gareth Owen is ACCA qualifications development manager