ACCA study resources for UK students

If you are looking for ACCA study resources to help you pass your professional qualifications in the UK, look no further.

I have been there, done it, and over the years of studying towards my professional qualifications, I have tried various study resources.

Some were very good, some were not so good.

Some ACCA study resources were cheap, some very expensive and some absolutely free (I will tell you about them too!).

The one thing I have learned is that it’s best to stick to one provider at least for this one topic that you are currently studying. Using several at the same time might just confuse you and you will end up wasting your time.

If you would like to find out about My ACCA journey, I have a little video for you:

If you haven’t managed to pass using a particular provider, it doesn’t mean you have to change it. Stick to them for at least one more round. I have failed many exams throughout my study journey and I can fully appreciate that when you fail, you blame it on everyone and everything BUT yourself. I might have just the thing for you if you need little motivation after the exam study– How to Keep Motivated after The Exam Failure?

The truth is- if you have failed, it’s not because the tutor was not good enough (although this might have been the contributing factor- hence you need to choose wisely).

It’s also not due to the loud music that your neighbour was playing each night when you were trying to focus/  the baby was crying too much/  there were too many interesting movies on the TV/ work was super busy etc, etc, etc. Trust me! I was even blaming on ACCA for being too strict and once got them to recheck my marks (you will never win this one so don’t waste your money).

Everyone has a busy life (some more than the others).

The Thing is- if you don’t put your heart and soul into it, you will not make it thought. Don’t let your circumstances get on top of you and Stay Focused!

The beginning is easy-ish.

Then once you get to the Professional papers, that’s when the fun begins!

At the last stage of your journey (the last 4 professional papers), you really need to get your s***t together and study with every last bit of your time.

Having good tools to study is a must so invest well but most of all, use the right study resources so that it helps you to achieve your goals. I have a post about 8 Most essential tools for professional students, which includes free Study Planner .xls so feel free to check it out. This is my most popular post by far so I guess other students find it helpful!

So enough of the Pep talk!

Let’s get to my list of ACCA study resources that I have used over the years. I will review only those ACCA study resources that I did use, however, I will also mention other known to me resources and opinions of other students that I have spoken to.

Side note – CIMA students will also find this is applicable to them so if you have friends studying CIMA- share it with them.

Disclaimer- This post might contain some Amazon affiliate links. This is an independent review written to the best of my knowledge supported by the learning providers website’s information. I am not trying to sell you any of the below-mentioned courses, neither I will get any commission if you do proceed with any of them. These are purely my recommendations based on my own experiences (and experiences of other students). Also this is for information purposes only, I do not take any responsibility if you do not succeed using my advice.

ACCA has a list of Approved Learning Providers (ALP) on their website.

This directory has over 4700 of learning providers from all over the world (800 in the UK alone) that have signed up to comply with certain rules and regulations (and pay regular fees to ACCA) so that they can gain an “approved provider” status.

ACCA recommends that you use only those providers. This is obviously not compulsory and it’s up to you to decide how you prepare for your exams. ACCA does regularly surveys its students to gather information on which resources students use. This information is used for the statistical purposes where it matches the student’s scores to the providers used etc.

 

1. ACCA website

I will list this first as ACCA provides tons of essential and valuable free ACCA study resource and three that I would definitely say are “Must” to read are the Past Papers, Technical Articles and Examiner reports. No exam should be attempted without accessing and studying all 3.

There are also other good things like videos from ACCA talking about the Exam technique or similar information.

In addition, you can also find the Syllabus, Retake guides and Pass rates statistics too. So ACCA website already tries to support its students.

Just as a side note- ACCA has recently launched the Wellbeing Hub as it recognised the need for mental support for its student. It’s fully comprehensive covering topics like Coping with exams, Mental health, Study Well and more. This was not yet available when I was a student so I think ACCA is making an effort to support its students on every level.

2. Kaplan

Kaplan- (Platinum ALP). Kaplan is UK’s largest ACCA training provider (over 13000 students in 2018) Kaplan has reputable tutors and is known to be a prestigious classroom and online tuitions provider (hence the Platinum Status of ALP). They offer Classroom learning, Life online tuitions, On Demand classes and Distance Learning.

Their classrooms are in nice fancy buildings with good facilities and very pleasant teachers who are happy to stay back and provide support when needed.

Kaplan is usually chosen by the students that get funded by employers as the classes are very expensive. The prices per subject start from £279-£1899 depending on the variation of days/ weekends/ online. The further down the studies, the costlier it gets too.

This is probably a go-to if you are one of those students that need structured learning with the classroom environment and tutors support.

I did get put through by Kaplan’s tuition by my workplace once and I have passed first time my P3 paper (now it’s combined with P1 and know as SBL). The tutor was very good, knowledgeable and supportive. I did enjoy the classes and I had an overall good experience using Kaplan.

3. BPP

BPP- (Platinum ALP)

This is the runner up to Kaplan in the ACCA study world. They don’t have statistics on their website so it’s hard to say how many students do they have, but I am pretty sure they are not far off Kaplan.

They operate a similar type of course structures to Kaplan (without the Distance learning option). They claim to have 23% higher Pass Rates than ACCA average so pretty impressive (Kaplan states they have higher than average Pass Rates, but no specifics are given).

This is also a pretty expensive ACCA study resources which suites employers supported students, although they do offer Payment Plans in case one would like to pay for it themselves (Stick to the end if you are one of those students- don’t pay crazy money).

The website shows prices range between £185- £525 for online classes (per exam) and £545- £905 for the classroom (6-12 weeks courses) per paper (depending on the location- outside London is cheaper).

I did try BPP for my professional paper (P2- now SBR) in the classroom and I must say, as much as the overall experience was positive and the facilities nice, the tutor itself was rather “structural” (I don’t want to say boring as the subject is quite heavy). And needless to say, I have failed and turned to self-studies.

