How Hard Is ACCA BT? Pass Rate

How hard is ACCA Business and Technology?

BT is the business and people exam at the start of the ACCA route. ACCA's pass rates of 87% to 89% over the last five sessions mean most candidates pass, but it still covers a wide syllabus in two hours.

Pass mark	50%
Recent pass rates	87% to 89% (June 2024 to June 2026)
Length	2 hours, 100 marks
Questions	All compulsory

Pass mark

50%

Recent pass rates

87% to 89% (June 2024 to June 2026)

Length

2 hours, 100 marks

Questions

All compulsory

What makes it demanding

Breadth: six syllabus sections, from the economy and stakeholders to internal controls, leadership, communication and ethics.
Close options: many questions turn on the difference between two similar models or terms, so half-remembered theory loses marks.
The clock: 100 marks in 120 minutes is 1.2 minutes a mark, or about 2.4 minutes for a 2-mark question.
Section B: one 4-mark multi-task question on every section, each applying the ideas to a short case.

What makes it manageable

The 50% pass mark leaves room for mistakes, there is little calculation, and the same models come up again and again: Mendelow, Porter, Handy, Belbin, Tuckman, Maslow, Herzberg and the ethical principles. Once those are secure, most questions become routine.

Where to start

The free diagnostic asks one question on every topic of the syllabus, then shows the topic to fix first and a short lesson on it.

Try 3 questions

Question 1 · Section A · Syllabus D2, D32 marks

Groups and teams

The board of Selby Co has worked together for many years and is very close-knit. While planning an overseas expansion, the directors dismissed a junior analyst's warning about currency risk without discussing it, each kept private doubts to themselves to preserve harmony, and all were sure the plan could not fail.

Which feature of group behaviour does this describe? (2 marks)

Lack of team identityGroupthinkRole ambiguityRisky shift

Question 2 · Section A · Syllabus D4, D5, D61 mark

Motivation, learning and appraisal

In Kolb's experiential learning cycle, which stage follows abstract conceptualisation? (1 mark)

Active experimentationConcrete experienceValidationIdentifying training needs

Question 3 · Section A · Syllabus A4, A52 marks

The economic environment

Electric bicycles are a normal good.

Which of the following would shift the demand curve for electric bicycles to the right? (2 marks)

A fall in the price of electric bicyclesA new tax on makers of electric bicyclesA rise in the cost of the batteries used to make themA rise in consumers' incomes

Questions people ask

Is ACCA BT hard?

Most candidates pass: ACCA's pass rates were 87% to 89% over the last five sessions. It is broad rather than deep, and the pass mark is 50%.

Is there much calculation in BT?

Little. The exam tests knowledge of business, people, controls and ethics, and some comprehension or application of it. The economics topics include ideas such as elasticity of demand.

Do I have to take BT before other exams?

ACCA recommends taking its Foundations in Accountancy exams in order but says this is not mandatory.