DONT PAY ACCA Exemptions Fees....
stephleedz
Registered Posts: 179 Beyond epic contributor 🧙♂️
Just thought everyone should know....
If anyone is due to finish their AAT and go on to ACCA you will already be aware that you will be exempt from F1, F2 and F3...but will have been told that you have to pay for your exemption £165 in total. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I found out the hard way but once you have received your Level 4 certificate from the AAT upload it on ACCA and this will mean you do not have to pay for your exeptions of £165. I registerd with ACCA back in May and due to the fact that my employer pays all my study fees paid for my exemptions around the same time. I have received confirmation this morning from Pat at ACCA Kinnect that once you have received AAT Level 4 certificate and you have uploaded a copy for the AAT to view you can (if you have already paid for your exemptions like me) get a refund.
steph
If anyone is due to finish their AAT and go on to ACCA you will already be aware that you will be exempt from F1, F2 and F3...but will have been told that you have to pay for your exemption £165 in total. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I found out the hard way but once you have received your Level 4 certificate from the AAT upload it on ACCA and this will mean you do not have to pay for your exeptions of £165. I registerd with ACCA back in May and due to the fact that my employer pays all my study fees paid for my exemptions around the same time. I have received confirmation this morning from Pat at ACCA Kinnect that once you have received AAT Level 4 certificate and you have uploaded a copy for the AAT to view you can (if you have already paid for your exemptions like me) get a refund.
steph
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Hi Steph
Did you actually manage to get a refund for your exemption fees? I paid mine almost a year ago after having sent them my level 4 certificate. I wasn't given a choice, I just had to pay it. I wouldn't mind getting it back now, but I'm not sure where to start with this.
Thanks,
Sara0 -
Is this correct about the exemption fees?
I paid up £165.00 in 2010 to get exemptions from the first three papers and sent copies of my
certificates.
Can you clarify this as £165.00 is a lot of money to me at present?
Thanks
Mark0 -
Hi Mark
This is a response from the same thread in the Members section - seems there are a few identical threads on this all with a variety of responses!mini_schnauzer wrote: »I today called ACCA, as I paid £165 for exemption from F1,F2,F3.
ACCA confirmed that if you passed AAT via the NVQ or Diploma route, then the exemption cost applies.
If you have passed AAT via QCF route - then NO exemption fees will be payable.
No refund for me.:glare:
This does seem a bit strange that newer AAT qualifieds can get their exemptions for free but us 'older' lot have to pay
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Rozzi Rainbow wrote: »Hi Mark
This is a response from the same thread in the Members section - seems there are a few identical threads on this all with a variety of responses!
This does seem a bit strange that newer AAT qualifieds can get their exemptions for free but us 'older' lot have to pay
I guess if they gave refunds to the "older" lot then they have to refund everyone going back to year dot, I'd be due a refund for my exemptions paid for in 1989. The thing is with the QCF is that it was specifically set up so that qualifications were transferable, there's a complicated set of modules as part of the AAT course and some of them will be the same as modules within ACCA and other boards so if you've already got that module you shouldn't have to pay to be exempt from it under a different board. All a bit complicated really, I can see the thinking behind it though.0 -
I didn't think I'd get anything back so not all that surprised.
I have to say ACCA were always having a laugh with the exemption fees and I was never very happy
about it.
Still I'm just a hopeless idealist that believes education should be affordable and accessible to all and
not be dependent on the size of your bank account.
Nothing you can do about the profiteers though!!!
Mark0 -
I guess if they gave refunds to the "older" lot then they have to refund everyone going back to year dot, I'd be due a refund for my exemptions paid for in 1989. The thing is with the QCF is that it was specifically set up so that qualifications were transferable, there's a complicated set of modules as part of the AAT course and some of them will be the same as modules within ACCA and other boards so if you've already got that module you shouldn't have to pay to be exempt from it under a different board. All a bit complicated really, I can see the thinking behind it though.
Thanks for the explanation, fair point, I hadn't looked at it that way. If the AAT has changed to make it easier to progress onto further qualifications, then that's a good thing, especially for the people that no longer have to pay for exemptions.
However, when you say "so if you've already got that module you shouldn't have to pay to be exempt from it under a different board" that's not all that different from ACCA granting us the exemptions. Even though we may not have done the exact same module, they've still agreed we can be exempt as it covers most of the same material. I'm not against people no longer having to pay for the exemptions, I think that's great, but what gets me is the fact we had to pay so much in the first place. I wouldn't have minded paying and admin fee of say £30-50 to process the exemptions, but to have to pay the same as if we had sat the exam with everyone else is absurd.
Oh well, you know what they say, if you want to join their club you have to play by their rules, not a lot we can do about it!0 -
Rozzi Rainbow wrote: »Thanks for the explanation, fair point, I hadn't looked at it that way. If the AAT has changed to make it easier to progress onto further qualifications, then that's a good thing, especially for the people that no longer have to pay for exemptions.
However, when you say "so if you've already got that module you shouldn't have to pay to be exempt from it under a different board" that not all that different from ACCA granting us the exemptions. Even though we may not have done the exact same module, they've still agreed we can be exempt as it covers most of the same material. I'm not against people no longer having to pay for the exemptions, I think that's great, but what gets me is the fact we had to pay so much in the first place. I wouldn't have minded paying and admin fee of say £30-50 to process the exemptions, but to have to pay the same as if we had sat the exam with everyone else is absurd.
