The series: Let's go International - Part 1

We are all quite aware of the commerce professional courses offered in India.

Now, why don't we open up wider and understand more about the commerce professional courses offered internationally? There are several courses with a wide range of opportunities in various countries globally.

So, let us open up and embrace the world of choices.

In India we have 3 commerce professional courses: CA, CMA and CS.

Countries offer various commerce professional courses some of which have wide global scope and acceptance. In this series, we will be taking a look at 4 widely accepted international professional courses. We will be delving deep into eligibility, examinations, pass requirement, employment opportunities and much more. Some suggestions and tips on decision making, by the author, will also be included.

Since there is a lot to cover, the articles will be published in 2 parts.

Before we move forward let us understand the foundation on which the international courses are designed:

• Bachelor's degree is the minimum requirement to pursue these courses. However, some courses offer a foundation level examination to start off if the candidate has not completed a bachelor's degree
• The exams are online proctored examinations, which means, exams are taken on an online portal with the presence of an online invigilator referred to as a proctor. The exams can either be taken from home or from the nearest centre.
• One should become familiar with terms - Session-based exams and on-demand exams. Session-based exam means exams are conducted on fixed dates in a year following a specific cycle, like the Indian professional course exams. On-demand means the candidate can book the exam once ready for their choice of date, any time during the year.
• In comparison to Indian commerce professional courses, the international ones cost more.
• International courses are built on 4 pillars: Education - Minimum eligibility requirement of a bachelor's degree; Exams- Course exams and levels to pass to obtain the qualification; Experience- Work experience is also a requirement to obtain the qualification along with pass score in exams. There is flexibility with regard to work experience as even experience before qualification of all exams is considered; Ethics - This plays a very important role internationally. They have compulsory ethics exams as a part of most courses.
• The qualification can be added as a suffix to your name. E.g.- Johnny Harris ACCA or Atul Kocchar CGMA.

So now we are good to begin.

Let us start with ACCA, UK

ACCA is the acronym for Association for Chartered Certified Accountants. ACCA is also used to refer to the course and the qualification.

The course has 3 levels referred to as modules. The modules can be taken up flexibly without any order. Each module has a specific set of subjects, where each subject has a separate exam. The subjects include - Financial management, management accounting, auditing, law, taxation. After completing the 3 modules one is required to pass the Ethics module.

Some exams are session-based and some are on-demand.

The time limit for a candidate is 7 years within which the 3 modules including the ethics module is required to be cleared. The pass % for each exam can vary between 60% to 80%.

The exams are descriptive in nature.

Employment opportunities - Sectors:

Opportunities are wide for an ACCA since they specialize in accounts, finance and auditing. One can enter various ranging from FMCG, Manufacturing, Financial Institution, Insurance and other service sectors, public sector, tourism, professional firms and so on. The list is endless

Employment opportunities - Role & Department:

• Financial reporting
• Internal control
• Internal audit
• Tax
• Treasury
• Compliance
• Forensic accounting

Employment opportunities - countries. The following countries offer acceptance and scope for ACCA in terms of job:

• UK
• Europe
• India
• Middle East
• USA
• China
• Africa

A pictorial score board to aid in decision making:

*A minimum 3 years work experience is required to obtain the qualification.*Key to image is given at the bottom of the article.

2. Next up is CGMA - Certified Global Management Accountant, UK

CGMA is the qualification, the institute is referred to as CIMA- Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

The course has 3 levels. Each level has 2 different exams - MCQ and Case study. It is required to pass one level to move on to the next. Also, within each level it is required to pass the MCQ exam to take up the case study exam. The exams in each level are based on 3 subjects.

The MCQ exam is on-demand and case study exam is session based conducted 4 times a year.

The score required to pass an exam is 65%. The pass % for each exam can vary between 55% - 75%.

Employment opportunities - Sectors:

A CGMA can enter various sectors ranging from IT, Manufacturing, FMCG, Financial Institution, Insurance and other service sectors.

Employment opportunities - Role & Department:

• Financial reporting
• Internal control
• Internal audit
• Management accounting
• Forensic accounting

Employment opportunities - countries. The following countries offer acceptance and scope for CGMA in terms of job:

• UK
• Europe
• India

A pictorial score board to aid in decision making:

*A minimum 3 years work experience is required to obtain the qualification as CGMA. Till then one would be referred as CIMA qualified. *Key to the image is given at the bottom of the article.

We shall continue to discuss more about international courses along with suggestions curated by the author, in the next and final part of the series: Let's go International.

Stay tuned!

*Key to score board images: