The ACCA qualification, or the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, is one of the most globally respected finance and accounting certifications. It prepares students for high-level roles in accounting, auditing, taxation, and business leadership. One of the most important things every ACCA student must understand early is the breakdown of ACCA subjects.
The ACCA course includes 13 exams, split across three levels — Applied Knowledge, Applied Skills, and Strategic Professional. These subjects take you from basic accounting principles to advanced financial reporting, strategic leadership, and ethical decision-making.
ACCA Subjects Breakdown
The ACCA syllabus is split into three levels, each with its focus:
- Applied Knowledge – Foundation level (3 papers)
- Applied Skills – Intermediate technical level (6 papers)
- Strategic Professional – Advanced, leadership-focused level (4 papers)
Each level builds upon the knowledge of the previous one. Students start with the basics of business and finance, then move into technical accounting, taxation, and audit, and finally learn leadership, ethics, and strategic decision-making.
In addition to the 13 exams, ACCA includes the Ethics and Professional Skills Module (EPSM), which boosts soft skills such as communication, analysis, and ethical judgment — all important in the corporate world.
Applied Knowledge Level – Laying the Foundation
The Applied Knowledge level includes three basic papers. These subjects are perfect for students who are new to finance or are just out of school. These papers focus on understanding the business environment, basic accounting, and management techniques.
Paper BT – Business and Technology
Business and Technology introduces the basics of how businesses operate. It teaches you about the structure of organizations, the roles and responsibilities of people inside the company, and how technology supports businesses. You’ll learn how ethical behavior, governance, and internal systems influence success.
This paper builds your business sense. It helps you understand how departments like HR, IT, and finance all work together in a real company.
Paper MA – Management Accounting
This paper teaches you how to use accounting for internal decisions. You will learn about budgeting, cost classification, break-even analysis, and variance analysis. Unlike financial accounting, which reports to outsiders, management accounting helps businesses make better internal choices.
The skills you gain from MA are valuable for roles in costing, operations, and strategy planning.
Paper FA – Financial Accounting
Financial accounting is about preparing and understanding financial statements. It teaches the double-entry system, trial balance, income statements, and balance sheets. This paper gives you the accounting foundation that supports future subjects like FR and SBR.
It is especially useful for students who want to work in financial reporting or auditing.
Applied Skills Level – Developing Core Financial Skills
This level contains six papers and teaches you technical subjects required in most accounting jobs. These subjects cover areas like taxation, law, audit, and financial management.
Paper LW – Corporate and Business Law
This paper explains the legal rules that businesses must follow. It covers contract law, employment law, and the rights and duties of company directors. You’ll also study dispute resolution, insolvency, and corporate governance.
LW helps you understand how businesses operate within legal boundaries, making it useful for compliance and governance jobs.
Paper PM – Performance Management
Performance management builds on management accounting and focuses on measuring business performance. You learn budgeting techniques, cost control, standard costing, and performance analysis. This paper also includes behavioral aspects of performance, helping you think from a human as well as a numbers perspective.
If you want to work in operations, internal audit, or cost management, PM is essential.
Paper TX – Taxation
Taxation teaches the fundamentals of personal and business taxes. Depending on the country variant, you’ll study topics like income tax, corporation tax, VAT, and capital gains tax. You’ll also learn how tax systems work and how to apply tax laws to different situations.
This paper is especially helpful for students aiming to become tax consultants or work in finance teams of large companies.
Paper FR – Financial Reporting
This paper builds on FA and teaches advanced financial reporting concepts using International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). You’ll learn how to prepare income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and notes to accounts.
FR prepares you for real-world financial reporting jobs and acts as a strong base for the SBR paper at the professional level.
Paper AA – Audit and Assurance
Audit and Assurance focuses on how to check the accuracy of a company’s financial information. You’ll study audit planning, risk assessment, evidence gathering, and final reporting. The subject also teaches ethics, fraud risks, and internal controls.
This paper is key for students planning to work in audit firms, internal control departments, or with any Big Four firm.
Paper FM – Financial Management
Financial Management teaches how to make finance-related business decisions. You’ll learn about investment appraisal, capital budgeting, financing options, dividend policies, and risk management. It introduces the basics of foreign exchange and interest rate risk, too.
It’s a core subject for roles in banking, corporate finance, and investment analysis.
Strategic Professional Level – Becoming a Finance Leader
The Strategic Professional level is the final stage of ACCA. These subjects test your ability to make strategic and ethical decisions. You must pass two compulsory papers and choose two optional papers from a list of four.
