Changing Institutes

FargoBoyle86

Hi all,Will try and keep this short and sweet. I am a graduate of a BBS in Accounting 2009 and have been actively seeking employment in a Trainee Accountant role over the last 12 months. During this time, I felt it was a good idea to register with ICAI and complete my two outstanding CAP 1 subjects.During my job seeking, I have noticed a lack of Trainee contracts, a reluctance i suppose to give someone a 3 and 1/2 year contract. I have found that more and more Accounts Assistants positions are cropping up. So, I have decided to switch to ACCA.My questions are,Has anyone else switched institute, did it benefit them?I am in an Accounts Assistant role at the moment (unpaid), will this count as part of my three years?Any other advice for a guy desperate to break into the Accounting profession?Many thanks, Fargo.

Slasher

You'd want to check this with ICAI, but AFAIK the ICAI are allowing people to complete the exams without being in Training Contract. This is due to the large number of people wanting to train and the shortage of Training Contracts. So be sure to check that our before you decide to switch Institutes.

smcgiff

FargoBoyle86 wrote: »

I am in an Accounts Assistant role at the moment (unpaid), will this count as part of my three years?

Depends on what you are doing, but I imagine it will count towards your 3 years with ACCA.

I've always been with ACCA so can't comment about changing. Haven't regretted being with them. As said above you can probably stay with the CAI, but they are very expensive to pay for yourself. ACCA considerably cheaper (Far greater mass of students has its benefits)

dbran

FargoBoyle86 wrote: »

I am in an Accounts Assistant role at the moment (unpaid), will this count as part of my three years?

Hi

Provided that 1) the place where you are working is an approved employer with the ACCA and 2) you are under the supervision of a qualified principle and he signs off your PER. Whether you are paid or not is irrelevant

Without either of the above i am afraid it will not count other then something to go on your CV (which in itself is a good thing as it shows initiative).

Kind Regards


dbran

scouser82

Changing over to ACCA would mean not having to deal with the incompetent ICAI. That is enough of a reason to change over.

tenchi-fan

dbran wrote: »

Hi

Provided that 1) the place where you are working is an approved employer with the ACCA and 2) you are under the supervision of a qualified principle and he signs off your PER. Whether you are paid or not is irrelevant

This isn't correct, dbran.

Your records need to be signed off by a qualified accountant but the employer does not have to be approved with ACCA.

tenchi-fan

FargoBoyle86 wrote: »

Hi all,Will try and keep this short and sweet. I am a graduate of a BBS in Accounting 2009 and have been actively seeking employment in a Trainee Accountant role over the last 12 months. During this time, I felt it was a good idea to register with ICAI and complete my two outstanding CAP 1 subjects.During my job seeking, I have noticed a lack of Trainee contracts, a reluctance i suppose to give someone a 3 and 1/2 year contract. I have found that more and more Accounts Assistants positions are cropping up. So, I have decided to switch to ACCA.My questions are,Has anyone else switched institute, did it benefit them?I am in an Accounts Assistant role at the moment (unpaid), will this count as part of my three years?Any other advice for a guy desperate to break into the Accounting profession?Many thanks, Fargo.

Hi,

I was always with ACCA and I gained my experience over 3 different jobs. The first job was in practice for a year and I hated it. It helped me get the second job, which was even worse and I stuck it out 6 months! Then, third time lucky I finally got a job I (more or less) liked and after a year and a half I qualified.

ACCA let you gain experience in accounting, finance, audit and assurance related, taxation, insolvency, and forensics. (I got that from their website)... see http://www.accaglobal.com/students/acca/per/

If you get a generic job in an office and take on the responsibility of say 2 out of your 5 days posting invoices and doing credit control, once you could get this signed off by a qualified accountant within your company it will count towards your practical experience requirement. After slightly over a year you would have 5 month's accounting experience!

dbran

tenchi-fan wrote: »

This isn't correct, dbran.

Your records need to be signed off by a qualified accountant but the employer does not have to be approved with ACCA.

Hi techi-fan

You are right.

I thought this used to be the case but obviously it must have changed.


Kind Regards


dbran

djk1000

I think that if you have all your ducks in a row, the ICAI is a good way to go, well respected qualification with a secure training contract and usually good paid study leave.

However, ACCA provides a lot more freedom, you can do more or less exams in a sitting to suit yourself, the fees are much lower, you can study at home or take classes if you wish and the practical experience is much easier to get because as mentioned above, once a qualified accountant signs you off it counts, whether it's in industry or practice, part time or full time, approved employer or not.

I don't think that there are many employers out there that worry too much about someone being ACCA or ICAI, the standard is similar, it's down to the individual and the experience. You'll always come up against the occasional snob in either body though!