Bsc university of london external program or ACCA

[yasirrfc]

hello im an Alevel student in karachi. I really need help regarding my uni decision. im passionate about the field of accounting and i wanna do bsc in accounting and finance.im not really sure what to do. i dont know if i should do ACCA or the university of london external program in accounting and finance. help would be really appreciated. and no i dont wanna go outside pakistan and its preferable that i do a degree because if heard that doing ACCA is like climbing from the 10th floor of a building, not because its hard but because it has no value but im still not sure. please help me whether i should do the university of london external program or ACCA. and also the exemptions after the external program in bsc accounting and finance is 8 papers from ACCA and 6 from ICAEW.
THANKS
YASIR D

[basit_namdar]

To be very true nothing has got worth in these times of recession because when i got into ACCA in 2008 my seniors when they were in their last stage of ACCA i.e. ACCA finalist were having jobs of 35K+ and after qualification the salary went beyond 50K. Nowadays you wont find a job for ACCA qualified of even 15K. my advice is to do ACCA as after clearing till f9 you will be able to apply for Bsc in applied accounting for which you would be required to write a thesis. If it is accepted you will be awarded Bsc from Oxford Brookes university. Similarly after completion of ACCA you can go for ICAEW and get yourself registered for 3 years at a registered audit firm or some companies. During your 3 years training you will be required to give 2 exams which cover course content from P2 and P3. One case study is also required to be submitted. After which you will be ACA. that ACA can be used to claim a reciprocal membership in ICAP which would give you a status of CA from ICAP but if you wish to practice law and tax than you need to give additional exams of LAW and TAX of ICAP. if you have got time and resources than go for it. Otherwise You can opt for a job at bank or some financial institution after ACCA and than do CFA. Both these options would make u rich man ;p

[mini]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, san" id="quote">quote<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by basit_namdar</i>
<br />To be very true nothing has got worth in these times of recession because when i got into ACCA in 2008 my seniors when they were in their last stage of ACCA i.e. ACCA finalist were having jobs of 35K+ and after qualification the salary went beyond 50K. Nowadays you wont find a job for ACCA qualified of even 15K. my advice is to do ACCA as after clearing till f9 you will be able to apply for Bsc in applied accounting for which you would be required to write a thesis. If it is accepted you will be awarded Bsc from Oxford Brookes university. Similarly after completion of ACCA you can go for ICAEW and get yourself registered for 3 years at a registered audit firm or some companies. During your 3 years training you will be required to give 2 exams which cover course content from P2 and P3. One case study is also required to be submitted. After which you will be ACA. that ACA can be used to claim a reciprocal membership in ICAP which would give you a status of CA from ICAP but if you wish to practice law and tax than you need to give additional exams of LAW and TAX of ICAP. if you have got time and resources than go for it. Otherwise You can opt for a job at bank or some financial institution after ACCA and than do CFA. Both these options would make u rich man ;p
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

the only problem with option no.1 is that icaew contracts are non existent in pakistan, correct me if im wrong guys.. there are some firms still offering icaew contracts but they arent that good compared to big 4.. whilst getting amended contracts from big4 is also an option but thats almost unheard of .. or depends on youre luck and the big4 in question.. so forget icaew while youre in Pak imo..

[Dard]

Why not go for BSc from Pakistani universities? Get good marks in A level and try in IBA or LUMS.
I will not recommend ACCA in Pakistan. As basit mentioned, one way is to enter ACCA, clear first nine papers with good average marks and opt in BSc(Hons) in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University. After that you will have to submit a thesis. If you are successful in getting a first class degree, it will be great.
If you want to go for ACCA, try passing all the exams in first attempt, in minimum time(Two years). It is very much possible if you work hard. Once you are first attempter in minimum duration, you will most likely be recruited in either KPMG or Ernst and Young. However, keep in mind that you never know what happens in two years' time.

[yasirrfc]

hey thank you so much for replying. yes i thought about the Bsc in applied accounting first but its not worth it as far as ive heard. Also, the LUMS deadline has passed and i didnt apply and IBA does not offer any accounting and finance program. there is a program in CBM but its pathetic as its a 4 year course and ill get only 5 paper exemption from acca thats it. and the thing is that i think that the external programme of university of london is a pretty decent course. its more towards accounting and finance but also has business related studies. the thing is that right now i heard ACCA get articleships worth 3000 rs only starting in their second year. i preferably wanna do a degree because i personally will be proud of myself. but the thing is that with ACCA, i can get a secured job even if its worth 3,4000 rs for 12 hours a day but its secure that i will get a job to complete the articleship. however, im not that sure of the degree. thats why im a bit scared. ill have to be really hard working, passionate and a little lucky to get a job after that degree. so what do u guys think about the external degree BSC in accounting and finance degree from University of London?is it worth it? and do u know if its worth getting a job and a starting salary?
thank you so much. )

[basit_namdar]

Dekho i am talking from my experience like my friends above as i am a fresh ACCA affiliate so i know the mkt conditions. What ACCA gives you is the assurance to get a training cntrct thats it. The cntrct might not be available as easily as it is now bcoz AFF and another member of big 4 firm will stop recruiting ACCAs next session onwards. EnY also offers ICAEW cntrcts but this is given to 80 students per ANNUM this means almost 40 students in a single attempt. ACCA gets 9500 per mnth if under icaew cntrct if not than it is not fixed depends on your bargaining skills p Apart from that i can also tell you that no degree has got worth in Pakistan esp in these times. My advice is to go for some professional certificate as it gives you mobility and can be completed in short term. why not CA??? or CFA AFTER ACCA??

