CA VS ACCA. What are the major differences?
This is a very common dilemma that most students have. We shall take a deep dive to understand the primary difference between both these courses.
Both CA and ACCA are highly qualified financial courses designed for accounts and financial professionals.
Chartered accountants are those professionals who are qualified to take on specific activities within the spectrum of accountancy such as auditing financial statements, filing tax returns and financial advising. The professional body that governs this group of accounting professionals is the ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) under the Act of parliament.
ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is a global certification for Chartered Accountancy. It's the world's largest accountants association over 170 countries, training more than 3,70,000 students all over the world. It is a very flexible course as students can write the papers at any time during the 4 exam windows. The additional benefit is that in the event that they do not clear one paper they need only write that particular paper and not the whole group, unlike CA.
CA is based on corporate and legal laws along with accounting standards based out of India, the main focus is on the Indian constitution.
|
CA |
ACCA |
|
|
Regulatory Body |
ICAI |
ACCA |
|
Course Duration |
4.5 -5 years |
2-3 years |
|
Eligibility |
Class 12 |
Class 10/ Class 12 |
|
Pass criteria |
Obtain 40% for Individual subjects and 50% aggregate in each group |
50% for individual papers |
|
Course Format |
3 Levels - Foundation, intermediate, final |
3 Levels - Knowlege level, skills level and professional level |
|
Exemption |
Graduates get direct entry to intermediate level (exemption for foundation) |
Graduates get direct entry to Skills level (exemption for knowledge level) |
|
Field of work |
Primary inspection across taxation and accounting. |
Works across various finance positions primarily in govt and private sectors. |
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