Professional Accounting Bodies - Discussion and Comparisons

Board.surf · 31-07-2017 11:19AM

I've decided to pursue ACCA. It provides felxibility for those with more than 2 ongoing obligations i.e work, family, young kids, volunteer work. 4 exams, 1 at a time per year. It's also quite cheap.

For CPA I unfortunately came to the conclusion that it did not suit me, even though they offered more exemptions. Not one recruiter was comfortable approaching me having put CPA on my CV. It's sad really.

CAI. Well, I wanted to, but nobody has taken me on and I would rather not pay the hefty fees right now.

All 3 seem great, but it really depends on your background, aspirations and current setup.

(The cpa to acca question as asked above. ACCA give very few exemptions for CPA).

Will Yam · 21-05-2018 09:32PM

None of them are. Although you might have difficulty dragging that piece of information out of them. You'll get stuff like "equivalent to" etc, but if you ask the direct question and request a yes or no, they either have to give a no, or...........

Neither is ITI on the framework. Afaik the only professional qualification on the framework is CTax.

frankythefish · 22-05-2018 06:03PM

Totally agree with posters who says it's about your own situation with regard to which you pick. I am speaking as a Cpa. I have no problem saying that I would hold cai in my head as the number 1 professional body. I have never warmed to acca, based largely on many colleagues who I have worked with who were acca. I always found they were limited in their technical knowledge. I m sure their are those who would stand up to cai/Cpa and be even better so I am not painting all with the one brush here. With regard to Cima, I have never worked alongside a qualified Cima. Management accounting was never really my area anyways

shelestkaterina · 06-02-2023 04:30PM

The professional accounting bodies are organizations that are responsible for setting accounting standards, regulating the profession, and providing education, training and development opportunities to members. These bodies are also responsible for protecting the public interest and maintaining the integrity of the profession.

The three main professional accounting bodies are the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). All three of these bodies have their own standards, qualifications and rules for members.The main differences between the three bodies include the type of qualifications required to become a member, the rules and regulations for members, and the scope of the training and development opportunities provided. For example, CIMA has a more comprehensive training programme than the other two bodies, while ICAEW has a more focused and technical approach.