{"id":1886,"date":"2023-07-12T10:20:14","date_gmt":"2023-07-12T04:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thewallstreetschool.com\/blog\/?p=1886"},"modified":"2024-10-25T14:36:53","modified_gmt":"2024-10-25T09:06:53","slug":"acca-vs-ca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thewallstreetschool.com\/blog\/acca-vs-ca\/","title":{"rendered":"ACCA vs CA \u2013 Salary, Difficulty, Duration & Other Key Differences [Updated 2023]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Generally, students wanting to pursue a degree in finance and accounting face a major dilemma while choosing the relevant program.<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

1) History \u2013 ACCA<\/strong> (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is one of the world\u2019s oldest and largest accounting body formed in 1904 in the UK. While ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India)<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

2) Acceptability \u2013 ACCA<\/strong> 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<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

3) Levels and Subjects \u2013<\/strong> Both the CA and ACCA qualifications consist of 3 levels as under \u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
CA Levels<\/strong><\/td>\nSubjects<\/strong><\/td>\nACCA Level<\/strong><\/td>\nSubjects<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Foundation (4 papers)<\/strong><\/td>\n– Accounting (Paper 1)<\/strong>
\n– Business Laws (Paper 2)<\/strong>
\n– Quantitative Aptitude (Paper 3)<\/strong>
\n– Business Economics (Paper 4)<\/strong><\/td>\n		Applied Knowledge Level (3 papers)<\/strong><\/td>\n– Business & Technology (BT)<\/strong>
\n– Financial Accounting (FA)<\/strong>
\n– Management Accounting (MA)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Intermediate (6 papers)<\/strong><\/td>\nGroup 1 <\/strong>
\n– Advanced Accounting (Paper 1)<\/strong>
\n– Corporate & Other Laws (Paper 2)<\/strong>
\n– Taxation (Paper 3) <\/strong>Group 2 <\/strong>
\n– Cost & Management Accounting (Paper 4)<\/strong>
\n– Auditing & Ethics (Paper 5)<\/strong>
\n– Financial Management (Paper 6A)<\/strong>
\n– Strategic Management (Paper 6B)<\/strong><\/td>\n		Applied Skills Level (6 papers)<\/strong><\/td>\n– <\/strong>Corporate & Business Law (BL)<\/strong>
\n– Financial Management (FM)<\/strong>
\n– Financial Reporting (FR)<\/strong>
\n– Performance Management (PM)<\/strong>
\n– Taxation (TX)<\/strong>
\n– Audit & Assurance (AA)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Final (6 papers)<\/strong><\/td>\nGroup 1 <\/strong>
\n– Financial Reporting (Paper 1)<\/strong>
\n– Advanced Financial Management (Paper 2)<\/strong>
\n– Advanced Auditing, Assurance & Professional Ethics (Paper 3)<\/strong>Group 2 <\/strong>
\n– Direct Tax Laws & International Taxation (Paper 4)<\/strong>
\n– Indirect Tax Laws (Paper 5)<\/strong>
\n– Integrated Business Solutions (Paper 6)<\/strong><\/td>\n		Professional Level (4 papers)<\/strong><\/td>\n2 mandatory subjects<\/strong><\/p>\n

– Strategic Business Leader (SBL)<\/strong>
\n– Strategic Business Reporting (SBR)<\/strong><\/p>\n

2 out 4 elective subjects<\/strong>
\n– Advanced Financial Management (AFM)<\/strong>
\n– Advanced Performance Management (APM)<\/strong>
\n– Advanced Taxation (ATX)<\/strong>
\n– Advanced Audit & Assurance (AAA)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

4) Group System – <\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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

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).\u00a0 In ACCA, once a student clears a paper, it is clear forever.\u00a0 In the event of not getting passing marks in one paper in ACCA, only that paper is considered failed (and not the level).<\/p>\n

5) Exam Timing \u2013<\/strong> Exams for Indian Accountancy twice<\/strong> in a year \u2013 May \/ June<\/strong> and November \/ December<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The frequency of the exams held by the ACCA is higher. Applied Knowledge Level<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

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

6) Exam Pattern \u2013<\/strong> 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n