Why is P1 a core ACCA subject?

loveacca

I am currently studying P1 and wondering why it is core while the likes of Financial Management and tax are optional? surely a qualified accountant should have some idea on Tax whereas Corporate Governance is only relevant in the PLC world

Cookie_Monster

Cororate Gov and ethics are key to everything you do in accounting. If you are not going to be honest and see when people are trying to do something dodgy then there is no point doing accounting at all.

With all the recent scandals ACCA have to be seen doing something to reinforce the message to their members.

Tax or audit are highly specialised subjects that in general, generally qualified accountants should not be doing, properly trained people with tax or audit qualifications should be. they are options so if you have an interest you can do them and decide to move on further or have enough knowledge to do it for small firms.

P1 is a paper that will tell you a great deal about yourself as a person rather than just an accountant also. how you answer the exam & ethics module or questions in class will generally be a reflection of how you think ethically as a person. IMO it is a vital part of ACCA (and a very easy exam to boot)

loveacca

Thanks Cookie Monster, glad to hear it is an easy exam. It is a kind of subject more at home in a college environment where you have time to think about yourself and world and that sort of nice stuff. However IMO with the professional exams we should be studying more of the hard stuff