This morning I attended webinar
ACCA Accountancy Redefined on
ACCA launching their new 2027 syllabus

And suddenly, flashback
1993
I passed all 18 ACCA papers

No internet
No ChatGPT
No WhatsApp study group

Just me, cigarettes, kopi O on standby
A stack of photostated BPP books and loose notes from class

Level 1 (Warm Up)

5 papers
Not 4, not optional
5

Accounting
Economics
Costing
Law
And that strange one

1.5 Business Management & IT (BM&IT)
Until today I still don’t why IT so important in the 90s
We only used fax machines in 90’s

I passed
One go
No second try

Level 2 (The monster stage)

9 papers
Pure mental torture

2.6 Management Accounting
Failed twice
And I’m a financial accountant
I kept asking when in real life we use marginal or absorption costing?

2.7 MIS (Management Info System)
Also failed twice
So dry, even my highlighter gave up
No logic, no visuals
Just theory
Memorised like national anthem
No tune, no feeling

2.8 Regulatory Accounting
SSAPs (90’s accounting standard) became my chanting mantras
SSAP 2 Going Concern
SSAP 13 R&D
SSAP 9 Inventory
Memorised them like lyrics to karaoke song
Luckily, in the 90s, standards were thin
Not like today’s MFRS monsters

Level 3 (Pass all or nothing)

4 papers
One sitting
All or repeat everything

I passed
One go
No second try

Financial Reporting
Financial Management
Advanced Tax
Audit & Investigation

After the last paper I looked up and whispered
I’m done. Please no more

Study life in the 90’s

No YouTube
No ACCA Learning Hub
No Google
No Whatsapp group

Just me, cigarettes, kopi O
Photostated notes thicker than yellow pages

Study
Smoke
Repeat
My brain running on caffeine, nicotine, and panic

ACCA 2027 (fewer papers but…)

From 12 papers down to 11
Got AI
Sustainability
Leadership
Problem-solving

Looks easier
Fewer papers,

But

Today’s students face
MFRS 15, 16, 9, 133
Each one a mini textbook
Digital exam formats
Real-life case studies
Workplace-ready soft skills

Now must think like consultant
Talk like leader
Type like secretary
All under time pressure

Yes syllabus different
But pressure still the same
Stress still the same

It’s still ACCA
Still brutal
Still one of the toughest finance qualifications in the world

And when you pass
Whether it’s 18 papers or 11

That feeling
Still the same

Sweet. Sweaty. Hard-earned

Which paper nearly broke you
Mine was 2.6 Management Accounting
What’s yours?