The Difference between Chartered Accountant and Chartered Certified Accountant?

AJ786

Hi, I got an interview on Tuesday and having previously been to an interview at the company, I was asked the question of what is the difference between the two?

So what exactly is the difference between the two?

Louise89

A Chartered Accountant must be a member of one of the following:

the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) (designatory letters ACA or FCA)
the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) (designatory letters CA)
Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI)
a recognised equivalent body from another Commonwealth country (designatory letters being CA (name of country) e.g. CA (Canada))

A Chartered Certified Accountant must be a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (designatory letters ACCA or FCCA).


I know at school and university it is forbidden to reference wikipedia however this is where I got the above from... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accountant

Louise89

So basically a Chartered Accountant is ACA qualified and a Chartered Certified Accountant is ACCA qualified.

AJ786

So basically the only difference is a C?

Also from what I read the ACA is tougher to gain while the ACCA is internationally recognised.

So in an interview how would i explain the difference?

Bluewednesday

I would say that a chartered accountant is one that is qualified with one of the CCAB bodies.

If there is a choice I say I'm a certified accountant but if there isn't I'm a chartered accountant.

You could get into hot water saying one is tougher/better than the other - depending on which one your interviewer is qualified with!!!!

I would look at the syllabus of each qualification - they are quite similar as I understand. However that is a very difficult question to answer!

uknitty

I think I would just stick to saying that they denote membership of different associations (ICAEW/ACCA) and that both are highly respected and recognised qualifications ( just in case you are being interviewed by a panel of people who have different qualifications...)

Louise89

AJ786 wrote: »

So basically the only difference is a C?

Also from what I read the ACA is tougher to gain while the ACCA is internationally recognised.

So in an interview how would i explain the difference?

Do you honestly think that the only difference between ACA and ACCA is a C?

Research both qualifications and their associations by visiting their websites; then you will have answered your own question.

PGM

AJ786 wrote: »

Also from what I read the ACA is tougher to gain while the ACCA is internationally recognised.

I'm sure you've read the definitive guide on accountancy

I've heard the hardest exam of them all is ACCA P2. But I think its fair to say there's very little between them, and dificulty levels change continuously as the subjects evolve and chief examiners come and go.

AJ786

Bluewednesday wrote: »

I would say that a chartered accountant is one that is qualified with one of the CCAB bodies.

If there is a choice I say I'm a certified accountant but if there isn't I'm a chartered accountant.

You could get into hot water saying one is tougher/better than the other - depending on which one your interviewer is qualified with!!!!

I would look at the syllabus of each qualification - they are quite similar as I understand. However that is a very difficult question to answer!

I have got no idea how to answer that and I made the mistake ay my last interview of stating that the ACA is more recognised then ACCA, guess that was a wrong move by me.

AJ786

Louise89 wrote: »

Do you honestly think that the only difference between ACA and ACCA is a C?

Research both qualifications and their associations by visiting their websites; then you will have answered your own question.

I dont honestly think that the difference is a C

from the research I have done, I honestly cannot see any real difference so is their really a definitive answer?

AJ786

uknitty wrote: »

I think I would just stick to saying that they denote membership of different associations (ICAEW/ACCA) and that both are highly respected and recognised qualifications ( just in case you are being interviewed by a panel of people who have different qualifications...)

Think that is the best response I can give though it doesnt state the difference between the two.

uknitty

There are no real differences between the end result of studying either ACCA or ACA - you will be able to undertake exactly the same type of work for the same type of clients. You will hold a respected qualification.

There are some differences in the way that the courses are structured when studying for the qualification. To gain ACA you must be in a training contract with an ICAEW registered employer. ACCA is much more flexible and you can work in either industry or practice in order to gain the work experience element.

With ACA you are required to submit an "advanced case study" which is what it says on the tin . I don't think that you have to complete a work project for ACCA as the sylabus is all assessed via exam (although I am sure that many of the ACCA qualified members on here can tell you if I am wrong !)

My gut feeling here is that the interviewer isn't actually testing your knowledge of the qualifications - rather they are trying to get an understanding of your career motivation going forward. I actually got asked a similar question in my interview for an internship and I turned it on its head slightly by saying:

"I'm currently in the final year of my AAT studies and I am starting to explore the possible opportunities offered by studying a chartered qualification, but I've not made any decisions yet.

You're a FCA aren't you? ((I'd looked this up beforehand) what advice would you give to someone starting out and thinking of studying for ACA"

It was actually a great opportunity to learn from someone who had "been there and worn the t-shirt" it gave me insight in to the qualification that I would not have gained otherwise.

AJ786

uknitty and everyone else thanks for the responses. Looks like their is no defnitive answer and I guess everyone has their own definitions

qwerty

uknitty wrote: »

With ACA you are required to submit an "advanced case study" which is what it says on the tin . I don't think that you have to complete a work project for ACCA as the sylabus is all assessed via exam (although I am sure that many of the ACCA qualified members on here can tell you if I am wrong !)

The ACA Advanced Case Study is an exam, not a work project. It is a four hour written exam which requires students to write a report on a situation. They are provided with some information about a month before the exam and then they are given further information as part of the exam, which requires them to write a report.

sadielouise

Cima

And of course there is always CIMA, or ACMA (the letters awarded by CIMA), which is Chartered Management Accountant.

stevef

And CIPFA if you are looking at all the Accounting bodies with a Charter.

I believe that ACCA is now the biggest UK based accountancy body (that is measured by size of total membership, ACCA does not have the highest UK membership).