If u say so, why are there so many ppl saying tat ICAEW is much harder?

I believe its the part where they have to balance work and study at the same time.

Correct me if I'm wrong but those in ICAEW would have only 2 weeks of classes for the paper they're sitting compared to the constant, less stressful learning of ACCA.

And I heard those who failed twice in the same paper in ICAEW would have their contracts revoked. That really adds some pressure.

I don't really know ICAEW's passing rates but ACCA passing rates are very low, 30-40+%, with Malaysia constantly getting a lower pass rate than the world pass rates.

Allow me to slightly modify your fact, Malaysia is getting a lower passing rate that the world passing rate because it is the average passing rate of all institutes which offer ACCA. Most of them are not on par in terms of quality and are not well known. However since TS is planning to pursue in ACCA, Sunway would be, no doubt the best in Malaysia, even in the region. Also, if you do some research, the passing rate in sunway is much higher than the world passing rates, for almost every paper There is a comparison chart recently pasted outside the office of Sunway TES, showing the passing rates of July 2010.

To TS: why don't you come over and pay SUNWAY TES a visit? I'm sure they can answer all your questions and doubts.

I heard rumor rumor that sunway manipulate their passing rate a little(or a lot) by eliminating students who do not pass their internal exams for acca.That's why you always see sunway passing rate so high.

Anyways i think it is better to take CAT and then ACCA first then if later if you really want to then take ICAEW(based on my recommendation of course).Unless you plan on working in London which is pro ICAEW, getting ACCA is more than enough already.If you passed ACCA you get exemptions for ICAEW.Anyone knows how many papers?

BTW ACCA passing rate is lower because its entry requirement is easier(virtually anyone can go do ACCA) but i can be honest with you finishing it is another story so the quality of ACCA students are still there.

This post has been edited by Neptern: Jan 19 2011, 01:47 AM

sunway is not best in malaysia have other college better than sunway.their passing rate higher is because they did not allowed the weak study to go for the exam.in other word is cheating.

This post has been edited by taxman: Jan 19 2011, 11:04 AM

I am a Sunway student myself so I only mentioned about the Malaysia pass rate and not the Sunway pass rate to be fair. TS may not be doing his ACCA at Sunway.


This is entirely not true. Yes, there is a "so called" barring system at Sunway TES whereby those who scored less than 20 in both the progress test will be called to have a talk to the Director (aka Mr Teo) so discuss about your papers. If you even have problems scoring 20 and above in the progress test, I really do think you need to buck up (P level papers are an exception )

Sunway TES does not have the rights to bar anyone from sitting the paper. I have never seen anyone got barred before at Sunway. It is the students themselves who wanted to drop the papers instead.

Please get your facts right before posting.

If i do ACCA 1st, then how many papers would i be exempted if i wanna take ICAEW?
Its the matter of $$ right now.. cannot take loan

If you look at the whole, Sunway is definitely the best. If there is any other college that is better then it would have been awarded the gold/platinum status as a tuition provider of ACCA. The fact is Sunway is the only institution that has a Platinum Status as a tuition provider. So yea, get your facts right before claiming anything. For the sake of TS, do not give anymore misleading fact. thanks.

Yes, TARC is different, as you can read that, although you do not have a pass in ACCA, you still have advanced diploma. My main point is for those who straight away start their engine in LCCI / CAT => ACCA paper 1 ... until the end. Should they fail half-way, meaning "apa pun tarak" ... LCCI + CAT is useless, ACCA half-way is no value. Therefore, it is advisable to grab a thing first, like degree in accounting (like the thread starter wondering ACCA or Degree) or TARC Adv Diploma. TARC Adv Diploma is specifically designed for ACCA course, as after that you are required to take, if not mistaken, 4 final subjects only.

I reckon getting a degree first is best. Better than going straight to LCCI/CAT etc or even TARC Adv Diploma.

Many youngster do not know what they want so it's not uncommon for them to change their mind of wanting to be an accountant half way. With degree, you can still do other thing like bank officer or insurance or whatever else where having a degree would be an advantage. With LCCI/CAT or even Adv Diploma, you are a lesser person when not doing accountancy.

My 2 sen.

