ACCA vs CA – Salary, Difficulty, Duration & Other Key Differences [Updated 2023]

Generally, students wanting to pursue a degree in finance and accounting face a major dilemma while choosing the relevant program. The dilemma is more prominent when it comes to deciding between ACCA vs CA. Through this article, we will decode both the qualifications using multiple parameters, thereby allowing students to make better & informed decision.

1) History – ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is one of the world’s oldest and largest accounting body formed in 1904 in the UK. While ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) was established as a statutory body by an Act of Parliament in 1949. Many students and their parents are generally not aware that ACCA is an older (and hence, more recognized) body as compared to ICAI.

2) Acceptability – ACCA as a qualification is accepted in more than 180+ countries (including a rapidly growing Indian Market). On the other hand, its counterpart CA is more India centric with extended acceptability in the Middle East. Apart from the other elements, this acts as a major advantage for students opting for ACCA and looking for more global careers in the field of finance and accounting.

3) Levels and Subjects – Both the CA and ACCA qualifications consist of 3 levels as under –

4) Group System – When it comes to appearing for exams, students pursuing Indian Accountancy are required to appear for a minimum of 1 group in the CA Inter and Final Level which means a minimum of 3-4 papers in a single attempt.

Believe me, being a CA myself in the first attempt (back in the Nov 2002 attempt), studying for and appearing for 3 subjects at a time with extremely detailed curriculum is very difficult (difficult is an understatement). Most of the students fail in CA as they are not able to handle pressure of giving first and/or second group (each of 3 papers now) in one go.

Students pursuing ACCA, can appear for a minimum 1 paper every quarter. This not only makes the life of a student much easier but also improves the quality of education that a student absorbs.

Further, under Group system, if a student is not able to score 40 or more marks out of 100 marks, then entire group is considered failed (instead of just that one paper).  In ACCA, once a student clears a paper, it is clear forever.  In the event of not getting passing marks in one paper in ACCA, only that paper is considered failed (and not the level).

5) Exam Timing – Exams for Indian Accountancy twice in a year – May / June and November / December.

The frequency of the exams held by the ACCA is higher. Applied Knowledge Level exams are on demand exams, which means that as soon as a student is ready with his preparation for a particular exam, they can appear for their exam and get the results for their exam/s instantly.

Applied Skills and Professional Level exams are held once every quarter i.e., March, June, September, and December and results are declared within 5-6 weeks of the exam.

6) Exam Pattern – Even before divulging the exam pattern, I would not hesitate to say that ICAI is catching up to match the dynamic and more relevant exam pattern of ACCA.

• CA Foundation – Paper 1 and 2 (as listed in the table above) are subjective while paper 3 and 4 (as listed in the table above) are objective. There is a provision of negative marks in the objective Paper 1 and 2.
• CA Intermediate – A combination of subjective and objective questions. There is no negative marking in any subject.
• CA Final – A combination of subjective and objective questions for specific subjects. There is no negative marking in any subject.

When it comes to ACCA subjects, the exam pattern across the different levels is as under –

• Applied Knowledge Level – 3 subjects with 100% Objective type questions
• Applied Skills Level – 1 subject with 100% Objective type questions and 5 subjects with 60% Objective type questions & 40% subjective
• Professional Level – 4 subjects and 100% subjective

The good news is that there is no negative marking in any of the ACCA subjects at any level.

7) Passing Marks – The criteria for passing the CA and ACCA exams is as under –

• CA – For a student to clear his CA foundation exam, he needs to score a minimum 40 marks in every paper and obtain an aggregate of 200 out of 400. In order to clear the CA Inter and CA final subjects, a student would need to score at least 40% in each of the papers and an aggregate of 50% marks in each group.
• ACCA – For a student to clear any ACCA exam at any level, he / she needs to score minimum 50% marks

There are many other career options after CA, that can be useful for their professional growth.

8) Pass Rates – The result for both CA and ACCA vary based on attempt, level, and subjects. Overall, the results are as under –
– CA Pass Rates

• CA Foundation – approx. 20-25%
• CA Inter – Students who clear group 1 is 20-22%, group 2 – 21-25% and both groups 11-13%
• CA Final – Students who clear group 1 are approx. 10-12%, group 2 – 25-30% and both group is approx. 8-10%

– ACCA Pass Rates

• Applied Knowledge Level – 60-80% (vary from subject to subject)
• Applied Skills Level – 40-80% (vary from subject to subject)
• Professional Level – 35-50% (vary from subject to subject)

9) Duration – For a student to complete their CA qualification, it would take minimum 5 years. Students pursuing ACCA, generally complete the qualification in 5-3 years (standard period for students who complete all 13 papers without any exemption)

10) Exemptions – Students pursuing CA have very limited option of getting exemptions. They can get exemptions if they are commerce graduate/post graduate with 55% marks or more. They would generally need to clear all papers at every level in order to complete the CA qualification. Students pursuing ACCA are eligible for claiming up to 9 exemptions (subject to their previous academic background) out of the 13 papers required to complete the qualification and become an ACCA affiliate/member.

11) Cost – Cost of doing ACCA and CA is almost similar in India. Along with training support, both qualifications would cost you approximately Rs. 4 lacs (i.e., ACCA or ICAI fees and training/coaching fees for all exams).

12) Articleship / Training –
Students pursuing the Indian Accountancy course, are required to go through a 2-year practical training. In order to complete the training, students have 2 options

• Option 1 – Students can enroll themselves under a practicing Indian Accountant working with a registered Indian Accountancy firm and complete their 2-year training. The entire duration of the 24-month articleship training will be counted as training ONLY in a student’s resume.
• Option 2 – Students can work with a corporate based on the opportunities available and subject to selection. For the duration they have worked with corporates, the same will be counted as working experience in a student’s resume. Please note that the number of opportunities with corporates for students who are still pursuing CA are far and few.

13) Recognition – Students pursuing the Indian Accountancy course, are required to complete the entire qualification to reap the benefits of the same. However, students pursuing their ACCA qualification have a major edge over their peers. After completing every level i.e., Applied Knowledge, Skills level, they would receive a certificate of completion from the ACCA institute. For e.g., students who successfully complete their “Applied Knowledge Level” receive a “Diploma in Business and Accounting” from ACCA.

14) Salary Packages – Whilst salary package is dependent on several factors such as – Compensation policy of the company which is hiring, profile, prior experience, technical skills, sector, location, no of attempts etc.

However, at a broad level, average salary package of a CA fresher would be in the range of INR 4-8 lacs (Big 4’s, Large FMCG companies, Private banks etc. generally pay salary towards the higher end of the salary range).

Similarly, the salary package of an ACCA fresher is generally in the same range INR 4-6.5/7 lacs as an ACCA fresher. Please note that different websites such as Glassdoor, PayScale etc. would quote different salary ranges purely based on the companies they have considered, candidates they have spoken to or gathered data from as part of their research. Salary range could also vary from year to year depending on the health of business, economic conditions etc.

We would encourage you to go through and understand each of the parameters elaborated above to take a well-informed decision about course that fits your aspirations. Like we say during our career coaching sessions with students – “It is very important for a student to be clear about WHY they want to pursue a particular qualification, before they start preparing for it.”

If you have decided to pursue ACCA, The Wall Street School can help you take a step forward. Check out our ACCA course to learn more. Good Luck and Happy Career Building in the world of Finance and Accounting!