CA VS ACCA: WHICH ONE TO CHOOSE?

After Inter, the most common question that arises among commerce (especially accounting) students is whether to go towards CA or ACCA. To answer it in simple words, we can say that it depends upon the interest and the field you want to work in.

But here we will mention some differences, similarities and important points which will help you understand both of them better.

This article is only for info. For better carrier guidance, consult a professional in the respective field or contact www.keeptutors.com .

Lets first get an overview of these two programs first.

CA: CA stands for Chartered Accountancy. It is a local qualification that is recognized in many countries. It deals with Financial Accounting, Management, Economics, Audit, Taxation, etc.

ACCA: ACCA stands for Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. It is an international qualification that deals with Accounting, Financial Reporting, Auditing, Taxation, Business Finance, and Financial Management.

Eligibility Criteria:

For both CA and ACCA programs requirements are similar:

● Intermediate education (with a minimum of 50% marks)

● A-levels with minimum grade E.

For Admissions in CA, students have to go through a QAT test while there are no such restrictions for ACCA.

For more details consider these links:

https://icap.org.pk/do-ca/entry-routes/full-time-scheme/

https://www.accaglobal.com/hk/en/qualifications/glance/acca/minimum-entrance.html

~ Is CA harder than ACCA?

Another question that arises among students is why CA is harder than ACCA. Which can’t say exactly that CA is harder than ACCA. But ACCA has fewer subjects than CA to cover and it gives more flexibility in terms of modules, exams, and article ship. Let’s discuss these course modules in a bit more detail.

Course Modules:

CA: CA has a total of 21 courses to be covered in 4 stages. These are as follows:

AFC consists of 5 subjects

CAF consists of 8 subjects

CFAP consists of 6 subjects

MSA consists of 2 subjects

After the completion of the following courses, a practical training program known as “Article ship” of about 3-4 years is done at a related firm. But some also prefer to do article ship after CFAP to save time.

ACCA: ACCA has a total of 17 courses (15 for commerce students) to be covered in 3 modules/stages.

Applied Knowledge(foundation) consists of 3 subjects

Applied Skills consists of 6 subjects

Strategic Professional consists of 6 subjects

For ACCA students, article ship is not necessary.

Board and examinations:

CA examinations are held by ICAP (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan). It is a professional accountancy body that provides CA certification in Pakistan. Different modules have different exam patterns, AFC is computerized while CAF onwards are written exams and most of these exams are conceptional. While the minimum marks for passing are 50%.

While ACCA is a global certification managed by an accountancy body of the same name ACCA under the British council. Its headquarters is in London. Like CA, starting module of ACCA also has online exams while the remaining modules have written exams and a passing criterion of minimum 50% marks.

Job Opportunities:

Both CA and ACCA have high-paying job markets. As ACCA is globally recognized so it has more veracity for jobs around the globe. While as CA has tough selection and passing criteria so it provides better paying jobs as compared to ACCA.

CA professionals can work as financial advisors, Auditors, Accountants, Finance managers, Management Consultants, and more. While ACCA professionals work as Finance Managers, Financial analysts, Finance Controllers, Accountants, and more. While some of the jobs provide roles to both ACCA and CA professionals.

Most of the CA and ACCA students set their goals for these Big 4 Accounting firms which are as follows:

1. Deloitte LLP

2. PWC (Price Waterhouse Coopers)

3. EY (Ernst & Young)

4. KPMG

(Get more details about these big 4 firms from: https://big4accountingfirms.org/ )

Above we have mentioned all the necessary details regarded CA and ACCA. About the question of a which one to choose, it still depends upon your field of interest.

For more blogs related to Educational info and queries visit: https://www.keeptutors.com/blog .