asadkhalid

hello,

Please try to give a complete explanation to my following question and tell me if that is posssible or not.

I will be starting my ACCA (Association Of Certified Chartered Accountants). ACCA has 16 papers. To attain membership to The Association (ACCA), the candidate needs to clear ALL 16 papers and ALSO complete 3 years of work experience, which can be done before, after, or during the papers. ACCA takes minimum of 5 years (2 years to clear the papers and 3 years of work experience).

ACCA has affiliation with Oxford Brooks University UK, therefore on completion of some of the papers (out of a total of 16), the candidate is awarded a 'Bachelors in Applied Accounting' from Oxford Brooks University.

Now The Institue (ICAA) requires that you have ATLEAST a Bachelors Degree, approved by the institute. It also require some work experience before the commencement of the first module. Correct me if i am wrong.

Now my question is that will it be POSSIBLE for me to start the CA (ICAA) in between my ACCA and on the basis of my Bachelors degree from Oxford Brooks? What i want to do is that start my CA program (after clearing all ACCA papers ad getting the bachelors degree), clear all my ICAA papers and then start the work experience (mentored) for my CA program, which will also be counted for my ACCA, therefore will get both membership to ACCA and ICAA. Is it possible?

Please try to give as much information possible, in regards to my situation and whether i will be able to pursue this route or not, as ICAA requires a Bachelors degree to start, and i think i would have that?

Kind Regards,
Asad Khalid.

JAJ

What country will you be living in? You can't do the Australian CA Program outside Australia, except in one or two Asian countries such as Singapore.

asadkhalid

I'm currently in Pakistan. But i intend to move to AUS on a student visa once i have fully decided to do CA from ICAA.

Also i intend to finish my ACCA (Part three) from Australia.

JAJ

Are you sure you will be allowed to do the CA Program on a student visa? Also, many employers will not take you on as an employee unless you are an Australian citizen, permanent resident or New Zealand citizen.

http://www.charteredaccountants.com....sked_questions

Q. Do I have to be an Australian resident to enrol in the Chartered Accountants Program?

A. The Program is offered in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia with face-to-face focus sessions and exams held in all three countries. To do the Program you must live, and be eligible to work, in one of these countries.

You don't have to be an Australian citizen to do the Chartered Accountants Program in Australia, however, you do need to have a suitable visa which allows to you work for a minimum of 17.5 hours in an accounting-related role.



You are unlikely to get a student visa to study for a foreign qualification.

asadkhalid

Thanks for the reply.

Here's another question.

Would the ACCA/Oxford Brooks Degree be equivilant to an Australian Bachelors Degree? If so, what sort of visa (if any) would i need to get and what will i need to do to get it?

What if after getting the Oxford Brooks Degree, i merely pass the ACCA examinations and not complete the 3 years service requirement for becoming a ACCA member. I then, go on to start my CA, pass all the relevant papers and do the mentored service which WILL also be accepted for my ACCA?

Would i be able start my CA on the basis of my Oxford Brooks Degree?

Also shed some light on the visa issue. Can someone with a foreign bachelors degree get a appropriate visa to step into CA from ICAA?

JAJ

Once again: You are unlikely to get a student visa to study for a foreign qualification!



Your only chance is likely to be if you can migrate to Australia. Start at http://www.immi.gov.au

And even then you need to find an employer to hire you for the CA Program.

Hellboy663

First of all, my advice for you would be to forget about the Oxford Brookes degree. It is not a full time and not even a part time course. It's done by correspondence and nobody cares about it. If I were you, I would finish up the ACCA and apply to migrate to Australia. You could then do the Australian CA course when in Australia.

JAJ

Are you suggesting that correspondence courses are worthless? I suspect the Open University or University of London (External) people would have something to say about that. As would many of the reputable Australian distance learning providers.

The Oxford Brookes degree isn't worth nearly as much as a degree from a top British university but does have "baseline" recognition as a UK bachelors degree for most purposes in Australia. Anyone studying ACCA who is eligible for the degree ought to take it up.

Hellboy663

Hi Jeremy:

Are correspondence courses counted for Australian visa? I an aware that some unis are worth the credit but as for the Oxford Brooke, I don't know. Would it be sufficient to get Australian visa? I could be wrong but I thought the Australian immigration is rather particular about the manner in which a person has attained the qualification?

JAJ

In principle, correspondence courses are counted for Australian visa purposes provided they are awarded by accredited institutions (same as regular courses).

Skill assessment organisations can make up their own rules. As far as I know the Oxford Brookes degree may be accepted by ICAA/NIA and certainly by Vetassess (for 50 points), although not necessarily by CPAA.

Hellboy663

Thanks for the info Jeremy. I think I'm clear now.

asadkhalid

Thanks for your replies. This topic has been more than helpful for me in making my decision.

Also i would like to have some perspective in regards to the ACCA recognition in Sydney (or anywhere in Aus). Is it worth the effort? Or an Australian Bachelors would be more desirable for the employer? After all, ACCA takes 5 years and Australian bachelors is 3 years. Correct me if i'm wrong.

Also the i heard the payscale for fresh graduate is around AUD 40k-50k per annum? Are ACCA considered fresh graduates if they apply for a job right after getting their membership to ACCA? Would the 3 years of training (part of ACCA) considered by the employer? (in general)

I would have loved to do my bachelors from Australia but unfortunately can't really afford it so thought ACCA would be a viable option.

What pathway do you guys recommend after A-levels if one aims to be an Australian CA and can't afford Australian Bachelors?


Thanks again for the help.

Hellboy663

I think some large consultants such as Micheal Page and large companies are aware of the ACCA designation though you might have to put some effort to educate the smaller companies who might not have heard about it. Guess its no harm in trying for a postion initially with ACCA. As for salaies, in addition to qualifications, employers are very particular about the type of experience that you have. If they are fixated on you having the Australian CA or CPA, then the onus is on you to 'sell' them your qualification. However I think in the long run one is better off having a local qualification like the Australian CA.

You say that ACCA takes 5 years. I'm suprised it takes that long. During my time, the number of subjects offered was 18 and there were people completing everything in 3 years. But that was about 14 years back. Am not sure about now. Please feel free to educate me if I'm wrong.

asadkhalid

ACCA has 16 papers in total. You can sit for a maximum of 4 papers in each attempt. Papers are held twice a year. So you can clear ALL the papers in two years time if you study like crazy!

But in addition to clearing the papers, ACCA requires a 3 year work experience, before, after or during the papers, inorder to become a member of ACCA. I'll need that as i won't have any experience before that. I started ACCA right after doing my Alevels.

All in all, you could do your ACCA in 2-2.5 years but if you don't have any previous work experience, you'll need to get it inorder to become a ACCA member.

JAJ

If you're comparing ACCA to its peer institutes, you need to remember that many other institutes require an accountancy degree before you can register as a student. So of course they have fewer exams if you start at a higher level.