 

4. LSBF

LSBF-  (Gold Providers)

This one is for Londoners only as the classroom runs in The City Of London itself. They have Pass First Time Guarantee (and if you don’t pass they offer you free resit course).

The prices are not disclosed on their website and I am not able to comment on the experience as I have not used them, but the testimonials seem very impressive.

 

5. LearnSignal

LearnSignal- The online college for business professionals- (Gold ALP)

As the name suggests it’s online-based so no face to face classes are available.

They have a membership basis plans meaning you pay monthly for a chosen amount of time and you can cancel anytime. This includes any ACCA course, tutor support and topic- by- topic lectures. You can try it for free and see how you like it.

The price plans are:

-£39.99 pay monthly

-£99.99 pay quarterly (£25/month)

-299.99 pay yearly (£25/month)

I think this is a very reasonable price providing you are well motivated and good at self-study as you “turn up” at the online classes at your own pace which some might not be good at.

I have tried their monthly plan once but I was not swept off my feet and much preferred other option which I will describe below. So stay until the end, I have saved the best for last.

 

6. Universities

ACCA website Universities– Approved Learning Providers.

ACCA list various Universities on their ALP website. I do not know the prices but I can imagine they are somewhere as high as the BPP/ Kaplan kind of range i.e Expensive.

I did my foundational papers in University of West London which was ACCA accredited hence I had gained 9 exemptions towards my qualifications, so I can imagine other University work on a similar basis. Although some might take you all the way to the fully qualified status.

7. YouTube

This is obviously a free ACCA study resource and I have found a few good tips on how to study, as well as some lectures (every paper can be found). Worth giving a go when self-studying.

 

8. Open Tuition

Open tuition (Not APL).

It’s free of charge and it contains subject notes, flashcards, even video lectures on every single paper.

It also has Forums with students and tutors exchanging ideas on every subject of ACCA.

What I liked about Open tuition was the Forums and I often was taking parts in them as it was somewhat providing me with mental support I needed after every exam and after every result.

I have also watched their videos but I must say they were not the most exciting videos to watch but I have used it when needed help solving particular questions as the go though past papers scenarios.

Finally, I have saved the Best for the Last:

9. Acowtancy

Acowtancy- Not Approved Provider- BUT don’t get discouraged by this- As this means you are not paying a hefty price for the ACCA approval stamp.

The update as of March 2020- Acowtancy is now a Gold Online delivery APL!!! Well deserved!

It is an online platform for ACCA/CIMA/CAT/DipFR studies.

Acowtancy is the best ever online course you can find out there.

Like really the best- 4.9/5 stars rated by its students. It also covers the whole syllabus in every single paper.

Acowtancy was founded by Richard Clarke (FCCA) who has over 20 years of teaching experience and knows his stuff so well, he teaches every single subject himself!

That means he really has a deep understanding of it all and can teach so so well. His online classes are broken down into easy to understand chunks. He also has revision courses in every paper which are very well structured and cover all the very necessary things to know.

Despite this being an option only for a self-studier (although Richard does have few of his own Academies around the world), Acowtancy has a Facebook support group and Richard answers every question and if you email him he will respond too. I have emailed him several times during my study years and he’s always got back to me.

The price is one you won’t believe: Besides paying £nil for the actual online book and Quizzes you can buy a 6-month subscription to every single paper which will give you access to all of the online classes plus the revision courses. And this cost only – £149! (Are you still sitting?).

This is the price for 6 months i.e. 2 sittings (in case first one does not work out for you). I think this is absolutely amazing value for money and I could not recommend Acowtancy enough! I have qualified only thanks to Acowtancy as no one out there made it easy enough for me to understand this s**t.

He has many Cows to help you understand too 😉 He uses fanny illustrations to make things little bit more fun and refers to them a lot throughout the courses (aCOWtancy is a primary example).

You have to give it a try once and you will never look back! Trust me!

I have used Acowtancy as a side study (the books only) at the very beginning, only to use it as the only study resource after many other options have filed me as they were just too difficult to understand and too expensive to afford!

The thing is- Everyone is scared of Self- Study and is stuck on the idea of going to the classes and having a tutor to help them out face to face etc, etc.

I get it, I’ve been there too!

And as much as I enjoyed meeting new people, I still managed to fail 2 times despite taking classes tuitions (in my professional lever exams).

So when I switched to Acowtancy and listen to Richard I began to see the change. I learned to study every day, plan my studies and follow Richard’s many amazing tips on what to focus on in given papers, I have finally managed to qualify!

I can tell you now that Self-study is totally doable, and for busy parents (like me) it is the best option. And so much cheaper too. You can save tons of money. Even if you get them paid by your employee, you still pay for travel, lunch and other expenses, and have to show up at the classes (as you can get in trouble by your employer if they discover you don’t attend). Plus you need to arrange childcare if you have kids.

 

Also, I wanted to add that if you prefer to top-up your self- studies, you could always purchase the latest books on Amazon and study by yourself, or at least the revision packs are good to get as they have the question banks which are great for practising.

There are books by Kaplan available

And books by BPP, and many others.

But the past papers on the ACCA website alone should really be the enough if you go over every single one.

 

Whatever ACCA study resources option you choose, remember:

Perseverance Pays Off

You are on the journey for success.

ACCA really does open up the whole new world of opportunities and there is so much you can do having this fantastic Qualification and ACCA letter next to your name.

Why Choose ACCA

 

If you enjoyed this post and found it informative please let me know in the comments below and also please share, it can really help some students in achieving this dream.

Good luck, Keep Going and Never Give Up!

 

Agnes Mann (ACCA)