Compulsory Paper 1: SBL – Strategic Business Leader
SBL is a practical paper based on real-world case studies. It covers leadership, governance, ethics, risk, internal controls, and performance management. You must analyze scenarios, solve problems, and provide written recommendations.
SBL prepares you for senior roles by testing your decision-making and communication skills. It feels like you’re already working as a CFO or strategic consultant.
Compulsory Paper 2: SBR – Strategic Business Reporting
SBR expands on the FR paper and takes you deeper into IFRS, group accounting, and reporting decisions. You’ll need to think like a professional accountant, providing clear, ethical, and relevant advice to stakeholders.
It is ideal for students who aim to become financial controllers, report writers, or group accountants.
Optional Papers (Choose Any Two):
In the ACCA Professional Level, students are required to choose any two optional papers out of four available options. These optional papers allow you to specialize based on your career interest — such as audit, tax, or financial management.
AFM – Advanced Financial Management
This paper covers advanced topics in corporate finance. You’ll learn how to raise capital, evaluate investments, manage risk with derivatives, and deal with multinational financial issues. It also teaches mergers, acquisitions, and business valuation.
AFM is perfect for careers in investment banking, M&A advisory, or treasury management.
APM – Advanced Performance Management
APM builds on PM and focuses on strategic performance planning. It explores key performance indicators, business analytics, and decision-making under uncertainty. You’ll also study behavioral issues and change management.
This paper is great for students who want to work in consulting, strategy, or performance improvement roles.
ATX – Advanced Taxation
ATX deepens your tax knowledge with complex tax planning, case law applications, and ethical tax strategies. You’ll deal with business reorganizations, international tax, and real-life tax cases.
This paper is best for those aiming to be tax experts or advisors to high-net-worth clients.
AAA – Advanced Audit and Assurance
AAA teaches complex audit skills, including group audits, ethical dilemmas, and the use of technology in audits. You’ll also deal with internal audits, forensic audits, and regulatory reviews.
If you want to work at a senior level in audit or assurance, this paper is a must.
Ethics and Professional Skills Module (EPSM)
ACCA also requires you to complete the Ethics and Professional Skills Module. This online module teaches workplace skills like communication, decision-making, integrity, and leadership. EPSM must be completed before appearing for the Strategic Professional exams.
It prepares you for real challenges in jobs and boosts your chances of success in the final ACCA papers.
ACCA Subjects Breakdown FAQs
1. How many subjects are there in ACCA?
There are 13 subjects (papers) in the ACCA qualification. These are divided into three levels:
- Applied Knowledge – 3 subjects
- Applied Skills – 6 subjects
- Strategic Professional – 4 subjects (2 compulsory and 2 optional)
In addition to these, students must also complete the Ethics and Professional Skills Module (EPSM), which is not an exam but is mandatory to complete ACCA.
2. What is the order of subjects in ACCA?
You should study ACCA papers in the following order:
- Start with Applied Knowledge: BT → MA → FA
- Then move to Applied Skills: LW → PM → TX → FR → AA → FM
- Finally, complete Strategic Professional: SBL and SBR (compulsory), then choose 2 from AFM, APM, ATX, or AAA.
Although ACCA allows flexibility, following the level-wise structure helps you build strong knowledge step by step.
3. Can I skip any ACCA papers if I have done B.Com or CA Inter?
Yes, ACCA allows exemptions for students who have completed B.Com, M.Com, CA Inter, or related degrees. Depending on your qualification, you may get exemptions in up to 9 papers, mainly from the Applied Knowledge and Applied Skills levels.
However, ACCA does not give exemptions for Strategic Professional level papers.
4. What is the difference between Strategic Business Leader (SBL) and Strategic Business Reporting (SBR)?
- SBL is a case-study-based paper that tests your ability to think like a senior business leader. It includes decision-making, ethics, governance, risk, and strategy.
- SBR is an advanced financial reporting paper where you prepare financial statements and explain complex accounting issues to stakeholders. It focuses heavily on IFRS and ethics in reporting.
Both are compulsory papers at the Strategic Professional level and test your real-world problem-solving skills.
5. Which are the most difficult ACCA papers?
Most students find the following papers more challenging:
- Strategic Business Leader (SBL) – due to its case-study format
- Advanced Audit and Assurance (AAA) – complex audit scenarios
- Strategic Business Reporting (SBR) – technical financial reporting
- Performance Management (PM) – involves detailed calculations and analysis.
Difficulty can vary based on your background and preparation style. Regular practice and concept clarity make all papers manageable.
