ACCA Applied Knowledge Syllabus 2026–27: BT, MA, FA Marks Map

Applied Knowledge is the first level of the ACCA Qualification and has three papers: Business and Technology (BT), Management Accounting (MA) and Financial Accounting (FA). Each is a two-hour computer-based exam (CBE) with a 50% pass mark. ACCA's study guides for September 2026 to June 2027 list no additions, deletions or amendments for any of the three (BT, MA, FA).

To start, ACCA requires you to be qualified to University-entrance level, per its Applied Knowledge overview. Our guide to ACCA eligibility in India covers what that means for Indian candidates. If you want the full name and meaning of the qualification first, read our explainer on the ACCA full form.

Each paper is worth 100 marks, but only some syllabus sections are guaranteed a question of their own. Section A is made of objective test (OT) questions, which can draw on any part of the syllabus. Section B is made of multi-task questions (MTQs), longer questions with several tasks, and ACCA names what they examine.

Format source: the study guides linked above. The 100-mark totals are our addition of the marks ACCA states.

Our reading of this table is that MA's sections A to C (management information, data analysis, cost accounting) reach you only through objective tests, while budgeting, standard costing and performance measurement each carry a ten-mark question that cannot be avoided. In FA, the 30 Section B marks reward working through full statements and a consolidation. We would start MA and FA preparation from those guaranteed areas.

ACCA tags each learning outcome with [K] for knowledge or [S] for skills. We counted those tags in the full text of the three 2026–27 study guides:

This is a tag count taken in November 2026, not a marks weighting, and tags can attach to sub-points, so it does not equal the number of learning outcomes. It shows the character of each paper: BT is mainly recall and explanation, and MA and FA are mainly doing the work.

Over the nine June and December sessions from June 2022 to June 2026, ACCA's published pass rates average 85.8% for BT, 64.9% for MA and 69.1% for FA. ACCA publishes these figures for June and December sessions, from its pass-rate table.

The averages are our simple mean of the nine session percentages, not weighted by number of candidates. The June 2026 figures are from ACCA's results announcement, which says its results include on-demand exams.

The gap fits the skills shares above: the nearly all-knowledge paper has the highest pass rate. Three papers cannot prove that link, and FA has a slightly higher skills share than MA yet passes more often. Treat a pass rate as a guide to where students struggle, not a prediction of your result. For a paper-by-paper view of difficulty for Indian students, see Is ACCA Hard?.

FA and MA become K1 and K2 with credit, while BT converts into a module rather than an exam. As of November 2026, ACCA's transition page for current students maps them like this:

A student who has not completed BT must complete the module instead. ACCA describes it as chargeable, with the price to be confirmed in January 2027, and expected to take about 60 hours. A student who has completed Foundations in Professionalism (FiP) but not BT receives partial credit for the first 12 units of the module.

The timeline runs as follows:

• June 2027: final sitting of Applied Skills and Strategic Professional exams.
• July 2027: Foundations and Knowledge exams open on demand.
• September 2027: the first Expertise and Strategic Professional sittings.

ACCA's future qualification page lists the three Knowledge exams as K1, K2 and K3, taken alongside the module.

As of November 2026, ACCA says you must complete FA, MA, BT and FiP by mid-July 2027 to receive the current ACCA Diploma in Accounting and Business (Regulated Qualifications Framework, RQF, Level 4); exact dates are still to be confirmed.

The shape of the exam you carry credit into is already published. ACCA's K1 study guide for July 2027 to August 2028 sets a two-hour CBE with 35 two-mark objective tests and two 15-mark multi-task questions, one on individual financial statements and one on consolidated statements. The pass mark for all Knowledge exams is 50%.

Work backwards from mid-July 2027. Sit BT first if you have not passed it, because BT has no matching Knowledge exam. Without a BT pass you must complete the chargeable Responsible Business Management module (about 60 hours) instead. A BT pass gives full credit for it. The table below sets out each starting point as of November 2026.

BT first is our recommendation. It has the highest pass rate, and its pass avoids a 60-hour module. Resit buffer is also our judgement, not an ACCA rule. For a study routine, read our guide to preparing for the ACCA Applied Knowledge level.

ACCA charges in pounds. As of November 2026, its India fees page lists a £89 initial registration fee, a £140 annual subscription for 2026 and £86 per Applied Knowledge exemption. Exams are booked directly with an exam centre, or taken remotely where no centre exists, per ACCA's exam information. Fees for exams at centres are set by the centres.

Our ACCA Knowledge programme costs ₹50,000 in tuition. We teach it in blended, live online and onsite formats, with recordings, study materials, practice questions and mock tests. You also get doubt clearing, study planning and mentoring. Demo classes are free, and admission for offline classes takes under 15 minutes. You can pay by UPI, net banking, credit or debit card or NCEMI, and flexible payment plans are available. For a fair way to compare quotes, see our ACCA online classes.

To plan your three papers against the July 2027 date, call +91 90198 10080 or +91 87925 71811, or reach us through Contact Us. Tell us which papers you have already passed and we will build your sequence from there.