Navigating the world of accounting qualifications can feel pretty daunting and confusing. There are different institutions who offer different certificates, levels, and specialisms. Whether you’re at the start of your financial career, or looking to specialise, how do you know which accounting body to choose? Clearly, some qualifications are favoured by specific industries. In addition, some are better equipped to support a specific focus. We will look at the key accounting bodies in the UK and how their structures work so that you can make the best decisions.
Qualifications and Career
It’s important to remember that in finance and accounting, it’s not necessary to be fully qualified in order to apply for roles in the sector. Indeed, it’s common practice to move through qualifications within an organisation.
At Howett Thorpe we work with organisations and applicants with distinct qualification based areas. These are the Qualified and Senior Finance Division, Part-Qualified Division, and Non-Qualified and Transactional Division. As you move through the levels of accounting qualifications, you will be able to access a different level of job potential when you work with us to secure your next role.
Accounting Bodies
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) are the key bodies that it’s worth looking at. Each has its distinct area of focus and range of qualifications tailored to specific professional routes.
ACCA Qualifications
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is a global professional accounting body, with whom you can achieve the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification. In total there are 13 ACCA papers to complete across three levels, plus an additional ethics exam.
1. Applied Knowledge
The first level of ACCA qualification is in Applied Knowledge, giving you a foundation of detailed understanding in core accounting topics. This level consists of three exams:
- Accountant in Business (AB)
- Management Accounting (MA)
- Financial Accounting (FA)
These exams cover a broad range of topics, including the business environment, management accounting, cost accounting, and the preparation and analysis of financial statements.
2. Applied Skills
This second level, Applied Skills, builds on your foundation knowledge and develops advanced professional skills. The exams at this level include:
- Corporate and Business Law (LW)
- Performance Management (PM)
- Taxation (TX)
- Financial Reporting (FR)
- Audit and Assurance (AA)
- Financial Management (FM)
As a more advanced level, Applied Skills focuses on the application of technical financial knowledge and building broader professional skills. It also covers more specialised areas such as tax and audit.
3. Strategic Professional Essentials
The final level, Strategic Professional Essentials, completes the essential professional skills and introduces you to more strategic aspects of the profession. The first two modules are Strategic Business Leader and Strategic Business Reporting, within which you will cover ethical assessments. You will also need to complete two out of the four options, including:
- Advanced Financial Management
- Advanced Performance Management
- Advanced Audit and Assurance
The advanced skills are focused on leading and managing in the accounting field and form the final stages of achieving your ACCA Complete qualification. In order to become a member of ACCA, you must have completed 3 years PER (practical experience requirement) in a supervised professional environment. This can include time at an internship or work placement.
CIMA Qualifications
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants qualifications focus heavily on management accounting and are tailored for professionals looking to make strategic financial decisions. The CIMA Professional Qualification equips candidates with a blend of practical expertise and valuable leadership skills. The certification is structured into pillars and levels, each designed to reinforce different facets of management accounting.
Levels
CIMA courses are split into Certificate, Operational, Management and Strategic levels. At entry level, the certificate modules are an introduction to fundamental aspects of management accounting. The operational level covers management accounting techniques, and the management level extends these skills to more strategic scenarios. Finally, the strategic level takes a broader view, focused on strategic management.
Pillars
The three pillars of CIMA accreditation are Enterprise, Performance, and Financial. These subjects cover the range of topics that form each module within the levels.
Professional Experience
This is an essential requirement for CIMA accreditation. As with the ACCA, students must complete 3 years of PER (practical experience requirement) in an appropriate, supervised environment. This is why it’s important to be working in the right job role while you are going through your exams and certification.
Exam Format
For each level, you will need to pass a series of objective tests, culminating in the 45-minute case study at the strategic level, replicating real-life scenarios you may encounter as a management accountant. There are a total of 12 exams: nine Objective Tests, and three Case Study exams.
ICAEW Qualification
The ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) Chartered Accountant qualification consists of the Certificate in Finance, Accounting, and Business (ICAEW CFAB) for those at the foundation stage and the ACA Professional Level for the next stage.
ICAEW CFAB
This initial six module process develops a foundational knowledge in accounting and finance, with six computer-based exams. You can move onto the full ACA from this point, or treat this as a stand alone qualification.
ACA Professional Level
This complete accreditation is a comprehensive professional accountancy qualification to make you an Associate Chartered Accountant. It involves 15 exams covering accounting, assurance, business and finance, and business and professional ethics.
Business Change
This is an elective pathway within the ACA qualification and focuses on managing strategic change in organisations. You’ll train in areas addressing governance, risk management, and business strategy.
Technical Work Experience
As is standard with other recognised qualifications, students need to complete three years of practical work experience to become qualified. This would preferably be within an ICAEW authorised training employer, although this is not a necessity.
Which to choose
These three accreditation bodies all offer extensive and respected learning. For that reason it’s hard to specify which are the most important for those beginning their study. It can help if you have a specific interest in a particular industry or specialism. For example, aspiring Management Accountants may naturally be more drawn to CIMA as an accreditation body. All of the institutions that we’ve looked at require 3 years of professional experience in order to complete the qualification. This is why your employment while you learn is as important as the study that you are undertaking.
Howett Thorpe are specialists in financial and accounting recruitment. We work with organisations and candidates to facilitate the best match of skills and development. Contact us at 01252 718777 or email farnham@howett-thorpe.co.uk.