Global Career Counsellor 2 Ly Green Belt Certification Module: 3 Section 4 Deep Dive into ACCA Presented by: (iJnivariety Discover & be discoveredDEEP DIVE INTO A.C.C.A ACCA or the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants is one of the largest and fastest- growing global accountancy bodies which offers the Chartered Certified Accounting professional qualification. Students can enrol for this course from class 11th onwards and there is no minimum percentage required to enrol for the course. What makes ACCA Special? ACCA is the global body for professional accountants headquartered at London with over 178,000 members and 455,000 students in 182 countries (As of June 2015). They have 91 offices and centres globally all offering localized support. ACCA qualification is based on international accounting standards making it globally relevant. They offer courses in local law and tax options making the qualification locally relevant too. ACCA qualification is recognised by key regulatory and education authorities around the world. It also has joint membership of other international accountancy bodies. So by choosing ACCA, a student chooses a qualification which has been independently quality checked and is respected by employers globally. Some other factors which make ACCA distinguished among other courses is its cost- effectiveness, flexibility and the fact that it is based on international standards. Furthermore, ACCA comprehensively covers the technical and management skills accountants are expected to master. The ACCA Qualification takes the candidate to advanced levels in a variety of subjects such as: * Management Decision Making * Financial Reporting * Financial Strategies The ACCA Qualification is not just theory - the exams are practical case studies. The course is of a high standard and is equivalent to completing full University Degree. The course has three levels. The Foundation level, the Fundamentals’ level and the Professional level. A student can begin pursuing ACCA right when he/she has completed class 10. If a student starts the course at this stage -which is after completing class 10, then he or she will have to start from the very beginning, the foundation level. Col [o) Fer Te eel alee Ce en nyStudents who have completed their studies of class 11 and are applying for the ACCA, are exempted from the first two parts of the foundation level. They will start from the third part of the foundation level which has 3 papers and then move on to the fundamentals level. If students who have completed their B.com degree, are applying for the ACCA, they will be exempted from the whole foundation level and half of the fundamental level. They will start from Performance Management (F5) paper and continue to the higher levels. Similarly, students who were pursuing CA and had completed their IPCC, will be exempted from the whole foundation level and many papers from the fundamentals level. The only pa- pers they need to complete in the fundamentals level are: Performance Management (F5), Financial Reporting (F7) and Financial Management (F9). Even professional Chartered Accountants can take up the ACCA course as it’s an international level course. For CA's, the whole levels of foundation and fundamentals are exempted and they get to start directly from the professional level. A simpler way to understand this is: + There are 3 levels and in the ACCA course and there are 4 types of students who take up ACCA + The first type of students are those who have completed their class 10. These students have no exemption and they have to start right from the foundational level + The second type of students applying for ACCA are those students who have completed class 11. These students are exempted from 4 papers in the foundation level + The third type of students are those who were pursuing CA and had completed its IPCC level when they decided to go for ACCA. These students are exempted from the foundation level completely, in the fundamentals level, they are exempted from 6 different papers and have to take only 3 papers before moving on to the professional level + The fourth type of ACCA applicants which are quite few- are fully qualified CA's. They get to start directly from the professional level and are exempted from the foundation and fundamentals levels Peotone >=There are 3 levels in the ACCA course. The foundational level, the fundamentals level and the professional level. In the foundation level, the student will learn things topics as: * Recording financial transactions (F/A1) «Management information (MA1) + Maintaining financial records (FA2) * Managing costs and finance (MA2) * Accountant in business (FAB) + Management accounting and (FMA) + financial accounting (FFA) All these subjects are divided into 3 parts and on the completion of each part, students can get specific certificates. For example, if a student completes learning Recording financial transac- tions and Management information, they will get an introductory certificate in financial and management accounting. You might have also noted that there is a specific code for each sub- ject, these codes are used to refer to subjects throughout the course. The fundamentals level Next comes the fundamentals level. The fundamentals level consists of 3 papers similar to the previous level and other skill based papers such as: + Corporate and Business Law (F4) + Performance Management (F5) + Taxation (F6) + Financial Reporting (F7) + Audit and Assurance (F8) + Financial Management (F9) Global Career Counsellor eraThe Professional leve The third level in the ACCA course is the professional level. Professional level is the level which is the final level in ACCA. It is divided into two modules; Essentials and Options. Both of the modules at Professional level have been set at the same ability level as a Masters degree. This level builds on the technical knowledge which a student will already have. It will also explore more advanced professional skills, techniques and values. These are required at a senior level by accountants working in an advisory or consultancy role. There are two types of subjects in the Professional level. Essentials and the options. All