ACCA Business and Technology (BT) is a foundation paper that gives you an overview of the business world. You'll gain a better understanding of the world you'll work in as an accountant, as well as the business and accounting terminology you'll need.
This is an Applied Knowledge paper, which is the ACCA qualification's first – and easiest – module. There are four modules in total, plus your professional experience requirement, to become an ACCA member:
Applied Knowledge:
- Business and Technology (BT)
- Management Accounting
- Financial Accounting
As you can see, the ACCA Business and Technology (BT) paper is the first of the ACCA qualifications. You can take your ACCA exams in any order within each module, so one of the three papers you sit first will be ACCA Business and Technology (BT).
In fact, we usually advise students to take the ACCA Business and Technology (BT) exam first, then the ACCA Financial Accounting exam, and finally the ACCA Management Accountant exam.
The ACCA Business and Technology (BT) paper is one of the less difficult ACCA papers, with consistently higher pass rates:
The biggest mistake you can make with ACCA Business and Technology (BT) is to underestimate the paper, according to experts. These pass rates are higher than those of other papers, but not by much. Every year, thousands of students fail the ACCA Business and Technology (BT) exam.
How to Pass ACCA Business and Technology (BT): Exam Format
The format of all three Applied Knowledge papers is the same. You have two hours to complete your ACCA Business and Technology (BT) exam, which is worth 100 points. The passing percentage is 50%.
This should serve as further evidence that this is a difficult paper. Although the majority of people pass, many of the scores will be in the 50s, 51s, and 52s. This means that nearly half of all ACCA Business and Technology (BT) marks are missed, even by those who pass. Would you hire a brain surgeon with a 51% passing rate on their brain surgery exams?
But, whatever. Returning to the exam format.
-
The
ACCA Business and Technology (BT)
is divided into two sections:
- Section A — Objective Test Questions (OTs)
- Section B — Multi-task Questions (MTQs)
This differs from the previous exam format, which was used in 2014 for the old ACCA F1 paper, which consisted of one section with 50 questions worth two marks each.
Section A is, as you can see from the image, the largest section on the paper in some ways. Section A accounts for 76 percent of the total marks, with 30 questions worth two points and 16 questions worth one point each.
Section B accounts for the final 24% of total marks available, with six multi-task questions worth four points each.
It's important to note that the ACCA Business and Technology (BT) exam is no longer available as a paper-based exam. For several years, the ACCA has been following a paper-based phase-out program, with on-demand CBEs now being used for these exams all over the world.
This is better for you because you can take the exam whenever you want throughout the year (“on-demand”) and because the papers are auto-marked, you can see your results right away.
Let's take a closer look at the different types of questions so you can figure out how to pass the ACCA Business and Technology (BT) exam.
How to Pass ACCA Business and Technology (BT): Objective Test Questions
Each objective test question is a single or two-mark question that is related to a single scenario.
One-mark questions are typically shorter and lack, or almost lack, a background statement. Two-mark questions will probably provide you with a little more of a scenario or background statement to work with. There is no partial marking, so you can only get a two (if everything is correct) or a zero on a two-mark question (if anything is incorrect).
There are multiple-choice, multiple-response, and multiple-response matching questions, as well as multiple-choice, multiple-response, and multiple-response, multiple-response, and multiple-response, multiple-response, and multiple-response, multiple-response (where you match questions to answers). Here's an illustration of each:
How to Pass ACCA Business and Technology (BT): Multi-Task Questions
As the name implies, multi-task questions have multiple tasks for you to complete. These exercises can be related to one or more scenarios and include a variety of question types.
Unlike Section A, Section B allows partial marking, so if you get three parts of a four-part answer correct, you can get 1.5 out of two marks. Multiple choice, multiple response, and multiple response matching, as well as number entry, hotspot, and gap-fill, are all examples of these.
- Number entry – Fill in the blanks with a numerical answer. You'll be told exactly what format your response needs to be in. These are uncommon in this paper, but you might come across one.
- Choose a point on an image as your answer for the hotspot. When you hover over an area, the cursor will show a "X." Simply place the X in the appropriate location on the diagram.
- By clicking on the gap and selecting a response from the dropdown box, you can complete sentences (fill gaps) that appear in a given text.
Here's an example of a question with a hotspot and a gap to fill:
Hotspot
How to Pass ACCA Business and Technology (BT): Syllabus Guide
The purpose of the ACCA Business and Technology (BT) paper is to assist you in comprehending the business environment. You'll discover how different organizations can be structured, as well as the importance of accounting and other key business functions in running a successful, efficient, and ethical company.