Oh well, you know what they say, if you want to join their club you have to play by their rules, not a lot we can do about it!
The idea is that it's meant to be the exact same module and not just similar material. In practice it doesn't work like that. I agree with you though that making us pay the entire exam fee is ludicrous, the exam fee covers the cost of writing, testing and marking the paper, none of which needs to be done when you're exempt0 -
I think your right Rozzi, especially about being part of their club.
Still I can't help feel the ACCA acts like some lucrative cash cow, particularly for companies like BPP
and Kaplan who charge very high fees for tuition in whatever form.
ACCA needs to endorse more colleges and educational institutions to foster greater competition and
drive tuition costs down.
At this level of education the costs of tuition are punitive to say the least and potentially exclude
talented students on the grounds of cost.
More needs to be done to offer affordable professional education to those of us who are not heirs to
a fortune, although I fear ACCA are quite happy with the status quo and the cosy clique they have
developed with the main private tuition providers.0 -
Hi,
I have just applied for ACCA membership and uploaded my Level 4 certificate but I am still being asked to pay for the exemptions. Any ideas what I should do and if I should get free exemptions?
Thanksstephleedz wrote: »Just thought everyone should know....
If anyone is due to finish their AAT and go on to ACCA you will already be aware that you will be exempt from F1, F2 and F3...but will have been told that you have to pay for your exemption £165 in total. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I found out the hard way but once you have received your Level 4 certificate from the AAT upload it on ACCA and this will mean you do not have to pay for your exeptions of £165. I registerd with ACCA back in May and due to the fact that my employer pays all my study fees paid for my exemptions around the same time. I have received confirmation this morning from Pat at ACCA Kinnect that once you have received AAT Level 4 certificate and you have uploaded a copy for the AAT to view you can (if you have already paid for your exemptions like me) get a refund.
steph0 -
Hi,
I have just applied for ACCA membership and uploaded my Level 4 certificate but I am still being asked to pay for the exemptions. Any ideas what I should do and if I should get free exemptions?
Thanks
Hi Kirsty,
Same thing happened to me! You need to also upload your statement of achievement showing the breakdown of the units that you passed - the Certificate by itself isn't good enough for some reason!0 -
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Can you now say you are ACCA part-qualified or do you need to take and pass an exam first.0
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I could be wrong but although there is no official definition of part qualified, I think it is generally accepted that it means F1-F9 are completed.0
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This all makes very interesting reading...I applied to be a student member of the ACCA in 2011 I think, and when I was told about the exemption fees I decided that they were having one big laugh at the expense of someone who pays for their studies themselves and told them what to do with them!
If only I had been a forum member back then, I may very well be on my way to greater things! As it is, with this knowledge I could go back and start it again, but have started my own practice now. To be honest, I found the whole online application process for the ACCA a little frustrating, and it would have been nice if the person at the ACCA I called could have made it clear that the exemption fees could be refunded. Hey ho, you live and learn..no pun intended. Thanks for the tip though.
Cheers0 -
This all makes very interesting reading...I applied to be a student member of the ACCA in 2011 I think, and when I was told about the exemption fees I decided that they were having one big laugh at the expense of someone who pays for their studies themselves and told them what to do with them!
If only I had been a forum member back then, I may very well be on my way to greater things! As it is, with this knowledge I could go back and start it again, but have started my own practice now. To be honest, I found the whole online application process for the ACCA a little frustrating, and it would have been nice if the person at the ACCA I called could have made it clear that the exemption fees could be refunded. Hey ho, you live and learn..no pun intended. Thanks for the tip though.
Cheers
The refund only applies if you completed your AAT studies under the new qualification that came in in 2010, if you completed in 2011 it's possible that you were still under the old qual and therefore the exemption fees would still have applied.0 -
Hi Folkd
I;'ve just spoken to the ACCA regarding this. They said I may still have to pay for the exemption fees regardless of what route I took in completing the AAT - NVQ, QCF, or the AQ1010 route. They said it depends on numerous things and asked me to just submit all my paper work and they will make a decision between 7 to 10 days!0 -
I've submitted my final unit to get marked (ICAS) and hopefully get result by january. Going to apply for ACCA exemption. I understand that maximum papers to take per exam cycle is 4, so does applying for exemptions count as using up 3 paper sittings? Which leaves 1 exam slot available for june sitting. Please can someone confirm this.0
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I know this thread is old, but does the free exemptions still apply?
I'm not sure what my 'route' would be called, I'm self-funded, I'm studying lvl 4 on the most recent standard, as I did lvl 3, and lvl 2 I sat on the previous standard. I've got a diploma for lvl 3, certificate for lvl 2.
It would be a big bonus if true obviously.
Thanks.
Rich
Edit- just read I may not even get all three exemptions as new aat syllabus.0 -
Yeah, I thought that, and hoping is the case.NeilH said:
You do according to the ACCA website/exemptions databaserichf said:Edit- just read I may not even get all three exemptions as new aat syllabus.
But have a look in this thread bud forums.aat.org.uk/discussion/439421/acca-exemptions#latest0 -
But who are you going to believe, a thread started over six months ago or the current ACCA website/exemptions database?0
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Neither in fairness.... will just wait and see, ACCA do say they can change exemptions.
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