After you completed the F levels of ACCA, you are allowed to complete a theses to obtain your Bsc. Applied Accounting awarded by Oxford Brookes University. So ACCA half-way done does have its value.

And after TARC's Adv. Diploma, the exemptions are the same, max exemptions of 9 papers. No degree or Adv. Diploma can get exemptions for the Professional level papers.

tarc is the first college in malaysia obtain the platinium status please check it out not sunway. if study in tarc u have option to go to uk to study degree just take you 3mth.

This post has been edited by taxman: Jan 19 2011, 04:38 PM

hmm guys lets say if i wanna take degree 1st, how is the process gonna be? do i need to do any foundation 1st? how long is the total course gonna take?

This post has been edited by Jason3399: Jan 19 2011, 04:58 PM

Why are you quoting me then? I have never mentioned anything about Sunway in my post. Do understand that TS has financial constraints, UK is out of the equation.

IMO, it doesn't matter who got the platinum status first, the most important part is who has maintained that advantage. Again, I am being neutral here.

TARC does have its good point, its cheap. Approximately 14k for its Diploma and Adv. TARC is definitely cheaper than Sunway, that's definitely the case.

But TS can also try out other KL colleges such as Kasturi, McO, FTMS and the likes. Assuming TS is smooth sailing, it is 1 year faster than the TARC's Adv. Diploma route.

This post has been edited by YH90: Jan 19 2011, 04:57 PM

Then it will be 1 year of foundation + 3 years of degree + the remaining papers to be attempted for ACCA.

The time taken to finish the last part would be depending on the number of paper exemptions you will get upon completion of your degree.
For example, if you do your degree in sunway, you will be entitled to a maximum exemptions of 9 papers, which leaves you 5 last paper to attempt. Most people take 2 papers each time. (Noted that ACCA external exams are held 2 times a year) So it will be 1 and half years for the last part or if you want to finish 5 papers in one year, or even half year, it's up to you.

If you are considering taking a degree first, make sure to check out the exemptions that you will get. And i highly recommend you to secure a degree first. You can get a job after that while doing your ACCA part time, no problem at all. If financial status of the family is your concern, you could either opt for another college that offers degree with lower fees, stick your ass to the chair studying everyday and apply for scholarship.

Lastly, review yourself. Whether you are a all time top scorer, or just another average student out there. If you are really bright and think it is worth taking the risk for the sake of coming out to job fields earlier, then by all means go for ACCA. Do bear in mind that there will be hell loads of temptations and entertainments that will make u easily distracted during ur college/uni life. The moment you choose to go for ACCA, be responsible to yourself and always tell yourself that you must work harder than anybody else, or your efforts and hard-earned money of your parents will be wasted. Not to scare you off but just to expose the reality to you, i have seen people who scored full A's in SPM flunked their ACCA and ended up with nothing. I have a senior who scored straight A's, failed CAT papers due to the absence of self discipline. I scored quite well in my SPM but i am not up for the stakes. I rather take a longer time to finish than ending up in no where. Not to mention that degree course trains up your soft skills which are highly essential for jobs while ACCA is 100% exam oriented.

All the best to you

well if tat`s the case, after i have completed my degree, can i opt for ICAEW instead of ACCA since its more prestigious?

Sure but do note that you will need AT LEAST a second upper class degree for ICAEW, and there very few colleges that are affiliated with ICAEW. The two that i know would be Sunway and Taylors, if i'm not mistaken Inti is in the list too.

my opinion is that even Malaysia will soon be pro-ICAEW. Imagine this. Sunway TES is now promoting ICAEW and there is at least 100-200 candidates..In just a decade this will increase and the number of top jobs (ie. openings for fresh grad) will be less than number of ICAEW.

At that time, when the most prestigious qualification becomes normal, you can can expect where ACCA fresh grads will stand..Lol

This post has been edited by Knight_2008: Jan 19 2011, 07:13 PM

i see.. if lets say i take form6 instead of foundation, can i straight away proceed to take degree?

Very true, i second that.
However ICAEW is said to be only for those who are really capable. There will be an CEO in any firm/organisation and there will be CFO, GM, Managers and so on under him. We can't expect everyone to be going up to the top. IMHO it is really important to know your strength and your limit, people who are holding CPA, MIA or even accounting diploma can still survive, life goes on.