ACCA AA 2026: How to Write Audit Procedures That Actually Score Marks

Six words is the difference between half a mark and a full one. "Review the receivables for accuracy" scores almost nothing. The examiner has said it for years, yet AA candidates keep writing procedures that are too vague to test anything.

Why your procedures score half marks

The AA examining team's complaint is consistent across sessions: candidates rote-learn a set of standard tests and reproduce them for every requirement without checking they fit the scenario. Generic lists generate very few marks. A procedure has to be specific enough that an audit junior could pick it up and actually do it — that means naming the source document and the action.

The scoring is brutal on vagueness. "Review disclosures" earns roughly half a mark. Adding four words — "in accordance with the relevant accounting standard" — turns it into a full mark. Same idea, double the credit, because now it says what the disclosure is being checked against.

The second habit that bleeds marks: mixing up tests of controls and substantive procedures. A test of control checks whether a control operated (did someone authorise the order?). A substantive procedure tests the number itself (is the balance correct?). When the requirement asks for one and you write the other, you score zero — regardless of how detailed your answer is.

Wrong answer vs right answer

Requirement: Describe a substantive procedure to confirm sales cut-off.

Wrong (½ mark or nil): "Check the sales are recorded in the right year."

Right (full mark): "Select a sample of goods despatched notes raised either side of the year end, trace them to sales invoices and the sales ledger, and confirm the sale was recorded in the correct accounting period."

The right version names the source document (goods despatched note), states the action (trace to invoice and ledger), and ties it to the assertion (cut-off). That is what a mark looks like. Notice it also starts with a strong verb — "select", "trace", "confirm" — not a weak one like "review" or "check", which the examiner repeatedly flags as too passive to earn credit on their own.

What to do

Use the verb + document + reason formula. Every procedure should have an action verb, a specific document or record, and the reason you are doing it. If any of the three is missing, it is not yet a full-mark answer. Write it out until the structure is automatic.

Label the column before you write. Before answering, write "ToC" or "Substantive" at the top of your plan so you never drift into the wrong type. It costs ten seconds and protects the whole requirement.

Tailor to the scenario, not the topic. The marks are for procedures that use the specific figures, systems and risks in this company. A pre-memorised inventory list applied to a receivables question is worth almost nothing.

The bottom line

AA sat at a 46% pass rate in December 2025 — one of the toughest at Applied Skills level. The gap is rarely knowledge; it is precision. Candidates who fail usually knew the procedure but wrote it too loosely to bank the mark. Say what to look at, where to find it, and why. Do that every time and the marks are already yours.