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ACA vs ACCA

2

Does anyone have a good knowledge of the ACCA qualification? I am trying to find out how it compares to the ACA in terms of difficulty.

I know that the entry requirements are lower? Is this because it is an easier qualification?

I am looking to qualify in accountancy through industry and feel the ACCA is a better qualification than CIMA but I'm trying to establish if its as hard as the ACA, as I don't fancy 3 hours revision a night and 10 hours at the weekend.

Reply 1

ma2k5

14

ACCA is easier I think, which is tempting to go for since I would not like to go through a 2nd degree while working full time doing monkey work...

Reply 2

Barny

17

You have to do that amount of work for ACCA too, they're pretty much of equal difficulty, ACCA actually has more exams and it usually takes 3.5 years to do rather than 3.

If you don't want to do a second degree whilst working then accountancy isn't for you, unless you want to be unqualified and not paid anything.

Reply 3

andy_1989

ACA is more prestigious

Reply 4

liverpoolguy

OP

2

Narb thats not true! I know plenty of people who are doing CIMA which admittedly is not as well respected as ACA, but they are not putting in anything like the same hours that people are talking about for ACA yet they are still passing their exams and still earning very good salaries.

Reply 5

roughy_ruff

well... for me i would say that .. most people reckon ACA is more prestigious because the rate of ppl qualifying as a CA annually is pretty low given the quota that they have ... hence the prestige... where as ACCA and CIMA i wouldn't say its easy but its just that these bodies have a larger quota comparatively... furthermore, i would think people who actually compare these three bodies would be pretty brainless as its not comparable, as this three bodies are catered for different purposes, CIMA more towards the manufacturing or production site, ACCA more commercial industry based and ACA is more for professional services industry but of course it covers other areas as well.

I personally have heard ppl who have these three qualifications earning good money.. so i would say if anyone who is thinking of getting any of the qualifications, really need to think in depth of what sort of industries that you intend to work in .....

( well these are what i have gathered whilst interning)

Reply 6

Dajoruna

9

liverpoolguy, not trying to insult you but I get the impression from your multiple threads that you seem to want to earn lots/get far but are not prepared to bust a gut to get it - you don't get something for nothing in this world...

Reply 7

Gatman

Aca > Acca

Reply 8

12many

1.they are both the same in terms of what you can do
2.ACA is the biggest in europe ACCA is the biggest in the world
3.http://www.frc.org.uk/images/uploaded/documents/Key%20Facts%20and%20Trends%20141106%20FINAL.pdf

see attached image on ACCA's growth

untitled.JPG154.9KB

Reply 9

Clubber Lang

15

they wil lboth be roughly the same difficulty.

From what i have read ACCA covers more things and ACA goes into more specifics in some areas.

Reply 10

12many

also check out acca module 3.7 or advanced financial anaylsis p4 i think it is now its really intersting all about futures etc it used to be a core module but now its optional because it was too hard

Reply 11

s.e.r.e.n.e

12

12many

also check out acca module 3.7 or advanced financial anaylsis p4 i think it is now its really intersting all about futures etc it used to be a core module but now its optional because it was too hard

futures? As in the financial derivatives? Why would accountants need to know that?

Reply 12

12many

Paper 3.7
Strategic Financial Management
Syllabus aim
To ensure that candidates can exercise judgement and technique to make commercial value added decisions in strategic financial management and are able to adapt to factors affecting those decisions.

Objectives
On completion of this paper candidates should be able to:

prepare reports for management explaining and evaluating the financial consequences of strategic decisions
identify and evaluate appropriate sources of finance, their risks and costs
assess potential investment decisions and strategies
understand the impact of the global business environment on national and multinational organisations
explain, demonstrate and recommend suitable risk management techniques
understand the significance of cash management and the treasury function in the commercial environment
select the techniques most appropriate to optimise the employment of financial resources and critically evaluate such techniques
analyse and evaluate financial information relating to past and future business performance
demonstrate the skills expected in Part 3.

past paper exam
http://www.accaglobal.com/students/study_exams/qualifications/acca_choose/professional_scheme/part3/paper3_7/exam_papers/standard

Reply 13

KingsComp

6

Just had a flick though the past papers for paper 3.7, its pretty much similar to what you learn in the Business Finance paper in the ACA, ie DVM, IRRs, Sensitivity analysis, NPV/DCFs, CAPM, foreign exchange, options, hedging etc.

