ACCA qualification/ Accounting and finance

Wanesa1996

Anyone here self studying ACCA without a degree in accounting?
How is it? How many exams do you do a year?

Reply 1

ringi

By "self study" do you mean buying one of the "study kits" or distance learning companies?

Reply 2

ringi

Are you convinced that ACCA is a better match for your skill set and the types of jobs you want then CIMA?

All these qualifications are mostly useless without experience.

If you get a job as a band 3 unskilled admin in a NHS finance department at a hospital and work hard it likely they will pay for you do to CIMA within a year or two. You may get into a job upto a band 5, but most employers consider an accountancy degree without experience to be nearly valueless. (But you may find that the degree will replace a AAT requirement.)

Lots of other employers also train their accountancy admin staff to get qualified. But tend not to advertise them as they choose their best existing admin staff. (Not uncommon to qualify by 22 without any A levels if start work at 16.)

https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/candidate/search/results?keyword=finance&skipPhraseSuggester=true&payRange=0-10%2C10-20%2C20-30%2C30-40&language=en

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 3

joe9567

Original post

by Wanesa1996

Anyone here self studying ACCA without a degree in accounting?
How is it? How many exams do you do a year?

I’m not doing ACCA myself — I’m currently in the CFA pathway — but one of my close friends is self-studying for ACCA without a degree in accounting. From what he’s told me, it’s absolutely doable, but it takes solid discipline.
He’s been averaging about 3 exams a year, sometimes 4 when the workload allows, and he said the structure is surprisingly flexible if you plan properly. The toughest part hasn’t been the content itself, but keeping momentum while working full-time.

Reply 4

Wanesa1996

Original post

by ringi

By "self study" do you mean buying one of the "study kits" or distance learning companies?

I mean buying books and study myself as the courses are expensive. Most of finance/accountant assistant jobs I have searched for in my area requires to be part qualified ACCA. Cima just seems more complicated to be honest. You have to do 36 months experience with ACCA anyway so by the time you're qualified you will have 3 years of experience. I was thinking of doing ACCA plus their collaboration with University of London Applied Accounting 12 months degree programme .

Reply 5

ringi

It often someone will start in an admin job then get an internal promotion to the "finance/accountant assistant job" that gives the training. AAT is normally the 1st step of training as it gives exemption from the 1st year of the accountancy exams while also giving more job focused skills.

I would go as far as saying take any job then start AAT yourself while looking for a job in a finance/accountant department/company. (If fully committed with good study skills you could finish AAT in not much more then a year.)

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