If you are ready for your next ACCA exam, appear for it before June 2027. Your passes are safe either way, because ACCA credits every current exam to its match in the new ACCA qualification. Students who miss the cut-offs should buy additional modules. And it takes about 100 hours before they can enter Strategic Professional. This article covers the ACCA exam changes for 2027 and the one case where waiting helps. This guide is perfect for ACCA students and new registrants deciding when to sit their next exam.
Key takeaways
- Finishing all six Applied Skills exams saves a 100-hour module, and completing the Ethics and Professional Skills Module (EPSM) replaces a 70-hour ethics module with 20 hours.
- The December 2026 standard entry closes on 2 November 2026, and late entry costs £409 in the UK against £160.
- An online ACCA exam is possible only where no exam center exists or if you hold an unused remote token.
- Waiting only makes sense for options after you check audit licensing and your seven-year limit.
What Happens to Your ACCA Exam Passes after June 2027?
You can keep them, as ACCA states students will not have to repeat any completed part of the new qualification. FA, MA, and LW become K1, K2, and K3; the five Applied Skills exams become E1 to E5; and SBR and SBL become S1 and S2. BT is credited to the new Responsible Business Management module.
What are the key dates for the ACCA Exam Changes 2027?
June 2027 is the final sitting of the current Applied Skills and Strategic Professional exams, which leaves three sessions on the ACCA exam 2027 calendar. The December 2026 session runs from 7 to 11 December. Standard entry closes on 2 November 2026, and late entry closes on 9 November. ACCA has not yet published the March and June 2027 dates. See our guide to ACCA exam dates and deadlines for the calendar.
LW can be completed till July 2027, and FA, MA, BT, Foundations in Professionalism, and EPSM by mid-July 2027, with exact days to be confirmed. ACCA will confirm module prices in January 2027.
What does Missing the Deadline Cost?
Missing deadlines costs study hours and fees.
The Digital Tech and Innovation module. Finish every Applied Skills exam, including LW, before the transition, and you skip this module. Leave even one, and you must buy it, at about 100 hours, before entering Strategic Professional.
EPSM or the longer ethics module. EPSM takes about 20 hours and costs about £83. Finish it before the transition, and it counts for the new Ethical, Sustainable Leadership module, which ACCA puts at about 70 hours.
Should you sit for Your ACCA Exam before June 2027?
Yes, if you can finish a whole level before the cut-off. If not, still sit every exam you are ready for, because each pass carries over.
Applied Knowledge: FA, MA, and BT are on demand until mid-July 2027. Pass them with Foundations in Professionalism for the ACCA Diploma in Accounting and Business, and take LW early because it counts toward Applied Skills.
Applied Skills: Count your remaining exams against the sessions left, with a limit of four exams per session. In ACCA’s June 2026 results, 41% of students passed PM, and 47% passed AA, so plan for a resit.
Take a student who has passed TX, FR, and FM and still needs AA, PM, and LW. Sitting AA in December and PM in March leaves June 2027 free for a resit, and LW can be booked any time. Sitting both in June removes that safety net.
Strategic Professional: Complete EPSM first; if you have passed one option but not both essentials, ACCA suggests sitting SBL and SBR first. Seven years from your first Strategic Professional pass is the limit, and that does not change.
Start now. Anything you pass counts toward the new qualification.
Is there any reason to wait for ACCA 2027 changes?
From September 2027, Strategic Professional needs both Essentials and one Option instead of two Options. Fitting two options into the sessions left may be unrealistic. At transition, a student with credit for both Essentials, one Option, and the Ethical, Sustainable Leadership module is awarded the Strategic Professional certificate.
Some countries may require more than one option for audit licensing, and the seven-year limit keeps running while you wait. Check ACCA’s transition tool first.
Can you still take an online ACCA exam?
An online ACCA exam is possible only if you live in a country with no exam center or if you hold an unused remote token. All exams have been held in centers since March 2026, except where no centre exists. Remote token sales stopped on 4 November 2025 in countries with a center, and earlier tokens stay valid until they expire.
How do you plan your remaining ACCA exams?
- Enter your passes in ACCA’s transition tool.
- List every exam you have left and whether EPSM is done.
- Match each exam to the sessions left, with no more than four per session.
- Keep one session free for a resit.
- Take the plan to your tutor, using our guide on how to choose an ACCA coaching institute.
Bottom Line
Sit every ACCA exam you are ready for before June 2027, and finish Applied Skills and EPSM before their cut-offs to avoid about 100 extra hours of study. The nearest deadline is 2 November 2026. If you are an ACCA student with Applied Skills or Strategic Professional exams left, contact the student support team. You will get a session-by-session plan that finishes your level before June 2027.
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose my ACCA exam passes when the syllabus changes in 2027?
No. Every current exam maps to an exam or module in the new qualification, and ACCA says you will not repeat completed work.
How much does an ACCA exam cost before the change?
For December 2026, the standard entry for one Applied Skills exam is £160 in the UK and £151 in India, according to ACCA’s fee pages. See our guides to the ACCA course fees in the UK.
Will the ACCA syllabus changes in 2027 make the qualification easier?
Nobody can say yet, because no one has sat the new exams. Strategic Professional will need one option instead of two, but modules are added at each level.
What happens if I do not finish Applied Skills before June 2027?
You can keep every exam you have passed, but you must buy the roughly 100-hour Digital Tech and Innovation module before entering Strategic Professional exams.
