Friday, April 1, 2011

What Is The Difference Between Accountancy Qualifications?

There is often a lot of confusion about what all the various accountancy qualifications and abbreviations stand for, from CA to ACCA it is no wonder people can get mixed up. One of the main influencing factors of these abbreviations can be the origin of the person or institute which holds them. For example ICAS (The Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland) was the first institute to adopt the phrase charted accountant with the designatory CA abbreviation. One of the other large accountancy institutes in the UK is the ACCA which stands for Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. The phrase chartered account and the abbreviation CA is predominantly based in the UK. However in America the CPA (certified public accountant) qualification and abbreviation is the most prominent. There are also additional terms such as CMA which stands for certified management accountant which is a more universal term.
The key differentiating factor between these two types of qualifications is the criteria which they cover, in particular for the institutes and their entrance exam. For example, the ACCA divides its exams and qualifications into two key areas, fundamentals and professionals. When broken down this covers the applicants skills and knowledge base and professional essentials and options. In contrast the AICPA (the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) breaks their qualifications into 4 key areas. These cover auditing & attestation, business environment & concepts, financial accounting & reporting and regulation. From this it can be seen that the CPA qualification is a lot broader in contrast to the CA qualification which is more specific. Most of these institutes have been around since the 1800's and their influences have helped to shape the current industry through their introduction of new qualifications and diplomas. It has been the influence of the institutes which has also supported the drive towards the demand for a more multidisaplined accountancy skill base. This has been achieved through their collaboration with other financial institutes such as the Scottish Investment Operations and the Chartered Institute of Bankers Scotland to develop qualifications such as the Investment Accounting Diploma. However choosing which qualification is best for you is often a very unique to you as an individual and your intended career path as well as destination. For example you would look to gain a CPA qualification if you were intended to move to the US even if you currently lived and worked in the UK where CA is the predominant qualification but ultimately there is unfortunately no right or wrong answer.
There is often a lot of confusion about what all the various accountancy qualifications and abbreviations stand for, from CA to ACCA it is no wonder people can get mixed up. One of the main influencing factors of these abbreviations can be the origin of the person or institute which holds them. For example ICAS (The Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland) was the first institute to adopt the phrase charted accountant with the designatory CA abbreviation. One of the other large accountancy institutes in the UK is the ACCA which stands for Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. The phrase chartered account and the abbreviation CA is predominantly based in the UK. However in America the CPA (certified public accountant) qualification and abbreviation is the most prominent. There are also additional terms such as CMA which stands for certified management accountant which is a more universal term.
The key differentiating factor between these two types of qualifications is the criteria which they cover, in particular for the institutes and their entrance exam. For example, the ACCA divides its exams and qualifications into two key areas, fundamentals and professionals. When broken down this covers the applicants skills and knowledge base and professional essentials and options. In contrast the AICPA (the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) breaks their qualifications into 4 key areas. These cover auditing & attestation, business environment & concepts, financial accounting & reporting and regulation. From this it can be seen that the CPA qualification is a lot broader in contrast to the CA qualification which is more specific. Most of these institutes have been around since the 1800's and their influences have helped to shape the current industry through their introduction of new qualifications and diplomas. It has been the influence of the institutes which has also supported the drive towards the demand for a more multidisaplined accountancy skill base. This has been achieved through their collaboration with other financial institutes such as the Scottish Investment Operations and the Chartered Institute of Bankers Scotland to develop qualifications such as the Investment Accounting Diploma. However choosing which qualification is best for you is often a very unique to you as an individual and your intended career path as well as destination. For example you would look to gain a CPA qualification if you were intended to move to the US even if you currently lived and worked in the UK where CA is the predominant qualification but ultimatly there is unfortunately no right or wrong answer.
There is often a lot of confusion about what all the various accountancy qualifications and abbreviations stand for, from CA to ACCA it is no wonder people can get mixed up. One of the main influencing factors of these abbreviations can be the origin of the person or institute which holds them. For example ICAS (The Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland) was the first institute to adopt the phrase charted accountant with the designatory CA abbreviation. One of the other large accountancy institutes in the UK is the ACCA which stands for Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. The phrase chartered account and the abbreviation CA is predominantly based in the UK. However in America the CPA (certified public accountant) qualification and abbreviation is the most prominent. There are also additional terms such as CMA which stands for certified management accountant which is a more universal term

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