students have to pass the three papers in the Essentials module. The Options module contains four papers, but students need to complete only two. Students can select two papers as per their interest area. Essentials: Options (two to be completed): P1___| Governance, Risk and Ethics P4__| Advance Financial Management P2 Corporate Reporting PS__| Advance Performance Management P3. Business Analysis P6__| Advance Taxation P7__| Advanced Audit and Assurance Professional Ethics The Professional Ethics is a topic covered in the Professional level. It underpins both studies and your practical experience. The aim of the module is to introduce the student to a range of ethical ideas. The Professional Ethics module must also be completed for a student to receive the Advanced Diploma in Accounting and Business award from ACCA on completion of the Fundamentals exams and before submitting the RAP to Oxford Brookes University if the student wishes to take the B.SC (Hons) degree in Applied Accounting. Practical Experience Requirement A key part of the ACCA Qualification is getting relevant practical experience in the workplace. Although the ACCA exams will give students the theory behind their knowledge of accountancy, Global Career Counsellor CO eerbut they will also need to have the practical experience to support it. This experience, alongside exams and ethical awareness, will mean students are fully prepared for a challenging career as a professional accountant. Students should have a three years’ relevant work experience and achieve 13 of the perfor- mance objectives listed below. They will also need to do all nine subjects listed as ‘Essentials’ and four of those listed as 'Options', After ACCA: After completing ACCA, one can become a Financial Auditor, an Accountant, an Internal Auditor/ Business Risk Consultants, an IT Auditor, an ERP or a Transaction Advisory. ACCA is a course which not only opens up new career possibilities but also provides with new options to study. For example, If students submit a project they will get a BSc. in applied accounting, awarded by Oxford Brooks University. After clearing the last 5 papers a student becomes an ACCA Qualified Professional and would also get an entry into the MBA program at the Oxford Brookes University, without a GMAT requirement. The ACCA exams are to be attended in their specified exam centres. The exam centres are locat- ed in many cities such as Chennai, Vagamon, New Delhi, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Banga- lore, Mumbai, Kerala, Chungam, Kochi, Bangalore, Trivandrum, Cochin, Chandigarh, Jai- pur,Manglore , Kochi and Ahmedabad, A lot of people have this question that what makes ACCA different than CA. Hon the next page are some points which will help you understand the difference between ACCA and CA. Global Career Counsellor Oe eerKEY DIFFERENCE: (CHARTERED ACCO COURSE S' Recognition and focus - India 2 | Splitinto 19 papers * CPT (Common Proficiency Test) - 4 papers + IPCC (Integrated Professional Competence Course) + Group 1: 7 papers & Group 2: 8 papers *CA Final Exam, 3 | Nooption for specialization 4 | No flexibility in time of internship/training + Internship or training with an audit firm (an option for Industrial training is available for a part of the 3 % year period) 5 | No flexibility in terms of sequence of ‘exams taken (example: you have to clear all CA Inter exams to proceed to Final). Further exams are grouped and you have to appear for a whole group at a time 6 | Study Indian taxation and laws 7 | Emphasis on indian Accounting Standards and Auditing Standards 8 | No option for any further education is given 4 year schedule for academic ‘Qualification Success Rates 3%. 11 | Other Requirements *Can appear for Final Exams only upon ‘completion IPCC and IT Training +100 hours of IT + Training on General Management & ‘Communication Skills Global Career Counsellor Coe ete Global Recognition across 170 Countries Split into 14 papers + Fundamental Exams - 3 Knowledge based papers ~ 6 Skill based papers +5 Professional Exams ~ 5 papers Choice of specializing in Audit, Taxation, Financial Management or Professional Management = Can gain work experience both during or post completion of exams + Work experience is needed but not, necessarily in audit Flexibility exists in terms of sequence of ‘exams (example: a student passes all exams ‘except F8; he can in the next attempt appear for F8, Pl and P2 etc) Study International taxation and laws Emphasis on IFRS, GAAP and International ‘Auditing Standards Get options for easy completion of: + BSc from Oxford Brookes post Financial Management + MBA from Oxford Brookes post becoming ‘amember 2 and % year schedule for academic Qualification Success Rates 33% Other Requirements *Can appear for all the exam and do the training later + IT training not required + Focus Training on Business Ethics ProvidedKey Takeaways: + ACCA stands for the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, a global body of ac- countants which offers the ACCA course + The ACCA course is a course on accounting and auditing which enjoys international reputa- tion and recognition, Although ACCA is similar to CA, there are many differences between the two courses, the biggest difference being that CA is recognised only in India while ACCA is recognised all around the world + ACCA certified accountants are in huge demand by various employers around the world + ACCA can be taken by students who have completed their class 10. Students who have done B.com and even CA can take up ACCA as this certification is globally recognised + ACCA has three levels, the foundation level, the fundamentals level and the professional level. These levels have several papers and there are exemptions for students depending on their educational qualification Nearly all major cities in India have ACCA exam centres + Apart from opening up a range of career possibilities, ACCA also opens up opportunities for further education. If students submit a project which contains, research and analysis and key skills statement, they will get a BSC in Applied Accounting awarded by Oxford Brookes University END OF THE SECTION Global Career Counsellor Oe eer