Management Accounting (MA)
150 questions mapped to the official ACCA MA syllabus (S26-A27). Mix of narrative and calculation questions covering costing, budgeting, variance analysis and performance measurement. Filter by section, work at your own pace, see explanations for every answer, or switch to Exam Sim mode for a timed MA mock exam under real exam conditions.
→ MA Common Mistakes & Examiner Insights: the errors the examiner flags every sitting.
→ ACCA MA Pass Rate: 65% at the most recent reported sitting, and what that figure actually reflects.
The MA exam format
2 hours, 100 marks in total. All questions are compulsory. The pass mark is 50%.
| Section A | 35 objective test questions worth 2 marks each | 70 marks |
|---|---|---|
| Section B | 3 multi-task questions worth 10 marks each, one each on budgeting, standard costing and performance measurement | 30 marks |
Source: the official ACCA syllabus and study guide for this paper. Always check the current version on the ACCA website before you sit.
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↓ Download PDFSample MA questions
Three questions from this bank, each with its answer and worked explanation. The quiz above draws from all 150.
A business uses FIFO to value its inventory. Prices have been rising steadily throughout the year. Compared to using the AVCO method, which of the following statements about the effect on reported profit and closing inventory is correct?
- Profit will be lower and closing inventory will be lower under FIFO
- Profit will be higher but closing inventory will be lower under FIFO
- Profit will be higher and closing inventory will be higher under FIFO
- Profit will be lower but closing inventory will be higher under FIFO
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. When prices are rising, FIFO issues the oldest (cheaper) inventory first, so cost of sales is lower and closing inventory is valued at more recent (higher) prices. Compared to AVCO — which uses an average price — FIFO produces lower cost of sales, higher profit, and higher closing inventory value. This is a classic exam scenario: the direction of the price movement determines which method gives higher profit and inventory figures.
When preparing a budget, an organisation identifies that machine capacity limits production to 80,000 units per year, while market demand could absorb 120,000 units. What is the principal budget factor, and which budget should be prepared first?
- Sales demand is the principal budget factor; the sales budget should be prepared first
- Machine capacity is the principal budget factor; the sales budget should be prepared first
- Labour availability is the principal budget factor; the labour budget should be prepared first
- Machine capacity is the principal budget factor; the production budget should be prepared first
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. The principal budget factor (also called the key budget factor or limiting factor) is the constraint that restricts the organisation's activity. Here, machine capacity at 80,000 units constrains output — demand is not the limiting factor. Once the principal budget factor is identified, that budget is prepared first, since all other budgets must be built around it. The production budget (constrained by machine capacity) is therefore prepared before the sales budget. This is a key conceptual point the examiner tests regularly.
A manufacturing company measures 'the percentage of orders delivered on time' as a key performance indicator. Under the balanced scorecard framework, which perspective does this measure relate to?
- Internal business process perspective
- Financial perspective
- Customer perspective
- Innovation and learning perspective
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. The balanced scorecard has four perspectives: Financial (profit, ROI, cash flow), Customer (satisfaction, retention, delivery, market share), Internal business process (efficiency, quality, cycle time), and Innovation and learning (employee development, systems capability). On-time delivery is a measure of what customers experience — it directly reflects service quality as perceived by the customer, making it a customer perspective measure. An internal process measure might be 'production cycle time' — the internal activity that drives the delivery performance the customer sees.
About this question bank
150 questions across 6 syllabus sections, each mapped to a reference in the official ACCA syllabus for MA and each with a worked explanation. 94 are multiple choice and 56 are numerical, where you work the answer out before choosing it.
- Written to the ACCA syllabus and study guide for exams from September 2026 to August 2027.
- Spotted a mistake? Report it and it will be corrected.
| Syllabus section | Questions |
|---|---|
| A: Management information | 13 |
| B: Data analysis | 22 |
| C: Cost accounting | 38 |
| D: Budgeting | 32 |
| E: Standard costing | 22 |
| F: Performance | 23 |