ACCA Rules and Regulations

The ACCA's exam rules that you should always follow during your exams:

1. You should listen to and follow all of the instructions and directions issued by the exam supervisor, registrar and invigilators. You must follow these instructions during the exam, before the exam, and after the exam until you are out of the exam center.

2. You should never provide misleading or false information to the exam supervisor or registrar to deceive them.

3. You aren't permitted to bring to your exam desk any notes, books, or other study material. If you are found in possession of any unauthorized material that is relevant to the paper being tested, it will be supposed that you had intentions to use it to gain unfair advantage during the exam. Disciplinary action will be taken against you and you will have to prove you had no intentions to use the unauthorized material to gain unfair advantage.

4. You receive Instructions to Candidates with your Examination Attendance Docket. You must always follow these instructions.

5. You do not have the permission to assist or attempt to assist any other student in the exam center by improper means. You are also not allowed to gain or attempt to gain assistance from any other student through improper means.

6. If possible you should not bring your mobile phones and pagers to the exam center. If you have brought your mobile phone or pager, you have to turn it off. Under no circumstances you are allowed to take your mobile phone or pager to the exam desk. Even when you have switched off your mobile phone or pager, you aren't permitted to take it to the exam desk. You need to switch off your mobile phone or pager and submit it to the designated person at the designated place at the entrance of the examination hall.

7. You should comply with the rulings of the exam supervisor. If you are found of non-compliance with the supervisor's ruling, the supervisor is obliged to report to the registrar. If any student is suspected of misconduct, the supervisor is authorized to discontinue his/her exam and exclude him/her from the examination hall.

8. All exam scripts are property of the ACCA. You do not have the permission to remove either your question paper or your answer booklet from the examination hall.

9. You should not be part of any unprofessional conduct or action that is intended to help you in your exam.

10. You aren't allowed to permanently leave the examination hall ones the exam has begun. You have to stay in the examination hall until the exam is over. You are allowed to leave examination hall at the end of the exam when the supervisor instructs you to leave.

11. If you have to temporarily leave the examination hall (for example for using toilet) you should make this known to the invigilator nearest to you. The invigilator will escort you to the toilets.

12. You are allowed to take a calculator to your desk that complies with the ACCA's rules and regulations. The rules and regulations related to the calculator are stated on the Examination Attendance Docket. Your calculator should be pocket sized and noiseless. It should not have the facility to print-out or facility to display word graphic in any language.

13. In the examination hall every possible effort is made to make sure that the students sit in the best exam conditions. If you have any complaint regarding the center operation, you should let the exam supervisor know this immediately. The supervisor will take measures within their power and authority to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction immediately then and there. For example if there is insufficient light where you are sitting, or the chair or desk is broken or uncomfortable, or if the air flow is too fast or too slow where you are sitting, the supervisor will do whatever possible to remove these complaints. In a case where the problem is of severe nature, the ACCA will take any further remedial actions that are appropriate in the given circumstances.

14. The exams are held at the same time in five different time zones for the security reasons. Therefore you do not have the permission to leave the examination hall permanently until the exam is over. If any student is found in breach of this regulation, his/her misconduct will be reported to the ACCA.

15. There are ACCA exams that provide 15 minutes of reading and planning time at the start of the session. During these 15 minutes, you aren't allowed to write anything in your answer booklet. You can highlight, underline, and take notes on your question paper but you are not allowed to write anything in the answer booklet during this reading and planning time.

If any student breaches the rules and regulations of the ACCA, disciplinary procedures will be taken against them. The disciplinary procedures of the ACCA deal with matters like misconduct in exams, professional misconducts and breach of regulations. The disciplinary procedures also cover actions that might bring discredit to the student, the ACCA, or the profession of accountancy. The rules that govern disciplinary procedures for the students, affiliates and members are stated in the ACCA's Bye-laws and Regulations. The students, affiliates and members are required to comply with the Bye-laws and Regulations.

Many of these rules and regulations are stated on Examination Attendance Docket. Carefully read them and familiarize yourself with them. For being entitled to sit in the exams, you have to sign the docket to confirm that you have read and understood the regulations, and you agree to comply with them.