hello,

I wonder if anyone could advise me about Acca qualification. I am Master in finance, studied abroad. i have been told that i may be eligible for exam exemptions.

But my question is how relevant is to have this qualification having already my degree.

thanks for your comments

Sherlyta

If you want to work as an accountant then the professional qualifications are what matters -I'm afraid your master's won't count for much other than possibly giving you some exemption form some of the early stages. You need to decide which of the accuntanty qualificatiosn you want as they are not all the same but usually an employer (which should pay for your classes and exams as well as give you some study leave) will generally decide - if you want to go into practice then ICAEW/ACA (Chartered Accountant) or the Scottish or Irish equivalent is what the top firms (and most of the next tiers) will go for. If you want to go into industry the ACMA (Chartered Management Accountant - CIMA) will be the preferred option. ACCA is generally a mix of the two and often taken by people at small firms. CIPFA is taken by people who train in the public sector.
You need to do some research on the various options. I worked in industry and did ACMA

Thanks for your great advise. I was really lost about such qualifications. Well in fact CIMA sounds really good. I checked the website and there is an option for MBA holders called CMGA, it's an exam that let go straight to strategic level exams, it says 11 exemptions and they give a diploma in management accounting . it cost a bit expensive though £500, but it says it includes all the fees even the material to study online.
I wonder how difficult that exam must be.
I can't find exactly how many exams they are in total... It seems as well a lot money to get this qualification. I imagine i will need to take courses to pass the exams.
I wonder what kind of work experience, let's say at what level they consider in order to be eligible.
I am recently settled in England,  I found out as well that there is and instituion that do a kind recognition/ comparison of degree holders from abroad called NARIC.
Well a lot to do still, to get transcription of my degrees, certified translations still dont know how, probably from my embassy.
I will have to think about that MBA option. it really attracts me but it scares me a little bit. (perhaps for that haha -I like it but scares me; like the song).
how seriously were you studying to pass your exams to get ACMA (which is CIMA, isn't?)

Hi, jepsonclough

What do you think about ICAEW?

ICAEW is considered the gold star qualification - most of the training is in audit and taxation rather than financial management.  Most employers will decide for you which qualification they will want you to complete (while it is possible to take the exams independently as a student it is not possible to qualify without on the job training so most employers will sponsor you (by paying for classes, exam fees and offering study leave) to take the exams while you are training).

The best thing to do is take a look at the websites of the various accounting bodies - these will have links for students which will outline the requirements (both formal exams and practical experience) and also indicate whether you are eligible for exemptions based on previous study (for example my first degree was in Economics and so I did not have to sit the economic paper). All levels are assessed by 100% examination.

www.icaew.com (Chartered Accountants - mainly train by auditing)
www.cimaglobal.com (Chartered Management Accountants - train within industry - more financial management, budgeting etc)
www.cipfa.org.uk (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy - mainly for people working in the public sector where accounting rules differ)
uk.accaglobal.com (Certified Accountants - a bit of auditing and a bit of industry)

There are also bodies for Chartered Accountants in Scotland and Ireland which offer similar qualifications to ICAEW.

My question is the other way round. I am studying for the ACA, but it looks like I will need a Masters in an economics or finance-related subject. I aim to do this through distance learning once I've finished my ACA.

Does anyone know of any Masters courses which will give an exemption if you are a chartered accountant?

Take a look at your institute website - they may have masters which you can get exemptions on - or you can ask for APEL on otehr courses (I was exempt from the finance moduel on my MSc)