[Dard]

ACCA affiliate gets 6,500rs in two of the BIG 4. In EY, if you have passed P6 and P7, you get 9,500rs. But stipend should not be your priority.
That external degree is distant study, i will not recommend it. Go for ACCA, try hard to be first attempter and finish it in two years. If your personal skills are good, i assure you, you will be selected in one of the BIG 4. You do not require anything else if you are selected there. Training from a BIG 4 firm will certainly land you in a good job.
We are talking from experience. Unless you are an extraordinary achiever in a professional qualification(like ACCA) or have a degree from either LUMS or IBA, the chances of you getting into a multinational company are less.

[yasirrfc]

thank you so much. so i think ACCA it is then. i was really into the external degree with all the hype and the special award. but yeah once again doing ACCA will get me better chances in getting a job even though if its less than 4000 for a whole day of work. i just wanna get experience right now during ACCA and a little salary but i wanna go big in the future.thanks a lot guys.

[basit_namdar]

Completely agreed with DARD. I am now mashaa Allah recruited in AF Ferguson due to a small bit of contribution by my personal skills and mainly because of blessings of Allah. Be sure not to hurt your elders esp. parents and always ask them to pray for you. I think if you have good academic record and you have your parents prayers than no one can stop you from being successful inshaa Allah. Again if you are able to get in big 4 and you have good relations with your seniors than you will definitely be recommended by your managers and partners to other industries which is a great reference to have. May you have a great experience in ACCA and best of luck for future.

[Dard]

Yasir, by your words it seems you want to get experience while doing ACCA. DO NOT DO THAT. I repeat, do not do that. Just concentrate on passing ACCA with flying colours. I also devised that you think you will get a good job after passing exams, without any experience. You will not be doing a job immediately after you finish ACCA exams You will have to undergo three years training first.

[yasirrfc]

yeah i wanna do the training with the papers. i dont wanna take 5 to 6 years in becoming a member of the ACCA body. i wanna do the articleship during the papers. and one more thing i heard that the scope of a degree never ends. eventually in the future ACCA will go down and something new is gonna come. a degree stays a degree. a lot of people are doing ACCA and a lot of them are passing as well since they reduced the passing marks.the thing is that i wanna do something different in life and get a degree first properly. a lot of my friends are doing the degree. they say its a lot tougher than your IBA, SZABIST AND CBM as your papers are checked by the university of london. the name says it all. a degree from university of london is like something amazing. i think i might go for the degree option as it has a wider scope and i wont stick to one thing. a degree will have some aspect in business management as well. it wont be purely based on accounting, finance and audit etc. and even if something goes wrong or i would wanna do ACCA than ill have 8 paper exemption so thats again a good thing right? i still have a backup after completing the degree so i think im going to go for the degree as a lot of new employer in the UK and USA and even in malaysia, as far as ive hard, look at the person's own skills and most of them, ive heard, say that they look for degrees nowadays.so i think im gonna go for the UOL program. ill feel proud and even in my parents' eyes as they think the same way that ACCA is oversupplied in the market and the demand is still. so yeah i think this degree will give me better future aspects.
thank you so much for you suggestions )

[Dard]

You should not believe rumours. You are at that stage of life where one believes anything people say without researching themselves. Let me get your facts right ACCAs passing mark has always been 50% and still is. Who told you the value of degree never ends? Take a look at MBA degree in Pakistan. Once upon a time it used to be of much more value than today. The degree you want to study towards is not full time, it is not even part time, it is distant study. You should research yourself than believing others.

[yasirrfc]

not a degree like. MBA is masters degree and its value will always remain as it is a degree. 50 years from now you can tell your grand kids that i have a degree and graduated from this university. if you'll say ACCA, they'll say what is that S thats the major difference. and whether its a full time or a distance learning degree, it is and will always be a degree associated with the name of University Of London. Just hearing that makes a person feel that yeah the graduate has some sort of skills like as in the graduate is a pretty big thing

[basit_namdar]

@yasirrfc I dont remenber a single certification which is as big as ACCA in terms of students and members becoming a part of history. Just do what your heart says but let me tell you one thing the worth of the distant course alone is not even 15K. On the other hand ACCA will get u to 60 70K after 3 years inshaa Allah

[Dard]

Your children will definitely know what is Accountancy, and ACCA is a name in itself, although it's value in Pakistan is quite lower than ICAP's C.A because of ICAP being backed by law.
You want to think 50 years ahead, that is a good thing, but the degree you are pursuing will not lead you where you want to be. Had the university been Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, Standford or London School of Business, the distant learning degree would have been fine.
If you wish to stay in Pakistan then go for ICAP's C.A.