Well. ICAEW is nothing different than another accounting institutes' qualification. as the acronym comes from
Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW), it is deemed at a equivalent standard to those
Chartered Accountant board worldwide, CAA (Aus), HKCA (HK), and other CA's.
So you cant really draw a comparison on ACCA and ICAEW as both have sylabus & coverage variance.
But a point to be considered is choose a board likely to be more "in favour" or "prefered" by the nation/company you want/are working with.

then again, CFA ( Chartered Financial Analyst) is another game. In a accountancy context, it would be irrelevant to
put in CFA's qualification into value comparison. Of course if one would pursue CFA, its another decision. But then the logic applies, you cant compare the cost of an Actuarial degree to accountancy (well, not locally at least).

A good advise is to take qualifications relevant to ur career/ future planning.

Even in Australia, most companies adapt accounting practice that recognises more of CPA's and Australian CA's, just like
ICAEW in UK, HKCA in HK, however on an international scope, ACCA is still one of the earliest to establish globally.
the Gaining of recognition is a process of standard globalisation, local demand would depend on practical preference.
But in big multinational companies, the distinction wont be huge as they emphasis on quality recruitment than anything else.

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Added on December 20, 2010, 2:11 pmPerhaps a rephrase would make things much better:

An accounting student should pursue Accounting standards qualifications for career purpose.
A student that has ACCA can also branch into other sectors, as no matter what ur career is, you are still
registered as a qualified accountant/auditor.

I am also pursuing CPA & CA qualfications through my accounting degree with no intention of being an accountant,
or worst (Auditor). lol.

This post has been edited by RyukA: Dec 20 2010, 02:11 PM