Aca

slackda

Has anyone here gone on to study ACA? if so may i ask why over ACCA or CIMA?

Im still not sure which route to follow, TBH cima has far to much Management Accounting in it Imo, but you have other thoughts on that i would like to know.

My last boss was pushing for CIMA in our department but ive always wanted to work in practice and end up working for my self was one of my main goals when i started out, im not sure that CIMA would help me do that?? Would ACCA be more applicable to that?

so far i have aplied for several practice jobs but got no luck yet as all have said my experience is not useful, as i have always worked in industry.

Any one else been in the same boat and got to shore or still in that boat??

Thanks

Slack

loralu

hi,

i work in practice and want to go into industry so i decided on ACCA over ACA as there is some management stuff in there. there is a mix at college between industry and practice people doing ACCA. If your in industry at the moment you may want to go for ACCA as there is the practice stuff aswel where as i think CIMA is all management (i may be wrong) and ACA is all practice so may not be applicable to your current job.

Bookworm55

Any one else been in the same boat and got to shore or still in that boat??

Yes, I have been in the same boat but have decided to become a fisherman instead of worrying about the shore. (metaphorically speaking) By which I mean I'm a CIMA student.

Has anyone here gone on to study ACA? if so may i ask why over ACCA or CIMA?

ACA (and CA) is really for those with training contracts with traditional firms (and some other commercial organisations such as AVIVA). If you aren't in one of those, CIMA and ACCA are far more attainable in that you can build up your experience piecemeal, although employer support is very useful.

Im still not sure which route to follow, TBH cima has far to much Management Accounting in it Imo, but you have other thoughts on that i would like to know.

YMMV, but I don't think you can fault CIMA for having too much management accounting in it: it's like calling a chocolate cake "too chocolatey". The management accounting emphasis is kind of the whole point. It is true that CIMA won't be of any help in being an auditor; it's not one of the bodies you have to be qualified with to perform audit work. (ACCA is)

If you do not like management accounting, then it probably wouldn't be useful. Although there is plenty of other content, including areas the others don't touch.
This paper may be an interesting read. It is published by CIMA and is a little biased: it's quite good at talking about what CIMA does that the others don't (Marketing, general Management), but not so much at what CIMA doesn't cover in the same depth (eg Tax, Law), or at all (eg Audit).

ive always wanted to work in practice and end up working for my self was one of my main goals when i started out, im not sure that CIMA would help me do that?? Would ACCA be more applicable to that?
so far i have aplied for several practice jobs but got no luck yet as all have said my experience is not useful, as i have always worked in industry.

I have heard that so many times that I have stopped applying to practices, and concentrated my efforts on the commercial/industrial sector and some public sector (esp NHS) organisations. Working for practice is unlikely for CIMA members. Not impossible, but what you'd be doing may be more analysis/consultancy rather than traditional audit/accounts prep.

There's no problem with working for yourself, but it depends what you want to do. You'd be quite well set up for consultancy, less so for tax work.

slackda

wow what a reply Ty bookworm

NeilH

slackda wrote: »

...but ive always wanted to work in practice and end up working for my self was one of my main goals when i started out

Hi

ACCA have quite stringent regulations on being a self employed member or student(I’m not sure what the ICAEW rules are). Unless you are planning on only providing book-keeping, payroll or VAT, ACCA won't permit you to practice in self employed capacity (or be a partner or director of an accountancy firm) without holding the ACCA practice certificate. In order to gain such you will need three years with an approved employer (practice or otherwise), a minimum of two years of which must be in addition to and after the three years required for ACCA membership.

Neil

slackda

Thank Neil,

Some parts of me think i may as well Stay AAT get my MIP License and Maybee Study Some ATT so i have abetter understanding of Tax.... the Audit side of things doesn't interest me one bit, but Tax and Law are the interesting bits imo.

thanks
people

Martin Aka Slack

aicbaicb

NeilH wrote: »

Hi

ACCA have quite stringent regulations on being a self employed member or student(I’m not sure what the ICAEW rules are). Unless you are planning on only providing book-keeping, payroll or VAT, ACCA won't permit you to practice in self employed capacity (or be a partner or director of an accountancy firm) without holding the ACCA practice certificate. In order to gain such you will need three years with an approved employer (practice or otherwise), a minimum of two years of which must be in addition to and after the three years required for ACCA membership.

Neil

ACA will let you practice, as long as you have the AAT, and a MiP from AAT. ACCA won't let you past Trial Balance

deanshepherd

aicbaicb wrote: »

ACA will let you practice, as long as you have the AAT, and a MiP from AAT.

But bear in mind none of your self-employed work will count as relevant experience for gaining the qualification. You will still have to have a training contract with an approved firm.

slackda

Will the ACCA let you practice whilst ACCA student, if your a MIP?

Anne Boleyn

MIP and ACCA

Hi Slackda

Most definitely not. I believe ACCA is the most strictest in what they allow a student to do. Only bookkeeping upto trial balance.

slackda

Thats a bugger, really fancy doing ACCA over CIMA atm as getting a practice jobs is my goal, but i really want to keep my own company going during the meantime, whilst i can still do the above as mentioned, i would still like to do tax returns and accounts preparation, strange that they won't let you do it. tbh i wouldn't mention the ACCA qualifaction to clients till i had obtained it.

Anne Boleyn

Acca

Hi

Also, if I remember right once you have passed all the exams you have to get three years post qualification experience.

NeilH

Anne Boleyn wrote: »

Hi

Also, if I remember right once you have passed all the exams you have to get three years post qualification experience.

Hi

To get the ACCA Practice Certificate you need three years with an approved employer (practice or industry). One of these three years can be part of the main three years required for membership but the other two must be post qualification.

Neil