ACCA New Syllabus 2027: Old-to-New Exam Map and What to Finish by June 2027

ACCA's new syllabus, which ACCA calls the future ACCA Qualification, starts with the September 2027 sitting. Every exam you have passed carries across as credit: SBR becomes S1 and SBL becomes S2, TX, FR, AA, FM and PM become E1 to E5, and FA, MA and LW become K1 to K3. You will need one option instead of two. June 2027 is the last sitting of the current Applied Skills and Strategic Professional exams.

What you finish by June 2027 decides which exams you sit after September 2027 and how many extra modules you pay for.

TL;DR

• First new sitting: September 2027. Last old sitting: June 2027.
• Three new modules: BT and EPSM credit two, and Digital Tech and Innovation (about 100 hours) needs all of Applied Skills done or exempt before transition.
• A CA with all 9 ICAI exemptions who passes SBR, SBL and one option by June 2027, plus EPSM, gets the Strategic Professional Certificate.

What is changing in the ACCA syllabus from September 2027?

Old and new structure at a glance

• Applied Knowledge becomes Knowledge: FA and MA become K1 and K2, LW joins as K3, and BT becomes a module.
• Applied Skills: the other five exams become Expertise, E1 to E5.
• Strategic Professional: 4 exams become 3.

Source: ACCA's transition page for students, Gradehunt count, 13 November 2026.

One option instead of two

Strategic Professional keeps its name, but S1, S2 and one option replace SBR, SBL and two options. The certificate also needs the Ethical, Sustainable Leadership (ESL) module, and SDS joins the four current options.

LW moves down to the Knowledge level as K3

LW becomes K3 Business Law. If it is still open at transition, enter K3 before or with your other Expertise exams. Levels must be finished in order. Local variants continue for K3, E1 and STA; the 36-month experience rule stays.

By our count, 13 exams become 11 exams and 3 modules.

Which old ACCA paper becomes which new exam?

Credit means you skip the new exam.

• Knowledge: FA to K1 Financial Accounting, MA to K2 Management Accounting, LW to K3 Business Law, and BT to the Responsible Business Management module.
• Expertise: TX to E1 Taxation, FR to E2 Financial Reporting, AA to E3 Audit, Risk and Control, FM to E4 Finance and Investment, PM to E5 Performance with Data Analysis.
• Strategic Professional: SBR to S1, SBL to S2 Strategic Business Leader, AAA to SAA, AFM to SCF, ATX to STA and APM to SPI. SDS has no credit route.
• Modules: EPSM to the ESL module, if you finish it by mid-July 2027. The Digital Tech and Innovation (DTI) module has no old paper.

Source: ACCA, as on 13 November 2026.

ACCA names S1 two ways (Business and Sustainability Reporting, and Sustainability and Business Reporting in ACCA's future qualification FAQs), so I write S1 (replaces SBR). Check your passes in ACCA's transition tool.

All 15 current exams and EPSM carry across; only SDS and DTI have no old equivalent.

Do I need the new modules, and which ones can I skip?

All three are chargeable; ACCA says prices come in January 2027.

Responsible Business Management

BT gives credit. FiP without BT gives credit for the first 12 units. Otherwise it is about 60 hours.

Digital Tech and Innovation

No exemptions. Credit comes only if the whole Applied Skills level, LW included, is passed or has eligible or awarded exemptions before transition. If not, it is about 100 hours, bought before any Strategic Professional entry.

Eligible matters: ACCA's FAQ counts exemptions offered to you but not yet paid for. Conditional exemptions need proof by 30 June 2027. ACCA's calculator shows no conditional tier for ICAI's CA course (as on 12 November 2026), so a CA just needs them on record before June 2027.

Ethical, Sustainable Leadership

EPSM done by mid-July 2027 gives credit. It takes about 20 hours and costs about £83, against about 70 hours for the module, which has no exemptions.

BT and EPSM cover two credits; DTI needs all of Applied Skills done or exempt.

What should I finish by June 2027?

1. Finish FA, MA, BT and the FiP module by mid-July 2027.
2. Clear every Applied Skills exam in or before June 2027. LW-GLO and LW-ENG are on-demand until July 2027.
3. Complete EPSM by mid-July 2027 (exact date not fixed).
4. Pass both Essentials next if you already have one option, as ACCA advises.

As on 13 November 2026, ACCA had not published June 2027 dates; March 2027 standard entry closes 1 February, with results on 12 April. The limits are 4 exams a session and 8 different exams a calendar year, so plan both sittings together.

Clear Applied Skills in the two sessions left, March and June 2027, and EPSM before mid-July.

What will I sit after the transition? Three student cases

Our reading of ACCA's rules; check yours on the transition tool.

Case A: a CA with ICAI course exemptions

ACCA's calculator lists up to 9 exemptions for ICAI's CA course (as on 12 November 2026), covering all of Applied Skills, so the DTI module is credited if they are on record before transition. Part-qualified students can map ICAI's new-scheme papers one by one.

• SBR, SBL and one option by June 2027, plus EPSM: the certificate on credit, no exams left.
• SBR and SBL only: one option from September 2027, plus the ESL module if EPSM is not done.

Register after transition and, on my reading, you take the two modules ACCA does not exempt, DTI and ESL: about 170 hours. Detail: CA to ACCA exemptions and papers left.

Case B: midway through Applied Skills

Say BT, MA, FA, LW, TX and FR are passed, with AA, FM and PM left.

• All three passed by June 2027: the Advanced Diploma, DTI credit, then S1, S2 and one option.
• Any still open: LW, TX and FR become K3, E1 and E2, each open paper is sat as its new exam (AA as E3, FM as E4, PM as E5), and the DTI module (about 100 hours) comes before Strategic Professional.

Our ACCA Applied Skills mock exams let you practise full papers before June.

Case C: a new starter

• A B.Com student registering now sits BT, MA and FA on-demand at a CBE centre in India by mid-July 2027.
• LW-GLO comes first in Applied Skills, as ACCA suggests, and becomes K3 credit.
• EPSM before mid-July 2027 earns the ESL credit.
• From September 2027: E1 to E5 and the DTI module, then S1, S2 and one option.

A fully exempt CA can finish the exams on credit by June 2027; others save about 100 hours by clearing all of Applied Skills before transition.

Should I take a second option before June 2027?

Only if you want the certificate under the current rules: both Essentials and two options. From September 2027 one option is enough, and ACCA's FAQ urges students not to pause. My view: spend those hours on SBR and SBL, compulsory in both structures.

For most students one option is the target, after both Essentials.

Key dates from now to October 2027

• March 2027: Practice Platform updated; exams 1 to 5 March.
• May 2027: September entry opens.
• June 2027: last old sitting; 30 June proof deadline for conditional exemptions.
• Mid-July 2027: FA, MA, BT, FiP and EPSM deadline (date not fixed).
• July 2027: Knowledge exams on-demand, modules open, exemptions move across.
• August 2027: September entry closes.
• September 2027: first new sitting.
• October 2027: first results.

Source: ACCA's timeline for the future qualification. Old exams end in June 2027.

Where is the ACCA new syllabus 2027 PDF?

On accaglobal.com. ACCA's timeline dates the syllabus and specimen exam guidance packs to November 2025 for Knowledge and March 2026 for Expertise and Strategic Professional, Data Science included. Both packs were out as on 13 November 2026; download them only from ACCA.

If you are sitting SBR, SBL or an option in March or June 2027, our ACCA Strategic Professional mock exams are checked by faculty within 48 hours of upload. You type answers in Word/Excel and upload them as one PDF.