Hi, theres some questions in my mind and I wish to get some suggestions.

In the field of accounting,business n finance, which course is better or more prestigious between ACCA n ICAEW?
I know they r both professional associations/course n leading us to become a Charted accountant. But after doing some research, I found that there are ppl taking ICAEW after ACCA. So, What can I learn more about if taking ICAEW after ACCA? What r the differences on syllabus between ACCA n ICAEW? Should I take ICAEW after ACCA? (since I'm more prefer on getting knowledge compared to working first)

Did anyone here studied ICAEW before? How much the salary is when having training contract with ATE?
In big four, are there any differences or which is having more advantages between ACCA and ICAEW graduates?
Can anyone share your experiences working in big 4 too?

Your opinions and sharing is appreciated. Thanks =)

I forgot the salary of ICAEW grads, but i can tell u that if u wanna take ICAEW after ACCA, u might as well pick up another kind of qualification such as CFA. That's because ACCA is same in the nature as ICAEW, the papers, contents, and stuff.

No point getting 2 accounting qualifications. Diversity will help more. Also, the conditions to fulfill ICAEW are tougher.

I used to work at BDO, and we always promoted ICAEW above ACCA. Besides being more prestigious, BDO also offered full sponsorship for staff who wanted to pursue their ICAEW qualifications. And as mentioned earlier, there's no point getting more than one qualification - just pick one and follow through with it.

As for what to expect working for any of the Big 4...well, don't expect to have any social life. Or any life whatsoever. Be prepared never to have your leave approved, or, if it's approved, to be canceled last minute. Expect to work ridiculously long hours. Expect to have difficult clients, difficult seniors/managers/partners. The burnout rate is quite high.

You might want to consider a career in Advisory. Go for your professional qualification, get sponsored, complete the working experience requirement so you can be fully certified, then apply to transfer to one of the Advisory divisions - Corporate Governance, Risk and IT Advisory, etc. Heck, even the people who transferred to Tax were much happier than the ones who stayed in Audit.

This is a century old question. Time has changed everything for the last 15 years. In today's modern world, the gap has gone between ACCA & ICAEW.
The final conclusion is both ACCA & ICAEW are equal in quality & standard. Those who're still debating between these 2 qualifications are those who never kept themselves updated of the latest development in the last 15 years.

Just get one will do, either ACCA or ICAEW. After that you can pursue master or CFA if you wish.

Thanks for the sharing. ^^
But for fresh graduate, Audit helps in earning experiences right?

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Added on January 19, 2012, 3:34 pmCan anyone tells more about CFA?

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Added on January 19, 2012, 9:53 pmThanks. Hmmm..but then can you tells more about CFA? What's the advantages in taking it?

This post has been edited by Jia Lin: Jan 19 2012, 09:53 PM

CFA will be a qualification fully focused on finance, very very thorough study of it. ACCA and ICAEW would be audit, tax, finance, costing, management, etc.

if you are interested in business take CIMA instead

Generally, for a ACCA / ICAEW holder, what does a CFA qualification helps on/advantages on taking CFA ?
Is it just help on investment banking or there are still others?

TS, before you start ACCA or ICAEW, ask yourself are you a top student, are willing to sacrifice your life to study & career. Study or work 16 hours a day?

To be honest, anyone can study ACCA, but most can't even get thru till the last level. ICAEW will be worst. It will be more easy to study a degree or even a master. (FYI, I'm a ACCA member, suffer & lost my social life just to pass it)

Thanks, but I think I'm okay with it.

All the best for your journey of pursuing ACCA/ICAEW, FYI even my friend who get 1st Class Honours Degree, he struggle to pass ACCA papers (fail few rounds).

^

if you do it full time, it's still manageable. I am doing CIMA part time, very struggle..like no mood to work again, loss stamina..feel exhausted

ICEAW is more prestigious in UK because it is recognised as Chartered Accountant in UK, second is CIMA's strong brand in UK because it is recognised as Chartered Management Accountant, and followng is ACCA's strong network of the world, because it is second largest Accounting Body in the world. (AICPA is the largest accounting body in the world).

