ACCA 2027 Changes: What Happens to Your Exam Passes
ACCA is redesigning its qualification, with the first new exams in July 2027. Nothing you have already passed is wasted: ACCA gives credit for every current exam that has an equivalent in the new structure. What matters is what you finish before the changeover, because three gaps turn into extra modules with their own fees. Everything on this page comes from ACCA's own transition guidance.
- Your passes carry across wherever the new structure has an equivalent exam or module
- June 2027 is the last session for the current Applied Skills exams
- New exams start in July 2027 (Foundations and Knowledge) and September 2027 (Expertise and Strategic Professional)
- 13 exams become 11: BT has no exam equivalent, and you will need one Options exam instead of two
- Three gaps create extra modules: BT, an unfinished Applied Skills level, and EPSM
Key dates
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| Early 2027 | The new Essential Employability Modules become available. |
| January 2027 | ACCA confirms the prices of the new modules. |
| June 2027 session | Last chance to pass the current Applied Skills exams: TX, FR, AA, FM and PM. |
| Mid-July 2027 | Last point to complete FA, MA and BT under the current structure, and to complete Foundations in Professionalism (FiP) and the Ethics and Professional Skills Module (EPSM). ACCA says it will confirm the exact dates. |
| July 2027 | Completion deadline for LW, which is on-demand. The first Foundations and Knowledge level exams become available. |
| September 2027 | The first Expertise and Strategic Professional exams. |
What your current passes become
At the changeover, you move to the equivalent level of the new qualification and receive credit for everything you have completed that has an equivalent. Applied Knowledge becomes Knowledge, Applied Skills becomes Expertise, and Strategic Professional keeps its name.
| You have passed | You get credit for |
|---|---|
| FA Financial Accounting | K1 Financial Accounting |
| MA Management Accounting | K2 Management Accounting |
| LW Corporate and Business Law | K3 Business Law (LW moves down to the Knowledge level) |
| BT Business and Technology | No exam equivalent. BT counts towards the Responsible Business Management module instead. |
| TX Taxation | E1 Taxation |
| FR Financial Reporting | E2 Financial Reporting |
| AA Audit and Assurance | E3 Audit, Risk and Control |
| FM Financial Management | E4 Finance and Investment |
| PM Performance Management | E5 Performance with Data Analysis |
| SBR Strategic Business Reporting | S1 Business and Sustainability Reporting |
| SBL Strategic Business Leader | S2 Strategic Business Leader |
| AAA Advanced Audit and Assurance | SAA Audit and Assurance Professional |
| AFM Advanced Financial Management | SCF Corporate Finance Professional |
| APM Advanced Performance Management | SPI Performance and Insights Professional |
| ATX Advanced Taxation | STA Taxation Advisory Professional |
| EPSM | The Ethical, Sustainable Leadership module |
One Options exam is new and has no current equivalent: SDS Data Science Professional.
The new structure
The Knowledge level has three exams (K1 to K3), the Expertise level has five (E1 to E5), and Strategic Professional has two core exams plus one Options exam chosen from five. That is 11 exams, against 13 today. Each level also has an Essential Employability Module, and each completed level earns an award: the Higher Diploma in Accounting and Business after Knowledge, the Advanced Diploma after Expertise, and the ACCA Qualification after Strategic Professional, its module and the Practical Experience Requirement (PER).
Exams are numbered to show ACCA's recommended order, but within a level you can still take them in any order. You still have to enter every outstanding exam and module at your current level before moving on. Students who do not meet the minimum entry requirements start at a new Foundations level (F1 to F3).
The PER does not change in 2027: it is still 36 months of supervised experience plus performance objectives. ACCA plans to let up to six months come from simulated experience in certain optional modules later, but not from September 2027.
What to prioritise before the changeover
At Applied Knowledge: BT is the exam without an equivalent. If you have not passed it at the changeover, you will need the Responsible Business Management module instead, which ACCA expects to take about 60 hours and which will carry a fee. If you have completed FiP but not BT, you get credit for the first 12 units of that module. If you finish Applied Knowledge early, ACCA suggests sitting LW next: it is on-demand and becomes K3.
At Applied Skills: complete all six exams, including LW, before the changeover and you will not need the Digital Tech and Innovation module. Otherwise that module is required, takes about 100 hours, carries a fee, and must be bought before you can enter Strategic Professional exams. If LW is still outstanding, you will sit K3 Business Law instead, entered before or alongside your Expertise exams.
At Strategic Professional: after the changeover you need one Options exam instead of two, and any Options passes you hold still count. Completing EPSM by mid-July 2027 (about 20 hours, around £83) gives you credit for the new Ethical, Sustainable Leadership module, which ACCA expects to take about 70 hours. The rule that Strategic Professional exams must be completed within seven years of your first pass does not change.
Not sure where you stand? ACCA's transition tool shows how the changes affect your own record. For current sequencing rules, see what order to sit ACCA exams in, and for sitting windows, the current exam dates.
GoQualified's ACCA question banks follow the current syllabuses, which apply until the changeover, and every pass you earn now carries across. Each paper has 150 free practice questions with worked explanations and a timed mock exam mode. Start practising →
Checked against ACCA's own pages on 23 September 2026: The future ACCA Qualification explained (structure, exams, awards and start dates) and ACCA Qualification students transition guidance (credit tables, deadlines, module hours and costs). The 11 and 13 exam counts are GoQualified's own totals from ACCA's lists. ACCA says some dates and all new module prices will be confirmed later, so check ACCA's transition tool and transition timeline before planning around them. GoQualified is not affiliated with ACCA.