What changes for Applied Knowledge students

The new structure

Each level combines exams with an Essential Employability Module. ACCA also numbers the exams to show a recommended study order, though within a level you can still enter them in any order. Membership still needs 36 months of supervised practical experience.

Key dates from ACCA's timeline

• November 2025: ACCA published the guidance pack for the Foundations and Knowledge exams (syllabus, specimen exams and examining team guidance).
• January 2027: updated ACCA Study Hub available for the Foundations and Knowledge exams.
• June 2027: final sitting of the Applied Skills and Strategic Professional exams. After this, students move to the future qualification.
• July 2027: the Foundations and Knowledge exams are first available on demand, and the Essential Employability Modules become available.
• September 2027: first sitting of the Expertise and Strategic Professional exams.

How your Applied Knowledge exams carry over

• Students at Applied Knowledge level when the change happens move onto the Knowledge level and get credit for equivalent elements they have already completed.
• FA and MA have exam equivalents. BT does not. If you have not passed BT before the change, you will need the Responsible Business Management module. ACCA says it is chargeable (price to be confirmed in January 2027) and is expected to take about 60 hours. Students who have not passed BT but have completed the Foundations in Professionalism module get credit for the first 12 units of that module.
• To gain the current ACCA Diploma in Accounting and Business (RQF Level 4) before the change, you need to complete FA, MA and BT and the Foundations in Professionalism module by mid-July 2027. ACCA says the exact dates are to be confirmed.
• Students who finish all the Applied Knowledge exams but not the Foundations in Professionalism module by the change will not get the Diploma until they later complete K3.
• If you have not completed LW before the change, you must enter K3 before or at the same time as entering for Expertise exams.

Source: ACCA's transition guidance for ACCA Qualification students, read October 2026. Links are on the sources page. ACCA also offers a transition tool where you enter your expected passes.

Applied Skills students

Applied Skills becomes the Expertise level. The Applied Skills exams and the Strategic Professional exams have their final sitting in June 2027, and the first sitting of the Expertise and Strategic Professional exams is in September 2027. On completing Expertise, students receive the same award as for Applied Skills today, the ACCA Advanced Diploma in Accounting and Business.

• To gain the Advanced Diploma under its current requirements, you must complete all the Applied Skills exams in or before the June 2027 session. The LW Global and England versions can be taken on demand, so their completion date is July 2027. You must also complete the Ethics and Professional Skills Module by mid-July 2027, with the exact date to be confirmed.
• If you do not complete all the Applied Skills exams before the change, you will need the Digital Tech and Innovation module. ACCA says it is chargeable (price to be confirmed in January 2027) and takes about 100 hours, and it must be bought before you can enter Strategic Professional exams.
• Students who have not completed LW must take K3 Business Law before or at the same time as entering other Expertise exams.
• ACCA notes that a Taxation variant exam will continue under the redesign. Its syllabus and specimens were still to be shared when ACCA's page was read, so check ACCA for the Pakistan version.

Strategic Professional students

The Strategic Professional level is also redesigned. The current exams have their final sitting in June 2027, and the new exams are first sat in September 2027. The two Essentials become S1 Business and Sustainability Reporting and S2 Strategic Business Leader, and you take one Options exam instead of two.

• The new level also includes the Ethical, Sustainable Leadership module. ACCA says it takes about 70 hours, is chargeable (price to be confirmed in January 2027), and is not needed if you complete the Ethics and Professional Skills Module before the transition.
• The seven year rule is unchanged: once you pass your first Strategic Professional exam, you have seven years to complete the level.
• The Advanced Taxation and Taxation Advisory exams are for the UK only. ACCA does not offer a Pakistan version of them, so this site gives only the syllabus map for ATX and STA.
• Check ACCA's transition tool for your own case, as the credit depends on what you have passed by June 2027.

What this means for study on this site

• If you are sitting Applied Skills now (until June 2027), use LW, PM, TX (Pakistan), FR, AA and FM.
• If you plan to sit Expertise exams from September 2027, use E1, E2, E3, E4 and E5. E2 to E5 share most topics with FR, AA, FM and PM.
• If you are sitting Strategic Professional now (until June 2027), use SBL, SBR, AFM, APM and AAA. From September 2027, use S1, S2, SAA, SCF, SPI and SDS.
• If you are sitting FA, MA or BT now, use the FA, MA and BT pages. Their syllabus applies to exams until June 2027, and ACCA says there are no changes to those syllabuses for September 2026 to June 2027.
• If you plan to sit exams from July 2027, use K1, K2 and K3. K1 and K2 share most topics with FA and MA.