ACCA Business and Technology (BT) is designed for students with no prior business experience, so it's a great place to start even if you don't know much about business.
You'll learn about the various types of businesses that exist, why they exist, and how they're structured. You'll learn how different stakeholders, people, and systems interact within the company, as well as how external factors affect the company.
You'll also learn about important issues that businesses must consider in order to operate efficiently, such as productivity, team behavior, and motivation.
Six key learning objectives are listed in the ACCA Business and Technology (BT) study guide:
How to pass ACCA Business and Technology (BT): Study Tips
Many of these tips will come up again and again as you progress through your ACCA. Adopt them now and form good habits from ACCA Business and Technology (BT) onwards, and your journey to full ACCA qualification will be much less stressful.
#1 – Leave longer than you think
Don't underestimate ACCA Business and Technology (BT) because it's one of the easier papers, as we've already stated. It's still not "simple." Students who leave too little time to study are one example of this attitude.
If you want to pass the ACCA Business and Technology (BT) exam the first time, you must schedule enough study time. We recommend devoting 12 weeks to each paper, with at least some study time every day. That may appear simple at first, but it becomes difficult as you fall behind, especially if you are also studying and working.
Overlearning is one of the best-proven ways to pass your exams, and it's backed up by science.
Many studies have shown that learning beyond initial proficiency – as the old adage goes – is extremely effective because your knowledge becomes automatic. You'll spend less time trying to remember the answer and more time thinking critically and solving problems – all the good stuff that helps you pass exams.
To put this into practice, experts recommend devoting at least 25% of your total study time after you've mastered the material. What's more, guess what? That will take some time.
#2 – Don’t combine papers
If you believe ACCA Business and Technology (BT) will be simple, you may be tempted to combine it with another paper and take it all at once. You think to yourself, "I'll pass both now and be on my way to full ACCA qualification sooner."
But it doesn't work that way. Because that usually means you aren't giving yourself enough time to properly study each syllabus, and as a result, you will fail. Then you have resits, which further complicates the situation, and you lose confidence, time, and create additional stress for yourself.
We advise students to take one paper per sitting; however, the ACCA now offers four sittings per year. That is, in our opinion, the quickest and least stressful way to pass the ACCA Business and Technology (BT) exam.
#3 – Study the full syllabus
The syllabus for the ACCA Business and Technology (BT) is very broad, and the questions are designed to test you in as many areas as possible.
You are very likely to lose marks in the exam if you do not cover the entire syllabus in your studies. When a large number of students pass with scores of 50, 51, and 52, those marks can mean the difference between passing and failing the ACCA Business and Technology (BT) exam.
#4 – Create a study plan
The best way to stay on track with your studies is to make a study plan that outlines which aspects of ACCA Business and Technology (BT) to focus on and when. This will give you confidence that you're covering all of the material and ensure that you don't run out of time for practice questions and a mock paper near the end of your studies.
#5 – Test yourself
Throughout your ACCA journey, you'll hear us say it a lot: practicing questions is the most important study technique you have. That is equally true for passing ACCA Business and Technology (BT) as it is for the later papers.
The most effective method of studying is self-testing (not just reading and writing notes, but actively testing your knowledge without looking at the notes). Self-testing is also backed by science, as it is based on the retrieval practice principle, which states that repeated self-testing improves memory significantly.
Self-testing can include practice questions, but you can also put yourself to the test by explaining your notes to a friend rather than reading them, or by hiding your flashcards and trying to remember what's on them.
Do you remember how your brain hurts when you're trying to remember something? With self-testing, you're aiming for that.
#6 – Understand how you learn
People learn in different ways. Understanding how you learn and structuring sessions that work for you is a good habit to get into from ACCA Business and Technology (BT) and throughout the rest of your exams.
Kinaesthetic learners, for example, will learn in a very different way than auditory learners. Alternatively, some people learn best in a group setting, while others learn best on their own. Not sure which option is best for you?
#7 – Create a learning environment
Some people prefer to study in a coffee shop, while others require the quiet of a library. For different people, different strokes are used. However, there are a few guidelines to follow in order to create an environment in which you can study ACCA Business and Technology (BT) effectively and increase your chances of passing.
F1 (BT)
Quiz
As Per Exam Format
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