General questions

[Masum]

Salam people

I’m a science graduate and am thinking of going into accountancy. I am a bit confused about the certifications and stuff so I was hoping you could help clarify a few issues. Btw, I am in the UK and would be studying for my qualification there. I know there is a number of questions but I’d be grateful if you took the time to help me out. Maybe answer those questions you can and let others deal with the remaining questions.

1)Correct me if I’m wrong, but to become a member with an accounting body you need to have completed their respective qualification. Is the following correct?

ICAEW/ICAS leads to ‘chartered accountant’ status(aka ca, aca)
ACCA leads to ‘Chartered Certified Accountant’status (aka cca, acca)
CIMA leads to ‘Chartered Institute Management Accountants’ status(cima)

2)Do all the above courses take minimum 3 years to complete in the UK?
3)From what I have read the acca course is cheaper and arguably easier to complete. As a result is it less prestigious then aca.
a)Is this true?
b) What other differences are there? E.g. is one qualification more suitable for a specific field of accounting then the other, What is the course content like, Is one more broad then the other and so on.
3)What is the CIMA all about and how does it compare with the other two? Could you comment on factors as in the previous question such as reputation, content, relevance field etc.
4)If I am put on a training course, will work experience be a part of the course or will I have to do a further x years to be considered competent. I read somewhere that for one qualification(can’t remember which), you need to get certified then complete 2-3 years in industry.
5)I also believe there is other certificates such as CIPFA and CFA. Is it correct to say the former is geared towards government and public sector services whereas the latter for financial accounting. If so is the CFA more credible then acca/aca if one wishes to go into finance.
6)Which of all these qualifications is respected internationally and which has greater market value in this sense?
7)How easy will it be to get a job after becoming certified?
8)Suppose I wanted to work in an area like cooperate recovery or cooperate finance, what would be the best certification/route to take. Also what are the prospects for international travel when working in this field?
9)How important is it to be training with the big four firms? someone told me if you’re not with the big four your career prospects will be limited. Also is it true that the majority of uk graduates work for the big 4 forms?
10)What field of accounting will allow me to be amongst people a lot and have good prospects for international travel. Also what might I be doing when I’m abroad?
11)Suppose I went for ca and later wanted to work in the public sector, would a cipfa be given precedence over me?
12)Once I have a training contract, does this mean after the 3 years the firm who employed me will continue to employ me? Would I be on a contract and would I have to commit myself to them for a few years? If yes, how long?
13) Do most accountants work internally within organisations or externally i.e. private practices.

Thank you for your time. Salam.

[derivativetrader]

Being a science student shouldn't hinder your job prospects in UK accountancy firms. If you want good job market for you then you shouldn't look anywhere but Big 4. And, you shoudl try to get on a training contract for ACA, i.e. ICAEW. Once you are done with ACA and provided that you were in the Audit department that focuses on the financial institutions, then you shouldn't have any trouble getting on the investment banking 3rd year analyst level. I have couple of friends who did that and are now at the VP level.

Although you would probably get initially a three year contract for your ACA (or any professional qualification) but upon qualification firm would try its best to retain the talent - after all it has spent a great amount of resources in your development and it wouldn't want a free rider problem. It may offer you competitive salary or a promotion etc. But even then people try to jump ships for better prospects and money.

CFA is generally an investment management qualfication. If you are thinking to go into banking and want to get into buy side then you should definately consider CFA, i.e. after qualifying as ACA. I don't know about other Big 4 but KPMG definately sponsor you for it provided you present a solid case.

Don't worry about that yet just focus on getting a contract of ACA from any Big 4 firm and try to get it in London. It's expensive but all worth it.

If you don't get into Big 4 then look for medium but expanding firms like Grant Thornton. Be aware that not many firms will sponsor you for Work Permit (if you need it) but the exeption of Big 4.

Hope it helps.

[Masum]

Thanks for that. Could others be kind enough as to answer my remaining questions. There is a set of specifc questions which remain unanswered.

[derivativetrader]

One more thing, if you want to do corporate finance don't work for thes accounting firms. Work for Bulge Bracket investment banks. Since you are in UK you have an advantage of London. Ofcourse, getting into the i-banking would require alot more than simple 21 or First class honours. You need to be an active student plus goot networking skills.

CF in Bi4 isn't much fun and you would be working on deals that are of not that big magnitude. Working hours may be alot better in Big 4 but you will be on less cash. Plus, if you start from Big 4 in CF then you can't go (usually) to i-banking in long run but the otherway is quite normal and easily accessible.

And most accountants, if you are in audit or any advisory dept. you will be required to travel and a fair amount of your time will be at client side. Trust me travelling on official matters isn't funn

DT

[the_farhan]

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mr. Masum, i would reply some of ur queries

(1) abbreviations are correctly interpretted.

(2) completion period depends upon your pace of clearing the papers. it may take more than 3 yrs also.

(3a) this argument is not valid unless the context, within which it is said, is explained. ACCA may be an edge in many circumstances.

(3b) the (3a) is answered in (3b) automatically, that qualifications ve their edges or lackings depending upon the needs of a particular industry.eg, CFA is all-time-best for investment banking, ACII suitable for insurance sector, acca,aca,cima good for corporate finance etc etc
website of cima says that cima is more thn just accounting. it is complete business education. it covers lot of non-financial aspects of business also, in adition to core accounting and finance. n i think, tht this is the main edge over other accounting bodies bcoz they emphesize more on finance n accounting aspects

(4) in case of aca,acca,cima, n cfa; the 3-yrs-experience can b obtained before, during, n/or after the completion of all exams. but i not sure of aca of icaew conditions.

(5) i dont know much abt cipfa, but cfa is NOT accounting at all !!! it is purely an investment banking and portfolio management, n good for nearly all financial sector institutions. so, no comparision between cfa n acca/aca/cima

(6) all of these r well reputed, internationally acclaimed qualifications n posses great potential in their areas

(8) already replied in prev queries. aca,acca,cima r best for corporate financial management

(10) very vague question, bcoz it all depends upon nature of ur job n circumstances. by the way, if u love to b among ppl, n dealing with them most of the time, then marketing profession might b a good option also.


i hope other members will help u in remaining of the queries, i ve tried to deliver wht i know. i hope it would b helpful.




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FARHAN

live, n let live ...

[turithegreat]

CFA is generally an investment management qualfication. If you are thinking to go into banking and want to get into buy side then you should definately consider CFA, i.e. after qualifying as ACA. I don't know about other Big 4 but KPMG definately sponsor you for it provided you present a solid case.