ACCA Qualification Structure Changing from September 2027

ACCA has confirmed that a redesigned ACCA Qualification launches in September 2027. The change is structural: new interim awards, a new set of mandatory modules, and a heavier emphasis on sustainability, technology and employability.

The new award structure

• Diploma in Accounting and Business — at the Foundations stage
• Higher Diploma — at the Knowledge stage
• Advanced Diploma — at the Expertise stage
• Strategic Professional Certificate, followed by affiliate status and then membership once the practical experience requirement is complete

Four mandatory Essential Employability Modules

Every student on the redesigned qualification completes four modules:

• Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
• Responsible Business Management
• Digital Tech and Innovation
• Ethical Sustainable Leadership

What else changes

ACCA describes a greater emphasis on sustainability, social impacts, artificial intelligence and technology across the qualification, and adds a Data Science Professional option exam. The practical experience requirement stays at 36 months.

If you are studying now

September 2027 is far enough out that most students currently mid-qualification will finish under the existing structure. ACCA has not, in this guidance, published a final sitting date for the current qualification or the transition rules for part-completed students, so treat any specific cut-off date you see elsewhere as unconfirmed until ACCA publishes it.

Source: ACCA — FAQs on the future ACCA Qualification