Pass rates for the June 2018 exam sitting were announced today by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).

There were good pass rates for the final session of the P1 Governance, Risk and Ethics and P3 Business Analysis exams, notably in the P1 exams where 54% of students were successful.

From September 2018, ACCA introduces its suite of new Strategic Professional exams which were created following extensive research into the skills that are needed for professional accountants of the future. These two exams will be replaced by a new and innovative case study, Strategic Business Leader, which examines technical, ethical and professional skills in a real-life scenario.

This latest exam sitting saw 132,098 students around the world enter a total of 174,827 exams, with 5,090 students completing their final exams to become ACCA affiliates.

Reacting to the latest exam results, Alan Hatfield, ACCA executive director strategy and development said: ‘It was great to see pass rates maintained or improved in this last session of our existing Essentials exams (P1-P3). Furthermore, the June 2018 sitting saw improved pass rates across the specialist Options exams ACCA offers (P4-P7). These exams allow people to specialise in their chosen career path in practice, industry or public sector. We are retaining this choice when we introduce Strategic Professional in September.

‘Additionally, in improving workplace relevance, over 60% of the Skills exams (F5-F9) were taken as session-based computer-based exams (CBE), which replicate the real workplace using spreadsheet and word processing skills, as well as testing technical skills. Ample support has gone into preparing students to better apply knowledge in the working environment and demonstrate the skills employers expect.

‘With the continued success of the CBE rollout, F5-F9 paper exams have been fully withdrawn from 23 of our markets, making CBE the only mode offered in those markets in the June session.’

The ACCA Qualification rigorously tests the skills, abilities and competencies demanded by a modern day accountant, preparing students for a rewarding career as a qualified and ethical finance professional.

Alan Hatfield concluded: ‘We are pleased our affiliate numbers remain strong. Success rates for students attending ACCA Approved Learning Providers combined with ACCA’s own resources are much stronger than those who do not. We look forward to this continuing as we introduce Strategic Professional exams in September. These exams include Strategic Business Leader, our innovative, integrated case study, and  Strategic Business Reporting which has a strong focus on stakeholder needs in financial reporting.’