Any ACCA member here?!

[hungvir]

I wonder if there're any ACCA member here. I am thinking of hedging my job and having ACCA membership sounds good to me. Like trading, it's totally portable and you can work anywhere you want.

I am looking for advice on course providers, companies willing to recruit part qualified and more importantly the career prospect.

Thanks much,

Hung

 

[timaru69]

I wonder if there're any ACCA member here. I am thinking of hedging my job and having ACCA membership sounds good to me. Like trading, it's totally portable and you can work anywhere you want.

I am looking for advice on course providers, companies willing to recruit part qualified and more importantly the career prospect.

Thanks much,

Hung

Hi H

I have a CA(NZ) and I have been contracting in the city for the last 8 years. I believe that CIMA is probably better than a ACCA, at least that has been the preference shown by my English colleagues when I was working in Banking and Broker/Dealing.

Best of Luck

 

[hungvir]

Thanks a lot! It looks like CIMA is a bit more difficult to get in. Would you reccomend getting into accounting though?!

Cheers,

Hung

 

[Jack o'Clubs]

Thanks a lot! It looks like CIMA is a bit more difficult to get in. Would you reccomend getting into accounting though?!

Cheers,

Hung

Hung,

I'm an FCMA (CIMA 'fellow') although I've not practised accountancy for years. For the last seven or eight years of my career it's just been a useful post-grad qualification rather than being specifically useful so yes, it may be worth you studying for it although a lot depends on what other qualifications you've got, etc. ACA is a more rigorous qualification as it's 'pure' accountancy to a very high standard. Most UK CFOs would be ACA qualified, also in the bank I worked in it was regarded as a similar calibre qualification to CFA, although the syllabus is very different. CIMA is slightly more interesting to study as there's more 'management' stuff in there, rather than pure numbers, but accordingly its regarded as a slightly easier option and so does not have the same kudos. Having said that, I've never felt having FCMA after my name rather than ACA has closed any opportunities.

The main thing to think about is what you might want to do with your 'hedge'. It's several years of very hard work when you could be out having a good time, so not a decision to be taken lightly unless you're pretty sure of how it might help.

Good luck!

 

[hungvir]

This is excellent, Jack o'Clubs. Thank you!

I've thought about ACA but that means having to abandon my current job. With ACCA, I can study in my own time and have 10 years to finish all the exams plus 3 year experience requirement. It's also good in a sense that I'll have a clearer idea about if the service that I am working for at the moment at the World Service will be here or gone. They just closed down 10 language services and it made me think about not putting all my eggs in one basket.

I know it's going to be hard work. I may even have to stay away from trading all together if I decide to go down this accountancy route. That would be sad.

Thanks again for your advice.

Best,

Hung

 

[Jack o'Clubs]

Good luck. Sounds interesting work at the World Service. I would consider CIMA to be slightly ahead of ACCA reputation wise, so you might want to think about that, plus the fact that it's a more interesting syllabus - you'll even get to do some markets stuff as part of it! There is a lot of talk about the accountancy bodies merging at some point (it doesn't make a lot of sense to have five or so different professional bodies in the UK alone), although I'm not sure where the talks have got to - I'm sure the respective web-sites would tell you, so doing ACCA or CIMA may ultimately get you to the same spot.

Very best of luck - it's hard work, but you don't see too many out-of-work accountants!

 

[hungvir]

...
Very best of luck - it's hard work, but you don't see too many out-of-work accountants!

Very true indeed, despite the fact that thousands of new accountants join the job market every single year.

Another reason that I am in favour of ACCA is its international recognition. They even have a link with the accounting body in my home country, Vietnam. I'll check out how CIMA fares in this respect.

Good talking to you.

Hung

 

[Tuffty]

ACCA or CIMA really depends where your interests lie. I did CIMA because I really didn't want to audit or do peoples tax returns, I was more interested in the commercial world and CIMA was appropriate for this.

NB: There was an article by the boss of the BBC World Service in the last CIMA mag, she's a CIMA.

 

[leehaddin]

Hi all I am bit late to this community. I am planning to do ACCA, I think this would be the right place to share my knowledge and queries here

 

[stukm]

...and if anyone has any queries, I'm an ACA - drop me a PM.

 

[thos]

I'm a Chartered Accountant. All I get for my €300 a year is a magazine that goes straight in the recycling bin, although to be fair I wouldn't have got my last n jobs without the nice piece of paper.

The exams are a lot of work and you definitely need commitment to get through them. I wouldn't suggest taking the accountancy exams unless you have a proper career plan and find reconciliations more exciting than rabbit-taming.

On the other hand, if you find it too exciting you could become an actuary instead.

 

[spreader_legger]

Are you saying actuarial science is more boring than accountancy !!!! Sh*t!
From my relatively limited knoweldge I don't think I would find actuarial science that boring ..... you gotta be good at math however. The plus side ofcourse is that you get paid 5 times as much doing actuarial science. No contest really

I'm a Chartered Accountant. All I get for my €300 a year is a magazine that goes straight in the recycling bin, although to be fair I wouldn't have got my last n jobs without the nice piece of paper.

The exams are a lot of work and you definitely need commitment to get through them. I wouldn't suggest taking the accountancy exams unless you have a proper career plan and find reconciliations more exciting than rabbit-taming.

On the other hand, if you find it too exciting you could become an actuary instead.

 

[thos]

That's the old joke - actuaries are people who found Chartered Accountancy too exciting.

 

[NVP]

Hi All

i'm an FCCA.......(nice initials !)......qualified back in 1987 if you can imagine that :-0

5 years of burning midnight oil alongside long days as a trainee accounant in Shells Trading company in london....

the qual has always got me work (even in toughest employment markets) although you've got to be able to back it up......Ive worked with many many average quals and was stunned how they made it........give me a good QBE anyday (and much cheaper !)

let me know if anyone wants advice......the Quals are blurring now and cima / acca is becoming the same IMO.......not sure re the ole Chartered/auditing one....to me that was never the real world anyway......(sorry guys)

still b/shtting well with the qualification after 20+ years

begrudge that bloody membership fee though......

N

 

[NVP]

That's the old joke - actuaries are people who found Chartered Accountancy too exciting.

jees...is that chestnut still around

do you remember the p*ss taken out of us by the smirnoff ads ?

N

 

[NVP]

this raises an interesting question....

do accountants make good traders ?

dont look at me :whistling

N

 

[sasquatch317]

I'm doing the finals of my ACCA.I do agree with Thos though. Accountancy has lost its sheen. Gone are the days CA's were conseidered exceptionally intelligent or top notch bankers were referred to as Accountants in James Bond movies.

CFA is the 'in thing' - even then you cant get through to front office in a bank just for having that. The other flip-side to it is you dont get recognised as a 'qualified accountant' if you do CFA

If I could rewind, I would definitely do the CFA, its just that at that time I suppose I didn't make the best choice (or maybe grass is greener on the other side)

I don't agree with CIMA's superiority over ACCA though - CIMA makes you a management accountant, ACCA is broader - you have the license to set up your own audit or tax advisory practice. Maybe CIMA's better in some circles in the UK, but ACCA is certainly better internationally

 

[williamarren]

ACCA or CIMA really depends where your interests lie. I did CIMA because I really didn't want to audit or do peoples tax returns, I was more interested in the commercial world and CIMA was appropriate for this.

NB: There was an article by the boss of the BBC World Service in the last CIMA mag, she's a CIMA.

Yes what he said is true. While doing CIMA we don't want to audit, if we are interest to audit we can do. It depends on our interest.