Can you Do ACCA after a Law Degree? Eligibility & Career

By IIC Lakshya

13 Sep 2025

Can you Do ACCA after a Law Degree? Eligibility & Career

Are you a corporate law student aiming to pursue the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) course? Want to learn the practicality of the situation and how both certifications will benefit your career? Here we are with the eligibility criteria, duration of the courses and the career scope.

Key Differences Between ACCA and Law

The two qualifications are quite different from each other; ACCA is a qualification, while Law is a degree. The ACCA scope and job opportunities are very different from Law career opportunities. If you are planning to combine them, it can be a powerful step towards creating a valuable and efficient resume.

On the one hand, ACCA is about accounting and finance. While LLB is about law, corporate, business, and other areas. Very different from one another, you have to establish a schedule, learn about schedules, exam papers, and others to check how they enhance your career.

ACCA as a qualification is much more flexible and diverse when it comes to job opportunities. It has better career options to choose from and worldwide recognition. It works well with other business degrees, like an MBA. Additionally, it also covers certain law aspects that are common with a Law qualification.

Eligibility

To get admission in the entrance exam of ACCA, you need to have completed class 12 or similar qualifications. You can start your ACCA course right after you have completed your 12th Commerce certification. You also need to be 18 years old. Now, if you already have a law degree, it means that you meet the educational requirements for the ACCA certification course.

It is not mandatory to have a maths or commerce background; however, it would be better if you have basic knowledge in mathematics or accounting when completing your law degree. This way, law students can apply for the ACCA certification.

Duration

Before you apply for the ACCA qualification, you need to learn the different levels. Accordingly, the exam papers are divided into levels. The three levels in which the structure of the ACCA course is divided are as follows:

3 papers in Applied Knowledge
6 papers in Applied Skills
4 papers in Strategic Professional

If you pursue the course full-time or while working, you can finish the course in 2 to 3 years. Most candidates, on average, can finish the course faster if they manage the papers efficiently, along with calculating the exemptions.

You will probably get an exemption in one ACCA paper if you already have a Law degree. For that, you need to know how the exemption calculator for ACCA works. So, prepare for all 13 papers and complete them at the earliest.

Career Scope

Getting an ACCA qualification can immensely help you in your career growth. You become a uniquely skilled and qualified professional when you combine a Law degree with ACCA certification. The profile of the candidate with both these qualifications becomes highly valuable as it is quite rare, especially when it comes to the following roles:

Corporate structuring
Taxation
International business law
Regulatory finance

These job roles, along with higher salary prospects, are present abroad. If you visit any of the following countries, like Singapore, the UAE, the EU and the UK, you will see that the ACCA qualification is highly recognized.

Benefits of ACCA with LLB

When you combine the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree, it is a strategic choice. The combination is valuable in different fields and it makes your resume more versatile. If you are a working Law professional, you need to balance your work and ACCA preparations strategically.

You get to pursue careers in tax law, corporate law, and compliance, as the legal and accounting knowledge is equally beneficial. Additionally, with ACCA certification added to your Law-certified resume, you develop multidisciplinary skills that employers often seek in their candidates.

Both qualifications can increase your job opportunities because you now have multidisciplinary skills. Additionally, both these qualifications are quite demand in the job market.

Are you Ready to Pursue ACCA as an LLB?

If you have a clear goal to achieve for your career in the future, and that includes both the legal and the financial aspects, this is ideal for you. When targeting job positions in areas like financial compliance and corporate law, the combination of ACCA with Law is effective. Yes, there will be challenges involved, but if you are committed, the overall benefits will be huge.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How many papers are exempted in ACCA after LLB?

Most likely, there are 1 or 2 papers where you can get exemptions if pursuing ACCA; however, consider all 13 papers when preparing. It is due to the law degree that there is less chance of having common elements in the syllabus.

What is better, ACCA or law?

We cannot choose because the papers are completely different, and it depends on your career goals. For example, if you are interested in accounting or finance, you can choose ACCA. If you want to become a lawyer or want to work in the corporate sector, you can choose Law.

Can I do law after ACCA?

You can study law after ACCA rather a lot of ACCA professionals pursue LLM or LLB degree to work in areas such as tax law or compliance, and corporate law. Additionally, many countries allow exemptions or offer accelerated law degrees if you already have a professional qualification.

What is the salary of an ACCA LLB?

When you qualify for ACCA and the LLB, your salary will be quite high. Your experience, role, and location also influence your salary as a tax consultant, forensic accountant with a legal focus, compliance officer, or corporate lawyer with ACCA.

What is the 7-year rule in ACCA?

The 7-year rule is that you have 7 years to complete all remaining Strategic Professional exams once you pass your first Strategic Professional paper. Additionally, your passed paper will expire if you do not complete all your papers within 7 years, and then you will need to retake it. For Applied skills or knowledge levels, the rule does not apply.