Students who have successfully completed their matriculation or equivalent can register for Intermediate via the ACCA's Foundation Diploma pathway.
Get the answers to the most common questions about ACCA’s Foundation Diploma - which is equivalent to HSSC Commerce in Pakistan.
ACCA’s Foundation Diploma is recognised on the national education framework in Pakistan as a pathway to earn Intermediate equivalent qualification.
Students are required to complete ACCA’s Foundation Diploma and three additional exams from any Board of Technical Education of Pakistan. Through this pathway students shall be awarded:
- Foundation Diploma from ACCA
- Intermediate Equivalence Certificate (Commerce Group) from IBCC e.g. just like equivalence the certificate issued for O'Level or A' Level in Pakistan
Gaining Intermediate via ACCA's Foundation Diploma provides a strong foundation for students to proceed to:
- ACCA Professional Qualification - ACCA is a globally recognised qualification which also entitles student to earn Bachelors degree from Oxford Brookes University and Masters Degree from University of London. In addition ACCA membership is independently recognised by HEC equivalent to an M.Com degree in Pakistan
- Bachelors Degree - Students can choose from any local or international degree programmes available to A Level or Intermediate certificate holders.
- Other Professional Accounting Qualifications - Students can choose from any local or international professional accounting programmes available to A Level or Intermediate certificate holders.
Note: After achieving local Intermediate, students DO NOT have to go through the one-year diploma programme usually required for the International undergraduate programme.
Students can enroll and study through any of ACCA's Approved Learning Partners
Yes, ACCA's Foundation Diploma is recognised within the national education framework in Pakistan. The Foundation Diploma is now equivalent to Intermediate in commerce group in Pakistan. This equivalence has been awarded by IBCC (Inter Board Committee of Chairmen) and is valid for all Foundation Diploma holders who graduated from 2014 and onwards.
To gain Intermediate equivalence you'll study a combination of ACCA's Foundation Diploma plus three additional exams from the Board of Technical Education of Pakistan.
The completion time will vary from student to student, and depends on exams schedules and exam success. Ideally a student should not take more than 18 months to prepare for these exams.
Yes, you can get admission to a relevant degree programme at local as well as international Universities - just like any other Intermediate or A'Level student.
Yes, for international undergraduate programme students DO NOT have to go through one-year diploma programme as generally required after local intermediate.
ACCA conducts the Foundation Diploma exams under the supervision of the British Council at their approved exam centre.
These computer-based exams (CBE) are available throughout the year. We strongly recommend that students undertake practice exams via an approved learning provider before sitting for final exams.
See all the CBE centres in our useful directory
Students will be required to pass all seven exams of Foundation Diploma along with Foundations in Professionalism (FIP) module. Besides this, students will need to pass three additional exams i.e. Business Mathematics, Statistics and Principles of Economics, which can be taken in any Board of Technical Education.
For further details about additional exams and how to apply, see the IBCC procedures and guidance page
The Technical Education Boards conduct exams in April/May and in September/October.
It is advisable that you prepare for these three additional exams. You can check with ACCA's Approved Learning Partner who will be able to guide you on tuition provision for preparing for these exams.
Eligible students can submit their equivalence form along with necessary documents to the provincial centers of IBCC. For further details on steps and documents required when applying, please see IBCC procedures and guidance
Students are entitled to claim exemptions from 3 out of 14 exams (F1,F2,F3). There is no additional fee payable for registration or exemptions.
IBCC has currently awarded equivalance to Foundation Diploma students who graduated from 2014 and onwards. We are aware that a number of ACCA members came through CAT background and we clearly understand that intermediate equivalence is desirable to those members too. We will therefore continue to work with IBCC to extend this equivalence to CAT graduates who passed from 2014 onwards.