As I said, ACCA has strong network around the world, personally recommend you to do ACCA, you can be Chartered Accountant around the world with ACCA holder. Even I am finally qualified as ACMA (CIMA graduate), but ACCA is very flexible than CIMA. However, if talking about business strategy, CIMA is top 1 for business accounting. =)

Is it easy to get in transaction services/CF with CIMA? They said CIMA is specialised but I think CIMA is the most business general qualification. ACCA is specialised in Accounting.

why do you say ACCA is flexible than CIMA?

This post has been edited by Materazzi: Jan 22 2012, 06:02 PM

Both are the same with their own respective area of specilisation. CIMA specialises on management acc / financial managament / business strategy. ACCA specialises on financial acc / auditing / taxation.

anyone doing ICAEW currently?
I am so lazy to flip my books......

You are taking ICAEW?

You mean ACCA and ICAEW are the same? But ICAEW is more to business and finance while ACCA is more to tax, assurance and auditing right?
But many employers are still discriminating ACCA holders when they are with ICAEW holders, that's why there's still a gap between both of them.
ICAEW is harder than ACCA, but since both of them are the same, people will be encouraged to take ACCA instead of ICAEW.

Both ACCA & ICAEW focus on the same thing ie auditing, tax, financial accounting. They have the same syllabus contents & same level of exam difficulty. You would agree with me if you do a detail research of it. CIMA is different from ACCA & ICAEW because CIMA focus more on business, finance and management accounting.
In UK & Msia, employers view all the 3 bodies as the same.

If someone says one is better than the other, most probably that person does not keep himself/herself updated with the latest development or have no idea at all concerning this profession.

Bear in mind, ICAEW exam is open book and have 3 exam sittings per year.

ACCA & CIMA is a closed book exam and candidates must know everything on their fingertips & there're only 2 exam sittings per year. Less chances to graduate fast.

But why many people are saying that ICAEW is more prestigious. Their saying makes ACCA less valuable. And ACCA holders are increasing nowadays but ICAEW holders are still less than ACCA holders. I don't know how true it that.
One cannot fail ICAEW exams for maximum 5 times right?

Under the ICAEW Pathway membership, ACCA/CIMA members of at least 5 years can gain ICAEW membership without having to sit for the ICAEW exam. Whilst ICAEW members must sit for the ACCA/CIMA exam if they wish to become ACCA/CIMA members.

Alright. You mean, if i get MBA from top uni, my position in the firm will be higher?
Can I take MBA using my degree from OBU?

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Added on February 7, 2012, 3:20 pmAre you sure? How true is this? Any evidence?? I wanna make sure of that. If this thing really exists, then I will surely go for ACCA.


This post has been edited by meishien5602: Feb 7 2012, 03:20 PM

Hmm..may I ask which MBA in Malaysia n Singapore is the better one among all?

You can look at Strathclyde, Manchester, Nottingham MBA's should be quite good but cannot be compared to Singapore's INSEAD, Chicago, NUS, NTU.

Yup!! you are in which semester? any general tips for exam? haha

Hi all, so sorry to interupt in the middle of your conversation but may I know which accountancy course is more preffered by the employee such as the Big Four? Is it the accountancy course offered by the IPTA or IPTS is more recognised to be a successful charted accountant? Do share with me the pathway of youself in becoming an accountant. Thanks a lot for your help.

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Added on February 19, 2012, 5:35 pmBy the way, I had just finished my SPM last year and I am waiting for my result.

This post has been edited by Elainestarxx: Feb 19 2012, 05:35 PM

The word "successful" is very vague, try to quantify your questions next time.

As long as you pass their minimum requirement, getting an interview shouldn't be a problem, unless you got some cable that guarantees your interview.

Read up on how to be a member of MIA as well.

Cant answer your questions. But you can try ACCA .
I'm waiting my SPM result too, n taking CAT -> ACCA route soon.

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Added on February 19, 2012, 8:09 pmOops.. Sorry I'm not taking ICAEW. Paiseh
I'm just interesting on it.

This post has been edited by Jia Lin: Feb 19 2012, 08:09 PM

Does anyone know how much the salary is when having a training contract with ATE while pursuing ICAEW?

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