Although the content is similar to the ACA the difference is very much in the format of the paper. In the ACA paper they have rather lengthy scenarios where you have to find the relevant information yourself.

Also in the ACA papers you don't have the option to choose which questions you want, you have to attempt all of them!

Reply 14

s.e.r.e.n.e

12

KingsComp

Just had a flick though the past papers for paper 3.7, its pretty much similar to what you learn in the Business Finance paper in the ACA, ie DVM, IRRs, Sensitivity analysis, NPV/DCFs, CAPM, foreign exchange, options, hedging etc.

Although the content is similar to the ACA the difference is very much in the format of the paper. In the ACA paper they have rather lengthy scenarios where you have to find the relevant information yourself.

Also in the ACA papers you don't have the option to choose which questions you want, you have to attempt all of them!

So you are saying in ACA they test the content more rigorously?

3.7 is the last paper for the ACCA syllabus. Does it correspond approximately to the last paper for ACA as well?

Reply 15

Barny

17

He said the content is similar, the thing that varies is the way the questions are set. That is not testing the content more rigorously, that is setting harder questions. Sheesh..

Reply 16

12many

like i say ACA and ACCA are very smiliar you will both be able to audit and both be held on a similar level.

If anything ACCA will be better in the future due to it being the fastest growing and most recognised accountancy qual in the world.

but

ACA has the backing if the big banks and accountancy firms

but as the world becomes more globalised and other economies eg india, china come online where ACCA is the dominent force it will be difficult for ACA to compete.

I wanted to do ACA but because my employer had to be a registered training provider etc i had to do ACCA !

Reply 17

s.e.r.e.n.e

12

12many

like i say ACA and ACCA are very smiliar you will both be able to audit and both be held on a similar level.

If anything ACCA will be better in the future due to it being the fastest growing and most recognised accountancy qual in the world.

but

ACA has the backing if the big banks and accountancy firms

but as the world becomes more globalised and other economies eg india, china come online where ACCA is the dominent force it will be difficult for ACA to compete.

I wanted to do ACA but because my employer had to be a registered training provider etc i had to do ACCA !

Speaking of which, did you check out the amount of ACCA centres in China? I think it is at least ~ to the no. of centres in the UK now...

Reply 18

pagreen1966

2

I'm not sure what you mean when you say that the ACCA has lower entry requirements. The reallity is that the exams of all the UK chartered accountancy bodies (CIMA, ACCA, ICAEW, ICAS and CIPFA) are difficult to pass and employers will not finance your professional exams if they do not think that you are up to it.

I trained as a chartered certified accountant with KPMG after gaining an accountancy degree (2.1) at the London School of Economics and believe me the final level exams of the ACCA really make you sweat. Indeed I failed one of them on my first attempt which was the first time I had failed an exam in my life.

However, at the end of the day the salary enjoyed by all chartered accountants, regardless of which bodies exams you take, are of a similar standard, and are only limited by your ambition and abilities.

However, one area in which the ACCA does have an advantage these days is in terms of its international scope and profile which far exceeds the ICAEW. This was the main factor which convinced me to study for the ACCA qualification.

You might find the following link helpful as it gives statistics regarding the UK chartered accountancy bodies provided by the Financial Reporting Council:

http://www.frc.org.uk/images/uploaded/documents/5th%20Edition%20Key%20Facts%20and%20Trends%20Final090807.pdf

Reply 19

Tednol

10

pagreen1966

However, one area in which the ACCA does have an advantage these days is in terms of its international scope and profile which far exceeds the ICAEW. This was the main factor which convinced me to study for the ACCA qualification.

What does that mean though? At Deloitte where I work, the majority of the managers seem to have been on secondments to all 4 corners of the globes in their time with the firm and most of them are ACA qualified. I've never heard of any ACA qualified people who have wanted to work abroad struggling in any way to find a job.

ACA vs ACCA

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