Audit and Assurance (AA) shifts the balance further toward writing than any Applied Skills paper before it. Only 30% of the marks come from objective test (OT) questions. 3 constructed response (CR) questions forms the majority (70%), focusing on applying audit judgement to a scenario, not recalling audit theory.
Quick summary
- AA is a 3-hour, session-based exam with just two sections: Section A (3 OT cases, 15 questions, 30 marks) and Section B (3 constructed response questions: one 30-mark, two 20-mark, 70 marks total)
- AA’s pass rate has sat between 43% and 47% over the last five sittings, currently 47% as of June 2026
- The single most repeated examiner complaint is copying a scenario fact instead of stating the actual risk or deficiency behind it, since restating what’s already in the question earns nothing on its own
We went through ACCA’s own AA examiner’s reports (Sep 2024-Jun 2026) and combined them with what past ACCA candidates say actually worked. Let’s dive in.
Other ACCA exam tips by paper: Business and Technology (BT) | Management Accounting (MA) | Financial Accounting (FA) | Corporate and Business Law (LW) | Performance Management (PM) | Taxation (TX) | Financial Reporting (FR) | Financial Management (FM) | Strategic Business Leader (SBL) | Strategic Business Reporting (SBR) | Advanced Financial Management (AFM) | Advanced Performance Management (APM) | Advanced Taxation (ATX) | Advanced Audit and Assurance (AAA)
What’s the format of the ACCA AA exam?
Here’s a quick summary of the AA exam format, which helps you know what you’re up against. Full detail is also available directly on ACCA’s own AA exam support page.
| Section | Question type | Marks | Time budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section A | 3 case scenarios, each with 5 objective test (OT) questions worth 2 marks | 30 | ~54 minutes, ~3.6 minutes per question |
| Section B | 3 constructed response (CR) questions: one worth 30 marks, two worth 20 marks each | 70 | ~126 minutes: ~54 minutes for the 30-mark question, ~36 minutes for each 20-mark question |
AA runs for 3 hours and runs quarterly (March, June, September, December). The pass mark is a fixed 50%. Unlike PM, TX or FR, AA has no separate mixed OT-and-CR section; Section A is pure objective test and Section B is entirely written. AA also builds directly on FR and LW, since auditors examine financial statements prepared under FR’s standards within LW’s legal framework.
What are the most effective ACCA AA exam tips?
| ACCA AA Tips | Why |
|---|---|
| Identify the actual deficiency or risk behind a scenario fact, not the fact itself | Copying a fact from the scenario, such as “temporary staff are paid in cash,” scores nothing on its own. Credit only follows once you state what is actually wrong or missing. |
| Treat one scenario fact or ratio movement as one risk or deficiency, never split it into two | A single issue, such as a receivables collection period increase plus looser credit terms, is only credited once. Candidates who double up lose the time spent without gaining marks. |
| Make every explanation specific, naming the exact financial statement balance and direction affected | Generic statements like “this could lead to fraud or error” earn nothing across deficiencies, audit risks, and ethical threats. |
| Keep responses and recommendations in the voice the requirement asks for | Management actions, such as “recruit a replacement financial controller,” are marked down when the requirement calls for an auditor’s response. |
| Never rely on “discuss with management” or “increase professional scepticism” alone | Both are capped at half a mark unless you specify exactly what is being asked of management or what additional procedure the increased scepticism translates into. |
| Distinguish a test of control from a substantive procedure before writing anything | This is one of the most consistently penalised mix-ups across every session studied. Reviewing authorisation or observing a process tests a control; it doesn’t provide substantive evidence over a balance. |
| Give recommendations and safeguards as complete actions, not restated objectives | Phrases like “ensure that…” or a half-finished fix earn only partial credit. |
| Read every part of a multi-part requirement in full, and treat capitalised words as binding instructions | Keywords like VALUATION, BEFORE and DURING, or a specific formula given in the requirement, restrict which points earn credit. Procedures outside that scope score zero even if well written. |
| Name a specific source document and its purpose in every substantive procedure | “Review disclosures” without saying which balance or for what purpose caps a test at half a mark. |
| Use the correct terminology in auditor’s report questions | It’s the opinion, not the report, that is modified, and “unqualified” should be “unmodified.” |
What do examiners flag for each part of the ACCA AA syllabus?
