Which ACCA paper to do next?
Here's some advice from years of teaching all papers..
Do 1 paper per exam session
Take an advantage of having 4 sessions per year and take only 1 Exam a session.
Do FR before AA
Just because you will feel more comfortable with some audit risks
FM and SBR have very large syllabi - be aware when choosing these with other papers
This is especially true of FM now it is MCQ partially. This means periphery syllabus areas are now examined
Do AFM (if you must) as soon as possible after FM
They link beautifully together - though AFM is extremely tough at first
APM is technically easier than AFM
However APM relies on PM knowledge which will be long forgotten by now! :)
AFM is very technical and is quite a specialised area
Do SBR as soon as possible after FR
There is a lot of common ground, but you will find the groups techniques particularly useful again
Do AAA as soon as possible after SBR
This is really, really helpful as the basic principles of SBR standards (not calculations though) are all vital in AAA
AAA needs a rethink of your technique and thus more time
As mentioned earlier it builds on SBR (and AA) and needs to be done asap after SBR particularly - however do be aware that the technique for this paper is vastly different
The examiner expects are a far greater range of points and thus knowledge than any of the other papers - so its a proper combination of lots of knowledge work and application skills
Therefore be wary of doing this alongside more than 1 other paper
Whatever you choose we hope this has helped your thinking a little - they're not meant to be rules, rather just things for you to consider when choosing
Don't forget you have the opportunity to take exams in March, June, September and December - so 1 each session and working hard is a good plan
Keep in touch
Best Wishes
Team aCOWtancy