ACCA vs ACA or pakistan-india cricket match???

[the_farhan]

hi all.
i have just joined this forum. i have been viziting it for quite some times. i have read many views n reviews n arguments abt ACCA n ACA issue. hey, wait a sec, let me tell u first tht i m not in ne of these two ... i have a bit different plan; i shall join CIMA after my mba ...
i have really benifitted a lot via this forum, although i have probing these things, ACA, ACMA(ICMAP), ACMA(CIMA), ACCA, CPA, CFA, CMA etc)at my own through websites n internet ... bt u guyz really have cleared me a lot ... i have a coupl of questions.

first is abt ACCA n ACA. i personally respect both of these bt i know tht in pakistan, ICAP has an advantage bcoz of different reasons. ACCA, being relatively newer one, will have 2 put efforts 2 get enough roots, though it has been quite successful in gaining attention. i wanna know tht is this the case only in pakistan tht ICAP dominates here n ne other accounting body tht deals in auditing&taxation is disregarded???? or this is a general trend in other countries tooooo tht their respective native accounting bodies, which deal n catter the auditing&taxation laws, dominate over every other accounting body tht deals in similar grounds??? or it is just in pakistan-like countries tht r struggling-third-world icons, where opportunities r limitted, n ne1/ne"body" tht get it, wanna hold it 4ever n iznt willing 2 share it with others ... i m not taunting ICAP ... bt, as a new-commer, i feel so ... so i hope 2 get a comprehensive reply abt it.

my second question is abt my career planning. i think tht CIMA is a good choice after my MBA. i will b able 2 complete it alongwith the job. can ne1 add in my knowledge wht other options might i consider???

salaam,
chaos (Y)

FARHAN

[Pracs]

Hi Farhan,..

about what suits u ,, i am not sure what kind of career u r planning,, so am at lost to advice u on that..

coming to ACCA and ACA.. WELL. its not just a third world syndrome,, accounting bodies who are also regulators of the profession have a tendency to hold on to the monoply.

Tha AICPA - CPA in the US,, recognises no one else,, so u have no exemptions whatsover, u need to pass the exam and full fill the training requirements to get a practicing license. It goes even to an industry job where CPA is the only certification that is prefered. Moving over to the commonwealth,.

UK has extended the right to practice to ACCA'S but a CA from E&W, Scotland is still the A class to do. Though ACCA has all rights and privellages it has to take a second seat.

Its pretty much the same with, Australia, canada, newzealand and south africa.. ACCA is a accepted in all these places but the local CA is still prime. Although in a majority of these countries ACCA enjoys the maximum. for instance in australia u only have to sit for law and tax and plus the mandatory affiliation with an australian CA to get the local australian CA.

To persue an a class career in accountancy in pakistan u need a pakistani CA... add as many foreign degreed as u like,, but pakistani CA is a must. Its only fair because u need to put in a lot of effort and time to get a pakistani CA, pass rates are higher and more difficult as compared to any other foreign qualifications. Plus it is the only way to train within the pakistani corporate scene with due regulation from the Institute. Morever, it still attracts the most talented and bright. ICAP has been more geneorus in recognising other foreign degrees say as compared to India.

One plus to ACCA in the international market is Australia and EU coming in to accept IAS/IFRS as their accounting standards.. i see the US moving towards the same direction in a time scale ofcourse. So that makes ACCA more attractive to a lot of professionals world wide.. since its the only internationally recognised accountancy degree which offers the IAS/IFRS stream.

[the_farhan]

hi all ... AOA

many thnx, pracs, for ur detailed reply ... i liked the technical points tht u mentioned ...

salaam (Y)

FARHAN