technical
on international terms
relevant to all CAT and ACCA Qualification papers
internationalisation
With effect from the December 2007
session, the CAT and ACCA Qualification
syllabuses will be internationalised.
GLOBAL REACH
ACCA is the world’s largest and
fastest‑growing global professional
accountancy body with 296,000 students
and 115,000 members in 170 countries.
We offer internationally‑recognised
qualifications to people of application, ability,
and ambition around the world who seek a
rewarding career in accountancy, finance,
and management.
As ACCA is a truly global professional
accountancy body, it is appropriate to
introduce an international format and style
for the syllabuses to reflect this increasingly
global profile. This change is now even
more appropriate given the accelerating
convergence of country-specific financial
reporting standards, with international GAAP
in many jurisdictions, including the UK.
INTERNATIONALISATION
From December 2007, all global syllabuses
will use international terminology. In addition,
ACCA will use the generic dollar ($) as its
currency of illustration in questions and
answers, rather than the GBR pound (£).
The papers mainly affected by this change
will be those on management accounting,
performance management, and financial
management. To a lesser extent, other
papers will also be affected, such as Paper
F1, Accountant in Business, Paper P1,
Professional Accountant, and Paper P3,
Business Analysis, which may include
references to financial terminology, financial
data, or reports. In all these papers, rather
than using the £ and other UK-based
38 student accountant September 2007
terminology, international GAAP terminology
and the $ will be used in numerical and
financial questions, including examples of
summarised financial data and extracts from
external financial reports.
ACCA already offers adapted papers for
auditing and financial reporting. These papers
continue to be offered in international format
and in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, or
UK formats and will retain local currency
and formats.
WHO IS AFFECTED?
The revised syllabuses will affect all CAT and
ACCA Qualification students who sit exams
from December 2007 onwards.
HOW WILL STUDENTS BE AFFECTED?
The impact of the internationalisation of
the ACCA syllabuses is limited to those
global papers that previously used UK
GAAP accounting terminology and formats,
and which presented financial data in the
denomination of the GBR pound. The papers
affected are highlighted in Tables 1 and 2.
Law and tax variant papers continue
to use the relevant local currency and
terminology. However, Paper F4 (GLO) will
adopt the generic dollar and international
format, where relevant.
NEW MATERIALS AND FURTHER
INFORMATION
ACCA’s approved publishers – BPP and
Kaplan Publishing – will issue updated
textbooks to reflect the new internationalised
syllabuses for those papers affected.
For further information, please see the
Syllabuses, Study Guides, and Pilot Papers,
which can be found on the ACCA website, or
contact ACCA Connect.
From December 2007, all global
syllabuses will use international
terminology. In addition, ACCA
will use the generic dollar ($) as its
currency of illustration in questions
and answers, rather than the GBR
pound (£).
technical
TABLE 1: EFFECT OF INTERNATIONALISATION ON CAT PAPERS
CAT PAPER
Paper 1, Recording Financial Transactions
Paper 2, Information for Management Control
Paper 3, Maintaining Financial Records
Paper 4, Accounting for Costs
Paper 5, Managing People and Systems
Paper 6, Drafting Financial Statements
Paper 7, Planning, Control and Performance Management
Paper 8, Implementing Audit Procedures
Paper 9, Preparing Taxation Computations
Paper 10, Managing Finances IMPACT
No impact – International and UK versions already available
IFRS/IAS terminology and format, and generic $ currency unit
No impact – International and UK versions already available
IFRS/IAS terminology and format, and generic $ currency unit
No impact as this is a non-finance paper
No impact – International and UK versions already available
IFRS/IAS terminology and format, and generic $ currency unit
No impact – International and UK versions already available
Local currency and terminology used
IFRS/IAS terminology and format, and generic $ currency unit
TABLE 2: EFFECT OF INTERNATIONALISATION ON ACCA QUALIFICATION PAPERS
ACCA QUALIFICATION PAPER
Paper F1, Accountant in Business
Paper F2, Management Accounting
Paper F3, Financial Accounting
Paper F4, Corporate and Business Law
Paper F5, Performance Management
Paper F6, Taxation
Paper F7, Financial Reporting
Paper F8, Audit and Assurance
Paper F9, Financial Management
Paper P1, Professional Accountant
Paper P2, Corporate Reporting
Paper P3, Business Analysis
Paper P4, Advanced Financial Management
Paper P5, Advanced Performance Management
Paper P6, Advanced Taxation
Paper P7, Advanced Audit and Assurance
IMPACT
IFRS/IAS terminology and format, and generic $ currency unit
IFRS/IAS terminology and format, and generic $ currency unit
No impact – International and UK versions already available
Generally, no impact as this is a non-finance paper. The global law paper
will use generic $ and international terminology where relevant
IFRS/IAS terminology and format, and generic $ currency unit
Local currency and terminology used
No impact – International and UK versions and adapted papers already
available
No impact – International and UK versions and adapted papers already
available
IFRS/IAS terminology and format, and generic $ currency unit
Limited impact, but will use IFRS/IAS terminology and format, and generic $
currency unit
No impact – International and UK versions and adapted papers already
available
Limited impact, but will use IFRS/IAS terminology and format, and generic $
currency unit
IFRS/IAS terminology and format, and generic $ currency unit
IFRS/IAS terminology and format, and generic $ currency unit
Local currency and terminology used
No impact – International and UK versions and adapted papers already available
September 2007 student accountant 39