ACCA students question fairness of locally set exam

Students sitting for the ACCA qualification (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) in Malta have complained to this newspaper of the severity of a particular exam they are bound to sit for.

The students, who preferred to remain anonymous, given that they are still enrolled in the course, have questioned the exceedingly low pass rates in various subjects.

Data compiled on the ACCA website shows that global pass rates for the June 2015 professional exams section, range from a minimum of 28% (in the P5- Advanced Performance Management unit) to a maximum of 49% in the P1 or governance risk and ethics module.

Besides the difficulty in estimating a particular graduation date, re-sitting the same exam does not come cheap, with professional exam fees ranging from £100 to £108 (or €137.27 to €148.25) per paper in the June 2014 sessions, and rates increasing over time. 

“Locally, the tax variant (which is an exam set by Maltese examiners according to local tax), is known to be one of the hardest, with most students passing this exam after a third or fourth attempt if they’re lucky,” one student said.

“This would mean they would need to spend two years re-sitting the same exam,” he stressed, questioning whether the same fate would befall him when the time comes. 

Asked for local pass rates, the Malta Institute of Accountants (MIA), which is the local joint scheme representative for the ACCA qualification, said that publishing figures for individual countries was against ACCA policy. They added however that the qualification was based on international standards.

The qualification includes advanced Maltese tax and Maltese law, that are required before accountants and auditors are given a warrant. “The exam is required by the Maltese Accountancy Profession Act as one of the mandatory subjects to become a registered auditor and so it is vital that the standard remains high and consistent,” the MIA said.

One of the students who spoke to Malta Today, expressed her concern about the way the system binds Maltese students sitting for exams at the professional level to follow the advanced Maltese tax (P6) and advanced audit (P7) units, which they consider to be very severe.

“In other countries, students have the option to do subjects like advanced finance management (P4) or advanced performance management (P5) but Maltese students are not given the option,” she said. 

She questioned why she had to limit herself to Maltese tax knowledge and whether this was closing doors for her future career.

“I don’t see the need to have to sit for an advanced tax exam unless I show any signs of interest in working in a tax department,” she said, adding that many students ended up getting stuck repeating the exam. 

“A large number of students are failing the advanced Maltese tax exam. Are the students not studying enough or is the examiner expecting too much from students who would like to become qualified accountants rather than tax specialists?”

The MIA explained that not every ACCA graduate was required to sit for the local variants, except for those intending to work as practising accountants. “If they do not sit for the local variants, they can still work as an accountant in employment.”

But the institute there were strict standardisation protocols to follow during marking, which ensure that all students are marked fairly, and that examiners also produce a very detailed report to assist students who fail their exam by highlighting what went well and less well in the exam. 

The institute reiterated its belief that given the global relevance of the qualification, the standards had to remain considerably high. “That said, these exams are not set for people to fail, however, they are practical and relevant to the real world. They try to ensure that a student is fully effective and prepared to face the workplace.”