How Hard Is ACCA Corporate and Business Law?

How hard is ACCA Corporate and Business Law?

Corporate and Business Law has no written answers, but it asks for exact rules across a wide syllabus: the right notice period, the right majority, the right order of payment.

Pass mark	50%
Length	2 hours, 100 marks
Question types	Objective test and multi-task questions only
Questions	All compulsory

Pass mark

50%

Length

2 hours, 100 marks

Question types

Objective test and multi-task questions only

Questions

All compulsory

What makes it demanding

Exact rules: many options differ only in a threshold, such as 75% against a simple majority, or 21 days against 14.
Neighbouring rules: the wrong option is often the rule from a different procedure, such as a members' voluntary liquidation in place of a creditors'.
Breadth: eight areas, from precedent and contract to directors, share capital, insolvency and insider dealing.
The clock: 100 marks in 120 minutes is 1.2 minutes a mark.

What makes it manageable

The 50% pass mark leaves room for mistakes and there are no written answers. In our view, once the key sections of the Companies Act and the main contract rules 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 B32 marks

Breach of contract and remedies

Jarrow plc wrongfully refused to take 1,000 units it had agreed to buy from Kelso plc at £50 each. On the day of the refusal the market price was £48 a unit, and Kelso could have sold the units at once to another buyer at that price, but refused. A month later the market had fallen and Kelso sold them for £40 each.

What damages can Kelso recover from Jarrow? (2 marks)

£2,000: the loss it would have suffered had it sold at £48Nothing, because it failed to mitigate its loss£10,000: the difference between £50 and the £40 it received£50,000: the full contract price

Question 2 · Section A · Syllabus C22 marks

Dismissal and redundancy

Kemi's contract with Dunmore Ltd entitles her to eight weeks' notice, and she has worked there for four years. Dunmore Ltd dismisses her without notice for a reason unconnected with her conduct. Three weeks later she starts a new job at the same net pay as before.

If Kemi sues Dunmore Ltd for wrongful dismissal, what is the measure of her damages? (2 marks)

Nothing, because she has found new workHer net pay for three weeks, because she must mitigate her lossHer net pay for four weeks, the statutory minimum noticeA basic award of four weeks' pay, one for each year of service

Question 3 · Section A · Syllabus E32 marks

Capital maintenance and dividends

Cresswell Ltd is a private company with no parent company. It lends £40,000 to Dev, who is not a director, so that Dev can buy shares in Cresswell Ltd from another member.

Is the loan prohibited financial assistance under the Companies Act 2006? (2 marks)

No: the prohibition applies to assistance for acquiring shares in a public companyYes, unless the members approve it by special resolution with a solvency statementNo, but only because the loan is under £50,000; a larger loan by any company for that purpose would be prohibitedYes: no company may give financial assistance for the purchase of its own shares

Questions people ask

Is ACCA Corporate and Business Law hard?

It is broad rather than deep. There are no written answers, but the options turn on exact rules, and the pass mark is 50%.

Are there written questions?

No. ACCA's study guide describes a two-hour computer-based objective test examination, with no constructed response questions.

Are all the questions compulsory?

Yes. ACCA's study guide says all questions are compulsory.

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