[Mochamoo]

Accountancy Qualifications

More frequently now, employers look to recruit people who have practical industry experience combined with accounting qualifications.
Having the right qualifications for YOU is vital; forget prestige and what your friends are doing.

Think about where you want your career to go and how you want to go forward.
Do you want to be an Auditor? Do you want to be a Tax specialist? Do you want to be a Finance Director? Do you want to be an Analyst? Have you spoken to people who have done these roles? Have you spoken to a recruitment consultant in you area about the availability of these positions in your area?
Did you know that whilst Practice is very prestigious most people leave because there is no sense of seeing a job through from start to finish and they are bored?

Now I’ve seen several people asking about this and it can be confusing when you are going through the websites and trying to find out more about the courses.
Studying is a long-term investment in your career and will show potential employers that you are committed to progressing.

What course do you take?
Deciding what course to take depends on what your motivations are and what your long term career goals are. I have outlined some of the course information below, please note the examples of syllabus are just that… examples ….they change year on year.

Your Employer
Before you start a course or before you take a new job think about the following;
Will your employer offer you monetary support in your studies?
Will your employer allow you time off? (Study Leave)
Is this course going help me in the future?

AAT - Association of Accounting Technicians
ACCA - Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
ATT - Association of Tax Technicians
CIMA - Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
CTA - Chartered Tax Advisor
ACA - Association of Chartered Accountants:

• ICAEW - Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
• ICAS - Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland

AAT - Association of Accounting Technicians - www.aat.co.uk

AAT is a worldwide professional organisation with links to the four main UK accounting bodies, this is a good first qualification for those who want to start their career in accounting.

AAT is a mix of practical experience and exams; it offers a flexible way of completing the course via distance learning, evening classes or days out of the office.


AAT is flexible and can be tailored to your individual needs. You are able to decide whether to do individual or groups of units from the scheme. It's not compulsory to complete an entire level as you will gain recognition for each unit achieved.

The scheme has three stages:

Foundation - NVQ/SVQ in Accounting, level 2
Intermediate - NVQ/SVQ in Accounting, level 3
Technician - NVQ/SVQ in Accounting, level 4

Each level represents a qualification in its own right, and a certificate will be awarded for each level completed.


ACCA - Association of Chartered Certified Accountants - www.uk.accaglobal.com

To qualify, you will take 3 levels of examinations and complete a minimum of 3 years experience in accounting or an accounting related area. Most people complete the course in 3 years but it can be extended to 10 years after which you would become time barred.

Example of Syllabus breakdown is as follows:

Part 1
Preparing Financial Statements
Financial Information for Management
Managing People

Part 2
Information Systems
Corporate and Business Law
Business Taxation
Financial Management and Control
Financial Reporting
Audit and Internal Review

Part 3
Any two of the following:
Audit and Assurance Services
Advanced Taxation
Performance Management
Business Information Management

And all three Core Papers:
Strategic Business Planning and Development
Advanced Corporate Reporting
Strategic Financial Management

CIMA - Chartered Institute of Management Accountants - www.cimaglobal.com

The CIMA qualification has a strong strategic and financial management focus.

You have to take 3 levels of examinations and complete 3 years of practical experience with an employer. There are certain exemptions available dependent on the accountancy qualifications you already posses, the CIMA website lists all of these. CIMA is relevant for non accountants as well especially business management it has little association with Tax and Audit and would not be relevant for people specializing in Audit or Tax.

Example of syllabus breakdown is as follows:

Financial Accounting Fundamentals
Conceptual and regulatory framework
accounting systems
Control of accounting systems
Preparation of accounts

Management Accounting Fundamentals
Cost determination
Standard costing
Costing and accounting systems
Marginal costing and decision-making
Budgeting

Economics for Business
The economy and the growth of economic welfare
The market system and the competitive process
The macroeconomic framework
The open economy

Business Law
The English legal system
Establishing contractual obligations
Performing the contract
Contractual breakdown
The law of employment
Company formation
Corporate administration
Corporate finance
Corporate management

Business Mathematics
Basic mathematics
Summarising and analysing data
Probability
Financial mathematics
Forecasting



ICAEW - Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales- www.icaew.com/careers

One of the largest professional accountancy bodies in Europe, qualifying from the ICAEW is highly regarded. It is focused mainly on Audit and Tax but does cover other subjects.

You must first find an employer who is willing to offer you a training contract before you start the course. Training contracts are normally 3/5 years and will have clauses in them, such as paying your employer back if you leave before the end of the contract, passing all exams first time etc. This course is more often than not for Accountancy practices


The new ACA – an overview
The new ACA qualification comprises two stages - the Professional Stage and Advanced Stage
modules.
The Professional Stage consists of knowledge modules which provide an introduction to the core
concepts underpinning accountancy, and the application modules which demonstrate how the
student can build on knowledge in practice.
The Advanced Stage consists of two technical papers and a Case Study.
Throughout the process, the student will be working and therefore able to apply new skills direct in
the workplace.

The Professional Stage
Knowledge modules introduce to the trainees core concepts underpinning accountancy.
Each knowledge module assessment is one and a half hours long and will be examined using
computers, which will enable trainees and employers to schedule them at convenient times and
dates.
Application modules build upon the knowledge modules and require trainees to demonstrate
their knowledge in a practical context.
These modules will be assessed by paper-based examinations, each of which will be two and a
half hours long.
The Advanced Stage
The Advanced Stage will retain the existing structure of two integrated technical exams and a case
study.
The business reporting module asks trainees to apply technical knowledge and professional
judgement to business scenarios taking a compliance approach.
The business change module focuses on strategy, requiring trainees to demonstrate their planning
skills and ability to give advice in a business context.
Both of these technical integration modules require trainees to apply their financial reporting,
taxation, audit and assurance and ethics knowledge in an integrated manner.
Case study
The format of the case study remains unchanged as it is widely recognised to be a highly
successful final examination.
The case study is a four hour paper and can be taken once both the technical integration modules
have been attempted and the trainee is in the final year of their training contract.


EDITED TO PUT NEW ACA SYLLABUS

[maxmadx]

you might want to add ICAS?

[Bwilson803]

The ACCA Syllabus is also out of date ... it changed last year to the new syllabus.

[uthinkilltellu]

Aca?

[Mos Def]

Yeah was looking for the ACA also... and typically how it differs from the ACCA... apart from the Big4 thingy.

[Mochamoo]

Aca = Icaew / Icas

[love2learn]

(Original post by Mochamoo)
Aca = Icaew / Icas

Isn't the ICAS one referred to as CA though?

[uthinkilltellu]

(Original post by Mochamoo)
Aca = Icaew / Icas

Hasn't either ACCA or ACA got the Royal Charter and therefore is more popular in the UK than the other one?

[maxmadx]

(Original post by Mochamoo)
Aca = Icaew / Icas

Aca does not equal ICAEW / ICAS. The Aca is given by ICAEW only, the CA is give by ICAS ONLY. Its a petty difference you might think, but setting this as a definition on a STICKY is not going to help anyone who comes to it to find out the difference, since there are 3 distinct stages to ICAS, and not the 2 you have explained and attached to both institutions.

Normally stickys come about due to an extremely helpful and clear post that was developed by those contributing on the forum. I was surprised to see this become a sticky without any debate and consensus on the information you stuck in it. Even more surprised that it is ignorant to th difference between ICAS and ICAEW.

[Illusionary]

(Original post by maxmadx)
Aca does not equal ICAEW / ICAS. The Aca is given by ICAEW only, the CA is give by ICAS ONLY. Its a petty difference you might think, but setting this as a definition on a STICKY is not going to help anyone who comes to it to find out the difference, since there are 3 distinct stages to ICAS, and not the 2 you have explained and attached to both institutions.

Normally stickys come about due to an extremely helpful and clear post that was developed by those contributing on the forum. I was surprised to see this become a sticky without any debate and consensus on the information you stuck in it. Even more surprised that it is ignorant to th difference between ICAS and ICAEW.

The OP's post is a good start, but ICAS really needs a proper explanation, as there are many significant differences from ICAEW. These links should prove useful to anyone wanting to know about ICAS and the CA qualification:

• About ICAS
  
• Become a CA
  
• CA Students section, with detailed information about the syllabus, exams and training program.

[leederick]

What's the substantive difference between ICAEW and ICAS (and ICAI for that matter)? They seem to be doing well compared to the ICAEW - i.e. expanding membership while the ICAEW is stagnating - but I don't know anything apart from that. I could list out the pro's and con's of all the other qualifications, but I couldn't tell you anything about the Scotland and Ireland institutes.

My instinct is that they're basically the ACA with less name recognition. And due to that there's not much reason - if you have a choice - to choose them over the ACA. And also because they're small institutes you also wonder about the wisdom of doing one of the more obscure qualifications. The fact people like me can place the ACA/ACCA/CIMA immediately, but don't really know anything about the CA (and particularly that it has a lower international profile) would just make me wonder about it. I know that's terribly ignorant, but I think a lot of people will think like that...

The other thing that makes me wary is lots of people do the CA not because they choose it, but because they want to work for a firm that did. Some accounting firms (PKF, EY, PwC) have 'defected' from the ACA to the CA because the exam loadings make administration easier for them. It just doesn't seem very good grounds for making that choice. If they defect back, you're left with a qualification that not many people are doing, and you've ended up with it because it made life easier for HR in your training company 20 years ago.

[maxmadx]

Hi Leederick, Im studying towards the ICAS CA at the moment, and thought I could add some insight.

