I would say that CTA is also at this level for tax professionals
The next level down from ACA is ACCA and CIMA although I would say that ACCA has inched ahead with CIMA (now CGMA) leaving CCAB.
The next level down from there is IFA and AIA. Again I would say that IFA have inched ahead by becoming recognised by IFAC.
Then there is AAT which sits somewhere between a bookkeeping and an accountancy qualification.
The new ACCA FIA qualification which replaced CAT is also at this level although passing FIA still leads to CAT recognition.
The bookkeeping qualifications of IAB and ICB should not really be regarded as the bottom of the tree as in many ways they are a totally seperate tree but at higher levels with these qualifications they do venture into accountancy territory so I include them for completeness.
Other bodies include ATT not to be confused with AAT) which is another tax specialisation. And ICM for credit management.
Appreciate that there are a lot of accronyms above so here's a handy reference List :
ICAEW - Instititute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales ICAS - Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland ICAI - Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland ACCA - Association of Chartered Certified Accountants CIMA - Chartered Institute of Management Accountants IFA - Institute of Finanial Accountants AIA - Association of International Accountants AAT - Association of Accounting Technicians CAT - Certified Accounting Technician (see also FIA - Foundations in Accountancy) ICB - Institute of Certified Bookkeepers IAB - International Association of Book-keepers ATT - Association of Tax Technicians ICM - Institute of Credit Management
Hope that helps,
kind regards,
Shaun
p.s. The ACCA professional qualification and ACCA FIA/CAT qualifications are totally seperate. The one that you want is the ACCA professional qualifications.... But it will eat up all of the next 6+ years of your life!
p.s.2 you can self study for ACCA without a training provider. An absolute godsend are the free Opentuition lectures.
p.s.3 Kaplan Study materials are better than BPP despite BPP having platinum materials provider status and Kaplan only having Gold.
p.s.4 The BPP I-Learn course on a CD are excellent introductions to get you into each paper but not enough to pass the papers on their own.
-- Edited by Shamus on Saturday 30th of June 2012 01:10:07 PM
__________________
Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
I am new to the forum and I am after a bit of advice. I enjoy working in finance and I would like to get a formal qualification. I have some previous accountancy knowledge/certificates - which I know would give me exceptions for example in ACCA (had it confirmed by them)....so I think there is a little point for me doing AAT (exeptions F1-F3). It is really between ACCA and university degree..... What do you think would give me a better chance. I really do not want to do CIMA - I don't think it is really in me to be a management accountant. Is it too late to start I am nearly 35.....LOL
welcome to the forum and sorry that I needed you to move the post.
ACCA is fantastic and to my mind better than CIMA on the grounds that the ACCA syllabus includes everything within the CIMA syllabus (including all of the management accountancy studies) but the same is not true the other way around.
The above said ACCA puts a lot more restrictions on its students than CIMA and you will find that you are very restricted in the services that you will be able to offer to the public on a self employed basis until you have 2-3 years signed off post qualification experience (I say 2-3 as audit requires 3 years but that's a seperate type of practice licence).
Exemptions are a funny old thing and it's often the case that just because one could get exemptions doesn't necessarily mean that one should as with the ACCA qualification each exam builds on knowledge brought forwards from previous papers and the expecteation of ACCA of the knowledge base of it's students is very high.
That said papers F1 to F3 are a little different in their style and format if not the knowledge base that needs to sit behind them.
Many drop out of the qualification at F4 as the move to essay type questions can come as a bit of a system shock to some candidates.
It doesn't have to be ACCA or a degree as once you reach paper F9 you have basically done a BSc so by completing a further project you are awarded a degree as part of the ACCA qualification.
The reasoning behind the ACCA doing that seems to be that many employers will not contemplate anyone who does not have a degree in a relevant subject. (So there's a generation of people out there with gender studies and sports science who might as well use their degree's as paper aeroplanes).
Oops, just got a call from a client. Got to go. Sorry, not proof read the above yet but will fix it and add more when I get back,
toodle pip for now,
Shaun.
__________________
Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
I have noticed that I would get a degree from Oxford Brooks, so in reality going the ACCA route would be probably the better way then uni and then ACCA.
I work as a FC and I suppose I am what they call QBA, but it just would be lovely to get the qualification.
I have tried to look into the restriction 8, it is very confusing......there are so many accounting bodies....FIA, ACA, ICAEW, but ACCA seems to be really international and apart from CIMA, probably the one that employers ask for the most.....
Do you at some point while studying for the ACCA gain CAT or is it just completely separate?
