Hi, I just graduated from my degree in accounting and finance. I am currently seriously contemplating whether to do ACCA or MICPA-CAANZ as from what I know, both has its own advantages. ACCA is more popular but MICPA-CAANZ is more prestigious as it carries the Chartered Accountant title and members of MICPA-CAANZ will gain access to the Global Accounting Alliances where they can enjoy the benefit of reciprocating memberships of its alliance members like ICAEW, AICPA, HKICPA? Do correct me if I am wrong. I would prefer to do full time studies if I were to do ACCA as I heard the ACCA exams are quite tough. Really need your advice!! Thank you very much.

This post has been edited by tang zi yin: Feb 7 2018, 04:22 AM

Same same but different. Pick the easiest one.

CAANZ is deemed to be more prestigious than CPA Australia, so they say. And now CAANZ is collaborating with with MICPA

ICAEW is deemed to be more prestigious than ACCA, so they say.

But let's face the fact that ACCA is more popular in Malaysia. That's according to headhunters.

And I like the answer above me. Same same but different.

In Malaysia, employers don't give a damn as long as it is a professional accounting qualification.

Do whichever u prefer.

Can you please elaborate on your statement about same same but different? May I know which paper are you referring to as the easiest?? Thanks so much for your time and reply !!

May I know which paper should I choose if I wish to have as much international exposure as I could in the future ? With the reciprocating membership with its affiliate like ICAEW, AICPA and others, would it be better if I pursue MICPA-CAANZ instead of ACCA? Thank you for your reply!

I'm kinda in the same boat here, but considering between ICAEW and MICPA
Will be joining big 4 audit soon, but still dunno which paper to take.

These are what I've gathered so far (pls correct me if I'm wrong):
ICAEW - most prestigious due to the fact that everyone knows it's very hard to pass (and internationally recognized)
ACCA - read in the big 4 recruitment drive topic that too many people have ACCA already, so if wanna differentiate yourself, take the other two options
MICPA - easiest out of the 3, but still pretty prestigious (at least more than ACCA)

Currently I am leaning towards MICPA because I'm not confident that I will be able to pass ICAEW on the first attempts as I usually don't do very well for exams. It also gives me a boost if I ever apply for a job in Australia.
I'm still undecided because I'm not sure if ICAEW is worth the effort. And I also wanna ask, is ICAEW and MICPA the same in terms of international recognition?
Any sifu out there please advice

Ooops. I didnt see your question.

Depends on where do you want to go. If you intend to go to Australia, MICPA-CAANZ might be a better choice.

Since MICPA is a member of IFAC (similar to other professional bodies like ACCA, CIMA, MIA, etc which are members of IFAC), MICPA is therefore internationally recognised. But you might also want to look into other countries' requirement in allowing you to practise as an accountant.

For example in Malaysia, even if you are an ACCA member, you still cannot call yourself an accountant. It means you cannot practise as an accountant in Malaysia unless you are a member of MIA. So, an ACCA member still need to apply for MIA membership to call himself an accountant in malaysia.

I see that the debate between ICAEW, ACCA, CPA, etc are mostly confined to students and fresh grads. If you talk to employers, they don't give a damn about this. Instead, they want to see your skill sets.

Like recently, one Big Four partner said he is looking forward to hiring more engineering and IT grads as auditors (yes, as auditors) because their skills are more relevant to today's technological developments due to the rise of digital-related client companies like Grab, Boost, etc.

Whats your career path like? Do you want to join Big4? If yes, you will only be recommended to take these professional qualifications once you joined. Perception is you need to be a qualified accountant to become manager. In reality, these compromises can be made (Ie: no promotion but salary increment still applies, fast-tracked promotion once passed papers, etc).

If you want to become accountant, your path will be through account exec route. You need MIA for that so you can take MIA straight or apply the exemption route via ACCA / MICPA. Exemption route nets you 2 qualifications but you pay more. You roughly pay RM1500 for annual ACCA membership and RM 300 for MIA.

If you want to switch away from accounting field, acca/icaew/caanz won’t help much. If you want to join finance field take CFA, management consulting or management take MBA, risk take FRM, … you get the idea.

Working experience matters much more than your qualification if you want to progress your career.

Costs perspective, MICPA is the cheapest. Remember that you have to pay annual membership every year. 250 pound is around RM1300 plus. That’s ACCA / ICAEW for you. Prestige wise, it’s mostly applicable if you are applying for non-managerial position. Post managers, people will look at your working experience more.

International recognition is again highly dependent where you work also. ACCA/ICAEW/CPA is no longer the passport it used to be where you see thousands of members joining every single year. For example, if you work at Shell Malaysia, it’s easier for you to jump to Shell UK or another foreign O&G companies. Qualification helps to certify your experience only. Your working experience still matters more.

Thanks so much for the input guys! I guess I'll stick with MICPA then as I do know that experience and skillset are still the major factors.