CA vs ACCA: 5 Difference you should know

With the employment situation shifting so drastically, obtaining merely a university degree is considered a fundamental requirement, placing you on equal ground with everyone else. If you only have a bachelor’s degree, you are unlikely to get desirable employment in a reputable firm. To be marketable nowadays, students must pursue specialized professional training beyond their graduate studies; hence, the ACCA or CA course plays a significant part in long-term career ambitions. While you are probably well aware of what CA and ACCA courses are, we will need to start with a brief explanation of their distinctions. Before delving more into which is better amongst ACCA and CA, let us first define what ACCA and CA are. Knowing the differences between them will help us decide whether ACCA or CA is the better option.

1. Chartered Accountancy: It is among the most prominent and outstanding programs in commerce and finance. CA as a course is the ideal combination of practical and theoretical knowledge and offers a student with the necessary practical exposure to the views of accounting, taxes, and auditing. CA as a curriculum has three levels and a highly strict examination method for an individual to qualify for the examination. The entire pass percentage for CA for all three levels combined is close to 0.1 percent to 0.5 percent max. Despite reports of a 5 percent to 15 percent pass rate for CA final, the aggregate passing rate in CA is only around 0.1 percent and 0.5 percent.

• Focus area of CA: Finance and Financial Accounting.
• Duration for the completion of the course: This curriculum can be finished in 3-5 years with a supplementary year of training, based on the cognitive demand of the curriculum and the eligibility of the applicants.
• Fundamental levels: Chartered accountancy encompasses three levels where CA foundation, CA intermediate, and CA final are considered its fundamental stages.
• The number of papers: This qualification consists of 20 papers where, 4 papers are in CA foundation, 8 papers in CA intermediate, and 8 papers in CA finals.

2. ACCA: The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants is a global professional accounting association with over 200,000 participants that was established in 1904 under the Royal Charter of the United Kingdom. It is recognized in over 186 countries and has trained over 400,000 participants. With a rising demand for ACCA certifications in the global employment market, over 7000 organizations globally, including 90% of Fortune 500 corporations, employ ACCA-qualified personnel. The ACCA qualification is divided into four sections: business, accounting, management, and strategy. However, in the areas of Performance Assessments and Finance Metrics, there is a systematic study of instances rather than just issue solutions.

• Focus area of ACCA: Taxation. Auditing, Accounts handling, Management accounting.
• Duration for the completion of the course: Applicants must complete this professional qualification in three years, with an additional 2 - 3 years of practice.
• Levels: ACCA fundamentals and ACCA professionals are two significant levels of ACCA qualification.
• The number of papers: This qualification consists of 14 papers where 9 papers are in ACCA fundamentals and 5 papers in ACCA professionals.

Given the timeframe, complexity of exams, course levels, and versatility of both training, it is no wonder that the CA course is often regarded as more difficult than the ACCA. However, this is a purely subjective matter, and your results may differ. So, choose wisely!

Jaylin is a Staff Writer for Bizmaa focusing on business analytics, business systems, gadgets and other small business news. She has a background in information and communications technology coordination.