My bro has passed his A levels, pre-medical subjects being his main subjects.
Dad always wanted him to go in to medicines but bro is insistant that he wont do medicines at any cost. coz his mind n heart both are not in it.
Now dad is worried for his one n only son’s future, so he asked me for my opinion. I spoke to bro and he said he is interested in accounting/finance and ultimately targeting for CA.
Now can someone please guide me , what are the pre-requisites for doing CA. I got to know from bro that there is osmething called ACCA that he needs to do. Plus there is also something called CAT , after which you qualify for ACCA and then CA. Is it true. Any info will be helpful.
clad and KamAir thats what i am going to tell to dad that let him do what he wants. Though its not that simple. He is the only son and there are alot of expectations from him. Anyways... yes he is good in mathematics and he HATES biology.
What is ICCA? Can A levels students take it after their A level ? or they have to take some extra exam for accounting/finance? you know anything about CAT?
CAT is a pre ACCA qualification. CA is the more prestigious qualification out of the two but ACCA is increasingly being accepted too. Ask your brother to befriend google and find out more about these qualifications and then see what floats his boat. CFA is a recent hit with the accounting community too. You may wanna research into that. Google can tell you a lot and then he can obviously find out more from an accounting instructor at his college. It might be a good idea to visit SKANS and see if they can offer you an appointment to discuss the programmes they offer. That is the only accountancy school that I know of in Lahore. Good luck !!
^Okay thank you so much. I did a lil of search myself. CAT is about 1.5 years and then ACCA is 14 professional examinations program. Do u know how many years does ACCA take? Plus once you do ACCA, how many years CA will take? Will it be still 4-5 years? If so then this CAT to CA planning will take really long.
^ I spoke to my father today. I told him that let bro do ACCA from SKANS lahore, as I read on their site, that its a UK Certification. After he completes ACCA, we can send him to UK or any other place for CA or CFA. Sounds good right?
I'm not in the field and I'll leave it to others who are to provide more qualified opinions on this. However, I personally really don't see the need to engage in a protracted process of going through ACCA and then CA. Although a robust qualification, the ACCA is not meant to be as comprehensive as the CA qualification and does not lead to the same types of long-term opportunities as the CA. However, there's a lot of overlap which can lead to redundancy... I don't see any value-added with having the ACCA and the CA qualifications together.
I would suggest one of two routes:
1: Direct entry into the CA program from A-Levels. As far as I know, this is possible in Pakistan's ICAP CA qualification program as well as in England's ACA qualification program.
OR
2: Completion of an undergraduate degree such as BBA or BCom with a concentration in Accounting and/or Finance. This can lead to exemptions from multiple courses and exams from the CA and ACA qualifications. As far as I know, most CAs have an undergraduate degree and this route will put your brother on a level playing field with others. Also, an exposure to various management courses would be extremely beneficial in the real-world.
Also, I wanted to mention that there's a major difference between a CA and a CFA... the latter is an open-to-all qualification - often considered as an advanced certification at best. A CFA can be pursued on a vocational basis after your brother obtains his formal degree and/or CA qualification.
I'd just like to add when I was a kid, CA was rather 'quota pass' based in Pakistan. Sucks i know. You may wanna check if that still happens.
Also, Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) is a post bachelors qualification. So in case of scenario 2 above, your brother can go on to pursue CA/CFA post his undergrad degree. However, you may want to check with universities to see if certain modules in accounting offered during the course of study will actually lead to exemptions. Not sure how that works with Pakistan.
So you can choose to fast track or go to uni. That would be a personal preference. A degree undoubtedly besides other benefits leaves you with several career options. Having said that, most CAs I know do not have a first degree and I don't think they are disadvantaged, in fact are doing rather well.
If he is looking to study abroad, there are some fantastic opportunities to study and train at the same time (both for a degree and qualification).
Do check with local accountancy schools and universities for more information.