| ACCA AA Topic | Topic-specific Tips |
|---|---|
| Components of internal control (ISA 315) | Describe each component tied to its actual function, since restating the name (e.g. “risk assessment relates to assessing risk”) is circular and scores nothing. The information system and communication component means records of transactions, not IT infrastructure. |
| Direct controls and tests of control | A control must be complete to count. A credit limit being set is not a control until authorisation and regular review by a responsible official is added, and “agree GDN to sales invoice” only tests matching, not that a control preventing mismatches exists. |
| Control deficiencies and recommendations | Only flag what’s genuinely missing or wrong, not normal business practice like retail customers paying cash. Where the scenario is silent on a step, such as a report generated but never reviewed, that silence is the deficiency. |
| Audit risk identification | Use ratio results together with scenario narrative to build one risk, not two. A new client, unusual estimates, or reliance on internal or other auditors are recurring, under-used risk sources. |
| Audit risk explanation and response | State the direction of misstatement only where the scenario supports one direction, and give the auditor’s response as an approach with a source, not a management fix. Rank third-party confirmation above verbal management assertions. |
| Ethical threats and safeguards | Identify both the issue and the specific threat category, such as self-interest, familiarity, or self-review; one without the other earns nothing. Treat resignation as a last resort, not a default safeguard. |
| Corporate governance deficiencies | State the real governance flaw, not the restated scenario fact, for example “re-election is not frequent enough” rather than “directors are re-elected on rotation.” |
| Substantive procedures: revenue and income | Tailor procedures to the entity, since rote-learned GDN and sales invoice tests fail for a not-for-profit or service organisation. Use proof-in-total analytics built from scenario data, and test cut-off from the correct source document for the entity type. |
| Substantive procedures: trade vs other receivables | Keep trade receivables tests on the year-end balance, not revenue. For non-trade receivables like insurance claims, apply first principles, and never propose a confirmation the scenario has already ruled out. |
| Substantive procedures: payroll | Specify both source documents for net pay testing, payroll records and the bank ledger or statements, and keep tests to items the scenario actually mentions. |
| Substantive procedures: PPE, WIP and inventory valuation | When scoped to a single assertion such as VALUATION, test only that scope. Verify each cost element and the percentage of completion separately, and keep net realisable value tests detailed. |
| Substantive procedures: purchases and other expenses | Use goods received notes, not purchase invoices, for cut-off testing, and agree totals to the purchases listing rather than the payables ledger. |
| Substantive procedures: bank loans | Decompose the year-end balance into proceeds, interest, and capital repaid, and test each separately, then recalculate the current and non-current split for a multi-year loan. |
| Inventory counts | Split “before” and “during” cleanly if asked for both. Reviewing count instructions means checking their adequacy, not just obtaining them, and inspection or test counts are preferred over observation. |
| Continuous (perpetual) inventory systems | Where counting has moved from year-end to continuous, generate both tests of control over the counting process and substantive procedures for year-end reliance, using every scenario detail as a distinct source. |
| Going concern procedures | Combine scenario-specific procedures, such as covenant reviews and bank correspondence, with standard ones like cash flow forecast review. Never list going concern indicators in place of procedures. |
| Going concern: auditor’s report impact | Structure around adequate versus inadequate disclosure: adequate gets an unmodified opinion plus a material uncertainty paragraph cross-referenced to the note, while inadequate is a material misstatement leading to a modified opinion. |
| Subsequent events (IAS 10) | Decide adjusting versus non-adjusting first, calculate materiality using the correct unrecognised amount, then state clearly whether the financial statements need amending and how. |
| Auditor’s reports and modifications | Name the specific type of opinion, qualified, adverse, or disclaimer, and whether it stems from a material misstatement or an inability to obtain evidence. Never default to generic “qualified report” language. |
| Assurance engagements framework | Know the five elements: subject matter, responsible party, user, criteria, and assurance report. Reviews providing limited assurance rely on inquiry and analytical procedures only, expressed as a negative conclusion, never tests of control. |
| Auditor’s responsibilities for fraud (ISA 240) | Keep answers strictly to the auditor’s responsibilities, not management’s, or to reporting and public interest considerations, which are separate topics. |
| Purposes of audit documentation (ISA 230) | Answer the purpose of documenting audit work, not what the documents contain or how oral evidence compares to written evidence. |
| Outsourcing the internal audit function | Keep advantages and disadvantages to the company’s own perspective. Confidentiality risk and lack of industry knowledge are not valid disadvantages; the real loss is of in-house knowledge of the company’s own systems. |
| Evidence reliability ranking | Rank auditor-generated evidence highest, then relevant client-generated documents, then less-relevant client-generated documents, and verbal evidence lowest. |
FAQs
AA’s pass rate has sat between 43%-47% over the last 5 exams, the latest June 2026 pass rate is 47%. See our ACCA pass rates breakdown for how this compares across every paper.
Copying a fact directly from the scenario instead of stating the actual risk, deficiency, or ethical threat behind it. Examiners repeatedly flag this mistake across every question type, since restating what’s already given earns no credit on its own, however accurately it’s copied.
AA has 18 questions in total: 15 objective test questions across 3 cases in Section A, and 3 constructed response questions in Section B. All questions are compulsory.
Yes. AA provides the foundation for Advanced Audit and Assurance (AAA) at Strategic Professional level.
ACCA recommends having strong knowledge of Strategic Business Reporting (SBR) before or alongside AAA, since auditing financial statements at that level assumes advanced accounting knowledge.
AA has only two sections instead of three, and 70% of its marks come from constructed response writing rather than a smaller 40% share. There’s no dedicated objective test section covering Section C-style content; Section A is fully OT and Section B is fully written.
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