Ripped this off the ICAS webpage for bit of background:

"ICAS is the fastest growing accountancy body in the UK in terms of worldwide student numbers with latest figures (Source: Professional Oversight Board (POB) - Key Facts and Trends in the Accountancy Profession – July 2007) showing a student growth rate of over 50% from 2001 to 2006.

It is the only UK professional accountancy body to both educate and examine all of its students.

The CA qualification is known around the world for consistency and high standards and ICAS enjoys a widely recognised reputation for providing the 'gold standard' in accountancy education."

Altho I did my research on the other qualifications like most people when starting out- like ACCA- ok pretty good, well respected and flexible studying options, CIMA- industry respected less technical, ACA- the "best one"- but could never get an answer why? hmm.
Well if it the most recognised and most prestigious, you might feel ripped off if only given the option to study towards the CA- afterall wtf is it anyways!?
It falls down to information- if you want to use your qualificaiton to get recognition whereever you go, it might be a problem, if its recognition for job prospects- it might be, at least if your employer is not well versed on their accountancy bodies nor is interested in finding out, but if its quality of education and prestige for those that are in the know, then you cant go far wrong with the "gold standard", can you

[Illusionary]

I'd second all of the above. Admittedly, as a 2nd-year CA student, I may be a little biased (but no more so than ACA students ), but perhaps it would help if you compare the situation to the multiple A-level exam boards - while they each have slightly different syllabus coverage and administrative arrangements, no one board's qualification is so different from the others as to be a great advantage or disadvantage over the others. Obviously, that's a very simplistic way of looking at the situation - the differences between ICAS and ICAEW are greater than A-level boards - but one needed necessarily be better than the other simply due to size of the institute.

Oh, and incidentally, ICAS has been around longer than ICAEW, and has more of a history

[leederick]

Illusionary;

When you were comparing the ACA and CA did you get the impression the contents were pretty much the same?

I like your analogy. Do you think it's fair to say that the differences between the ACA, ACCA and CIMA, are a bit like the difference between doing history or modern history or ancient history. Whereas with the ACA and CA it's a bit like doing the same subject, but with a different exam board.

[Illusionary]

(Original post by leederick)
Illusionary;

When you were comparing the ACA and CA did you get the impression the contents were pretty much the same?

Broadly, yes.

To be honest, having been given a Big 4 offer for an ICAS contract post-internship, I didn't go to huge lengths to compare the different syllabus contents; with a Big 4 training contract to my name, I'd be feeling fairly confident regardless of the exact qualification.

For me in particular, working in tax, the specific details of a mainly audit-biased qualification, as most of the main accountancy qualifications will be, aren't all that important; most of my technical education will be separate, through the firm's internal training, and through post-CA specialist qualifications, e.g. CTA.

[love2learn]

(Original post by Illusionary)
Broadly, yes.

To be honest, having been given a Big 4 offer for an ICAS contract post-internship, I didn't go to huge lengths to compare the different syllabus contents; with a Big 4 training contract to my name, I'd be feeling fairly confident regardless of the exact qualification.

For me in particular, working in tax, the specific details of a mainly audit-biased qualification, as most of the main accountancy qualifications will be, aren't all that important; most of my technical education will be separate, through the firm's internal training, and through post-CA specialist qualifications, e.g. CTA.

Do you not study them at the same time? I would have thought that would have made more sense because otherwise surely you wouldn't have enough specific technical knowledge to do your job?

[Illusionary]

(Original post by love2learn)
Do you not study them at the same time? I would have thought that would have made more sense because otherwise surely you wouldn't have enough specific technical knowledge to do your job?

We get internal tax technical training during the three-year training contract (and beyond), which gives plenty of the foundation technical knowledge needed. Specialist points can then usually be researched without too much difficulty, as there are a huge number of different sources, from the legislation itself to a database of previously-performed work on similar issues.

Taking CTA isn't a requirement of the training contract, though many people take it in the year immediately following ICAS qualification. The time commitment required for ICAS alone is large enough without trying to do two qualifications at once - and CTA has a much lower pass rate than the CA exams

[love2learn]

(Original post by Illusionary)
We get internal tax technical training during the three-year training contract (and beyond), which gives plenty of the foundation technical knowledge needed. Specialist points can then usually be researched without too much difficulty, as there are a huge number of different sources, from the legislation itself to a database of previously-performed work on similar issues.

Taking CTA isn't a requirement of the training contract, though many people take it in the year immediately following ICAS qualification. The time commitment required for ICAS alone is large enough without trying to do two qualifications at once - and CTA has a much lower pass rate than the CA exams

haha fair enough then. Might be an interesting addition to the sticky...

[DarthVader]

Hmmmm CIPFA seem to have been forgotten about in this thread too I see.

[England Captain]

does anyone know the number of people that take each qualification each year? Does supply meet demand as well?