^ Thank you lucid and 0_O (what is this name lol) . Well I cannot check it there in Pak thats why I posted my question here so anyone who is already in this field can guide me. My bro is there but he is quite young you know, he may not gather all the info.
when you say Degree before CA/CFA, are you talking about ACCA or BSc hons? what bro told me that if he completes ACCA, he also gets BSC hons. degree from Punjab University. Something like same I could read on SKANS’ site. See the link and see below ACCA OFFERS FOUR CORE QUALIFICATIONS: http://www.skans.edu.pk/acca/acca.php
^ FairyTale, I’ve just checked out that link and it does seem that they offer a combined ACCA/BSc in Applied Accounting (through Oxford-Brooks University). This seems like a viable option… and would be especially useful if your brother opts for the CFA route after his ACCA/BSc. I still maintain that there is a lot of redundancy in going the ACCA ==> CA route… so to me the ACCA/BSc ==> CFA option sounds more enticing.
Also, while you’re in the information gathering phase, you might want to check out what ACA UK has to offer in Pakistan - see link: Sorry, we can't find that page | 404 | ICAEW
^ Lucid yes for now he is getting ready for the ACCA/BSc thing. Actually already taken admission. CA, ACA or CFA we will decide later. I told Dad to send him to UK after ACCA.
The link u gave, yes when i was talking to bro last nite, he spoke to me about icaew and i got really angry at him lol... i told him everytime i speak to u, you have something new to tell me.
chalo kher... at least till ACCA part, path is clear. I hope he sticks to this plan and does well in whatever he has chosen for himself. Coz as i said my father sooo much wanted him to join medicine. Bari mushkil se unhein raazi kiya that let bro do what he wants. Its was tough.... even for bro. He was saying FT i am not feeling comfortable with the whole idea that DAD is not happy with me. I said okay then get admission in medical college and fulfill his dream. He said no i cant do that :( . I said okay then keep quiet n concentrate on what you are doing. Dad will be happy if u prove yourself in what you have chosen.
just saw the thread though bit late and it seems that things have settled down to ACCA
couple of things to consider with a long term point of view
to do ACA (Pak) after ACCA he has to appear in two modules (8 papers in total) and have to complete training (3 or 3 and 1/2years )
to do ACA (ICAEW) I am not sure about the exemptions available to ACCAs from ICAEW (probably 11 out of 15) that means he has to appear in 4 papers + he has to complete requisite training (3years)
CFA is a different story (no exemptions whatsoever on the basis of ACA, ACCA, have to pass 3 levels and for award of Charter at least 48 months of relevant experience is required
my personal experience is as follows,
after private FA (Intermediate) in arts, opted for CA (Pak)
after completion of CA i am currently candidate for CFA level 3 for June 2011 attempt
As for as ICAEW is concerned exemptions from 12 papers are available fro ICAP members with no further training requirements.
^ good advice Ali... you seem to also support the first of two options I had noted in my first post.
FairyTale, your brother is at an age and juncture where he is going to get wrapped around in second guessing himself as well as what others tell him. The best way to alleviate this is to have enough information on hand to be able to make a decision, and you're certainly helping him in that respect. Secondly, once you have the choices figured out, line them up against objectives and value you seek out of those decisions. A simple pros/cons list along with a discussion of future course of action can often help reach resolute decisions.
^ Lucid yes for now he is getting ready for the ACCA/BSc thing. Actually already taken admission. CA, ACA or CFA we will decide later. I told Dad to send him to UK after ACCA.
The link u gave, yes when i was talking to bro last nite, he spoke to me about icaew and i got really angry at him lol... i told him everytime i speak to u, you have something new to tell me.
chalo kher... at least till ACCA part, path is clear. I hope he sticks to this plan and does well in whatever he has chosen for himself. Coz as i said my father sooo much wanted him to join medicine. Bari mushkil se unhein raazi kiya that let bro do what he wants. Its was tough.... even for bro. He was saying FT i am not feeling comfortable with the whole idea that DAD is not happy with me. I said okay then get admission in medical college and fulfill his dream. He said no i cant do that :( . I said okay then keep quiet n concentrate on what you are doing. Dad will be happy if u prove yourself in what you have chosen.
Ali thank you for the good advice. I see you are from Dubai. If you dont mind, may be I can speak to you on phone regarding the same subject? I will pm you my cell number if u are okay with talking to a gal you spoke to for the first time online
btw since you are in dubai, will you be interested to join us on Iftar we are planning to keep for UAE guppies? There is separate thread on it under Travel and Tourism. :halo:
