Why Paper P1 is Essential

A big difference between the old and the new ACCA Qualification is that the latter puts more emphasis on the ethics of accountancy by introducing the Essentials Paper P1, Professional Accountant, at the Professional level. And as a result Paper 3.7, Strategic Financial Management, has moved from a core paper to an Options paper. Almost all the questions on the Paper P1 are essay writing ones which focus on professional ethics, governance, internal control and risk, while nearly fifty percent of the total marks of the paper 3.7 are based on computations. So Paper P1 may be a welcome change for English native speakers as they have sound English writing skills, but for other students, especially in Asia who prefer to do the computational work, this change may be bad news. Even more difficult is the fact that there are no past papers of the P1 as it is a new kind of exam paper, the only one that we can refer to is the pilot paper. Although there are lots of difficulties for us to overcome before passing Paper P1, I would like to say that introducing the Paper P1 is a right and provident decision. Here I point out two simple reasons to support my view.

First, ethics have become hot topics in the profession of accountancy and all kinds of ethical issues are flooding into every space of accountants’ work. Although some people may argue that ethical knowledge is not as useful as accounting and financial knowledge, we must have a sound knowledge of professional ethics in order to become qualified accountants and P1 is the paper we need as it acts as the gateway into the professional level and sets the other Essentials and Options papers into a wider professional, organisational context.

Second, there is a growing tendency nowadays for employers to hire the accountants who have studied the professional ethics systemically. Paper P1 is such a paper that is developed to test your knowledge of ethics comprehensively. Success in passing Paper P1 may make you outstanding and become the accountant that employers are just looking for.

In conclusion, Paper P1 is useful and essential but it also brings us new challenges. We can read the technical articles for help and take some tuition courses in order to be successful in the exam.

Comments

[Faizan Ahmed Dogar]

Is there anyone who can guide me on how to pass Paper P1 on the first attempt with good marks?

[Michelle]

Hi

I am studying P1 for June's exam.

Would any one give me some advice on the way you've learned and passed the exam.

Is distant learning necessary? Is the text book from BPP useful?

Thank you

[Suleman]

A total disaster for me, because I rely heavily on SFM and performance management.

The worst thing about the theory paper is that you can write pages and pages still unsure of the actual result!

[Tigran]

My opinion is that if somebody is ethical him/herself, then P1 can help to understand existing and prospective ethical issues better. P1 can act as a starting point for the professional ethics expertise and experience.

Indeed, for every accounting professional, to be ‘highly’ ethical is much more important than to be highly technically proficient but ‘less’ ethical. Being ethical, the less skilled professional will always try to act with integrity and will ask for an advice if he/she lacks knowledge in some technical areas.

On the contrary, the technically proficient professional, if lacks ethical values, will act harmfully, both for his/her employer and the public.

For non-ethical accounting professionals, P1 can serve as an introduction of an alternative behaviour, though it can make some of them more resistant, when then forced to sit an ‘undesired’ ethical exam.

[Imtiaz]

I think AFM was a great subject, and I believe it contributed more to your work as an accountant than the professional accountant module. There is an online ethics module for ACCA students and I guess that should have served the purpose for covering the ethical issues.

[paul]

In the wake of all these recent scandals, and ACCA's quick response to the paradigm shift, it is refreshing to know that the new TDM/PER focuses on 9 soft skills and 4 technical skills compared to the years before where it was technical skills all the way.

While a paper (P1) drills in good values and ethical judgement to the becoming accountants, the effect of the real world is still questionable.

Ethics and professionalism are still something far away from reach, in certain countries where political, economical, and sociological circumstances have affected every walk of an accountant's 'professional' life.

What is more important is the integrity of the person holding the ACCA tag, and the things he/she can change. A paper is judged based on answer schemes, 'Best Practices' can be purged out into a well-written paper and yet the man holding the pen may be doing the exact opposite.

It is most welcome to introduce the paper, but again, one must 'walk the talk'.

[Mustan]

I am not too sure. I class P1 as one of those papers that do not add too much value. For instance, ethics is a really complex subject and I do not think P1 is going to change a great deal. Sure, it can tell us a few options to practice "good" accountancy but it is unlikely to make one more or less unethical.