CIMA vs. ACCA

BCD

Hi jessicamb,

Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately, due to ill health my work experience is very limited. I have only had previous employment as a courier. Therefore, I've got no accounts background at all- at the moment I couldn't even do the most basic accounts job.

That said, I do have excellent IT skills, and I know my way around Excel, so maybe data entry in accounts would be good?

456789

CIMA - Focused towards Cost & Management Accounting - usually gained inside an Industry firm

ACCA - more focused towards Financial Accounting - Industry and Private Practice

It is definately a lot easier if you have a job that supports you with it especially as they pay the training fees - also remember that to actually qualify as an accountant you need 3 years technical work experience in addition to passing the exams

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I studied accounting at university and graduated last year - currently still looking for a training position - it has become a lot harder this year with the recession and lots of firms cutting back on recruitment

BCD

That's the only thing holding me back.

I've found a good training provider locally, but I'm so worried about spending all that dosh and not getting a job somewhere along the line.

Do you think it would be better to hold fire for a while and try and get a relevant job first, and then get involved with the ACCA/CIMA?

JP86

Im studying accounting and business, both qualifications are good to be honest, although papers are expensive.
I dont know how relevant this is but, ill tell you any way.

At Uni, we do certain modules that give us an exemption to certain exams of CIMA. So it might be worth looking into a University accounting qualification,

Regards JP

jessicamb

BCD wrote: »

Do you think it would be better to hold fire for a while and try and get a relevant job first, and then get involved with the ACCA/CIMA?

I would definitely say that - try and get a job in an accounts department, or a job with exposure to accounts and then start studying. Sales and purchase ledger jobs could be good starting points to get some basic experience. If you can get one of those jobs and volunteer to get as much accounts exposure as possible - posting journals, completing reconciliations etc, after a year or two you could then move into an accounts assistant type role where you will get to do more accounting type work - producing month end accounts, accounting for various types of transactions, costing products/services possibly. Do that for a couple of years and then progress into a role with a bit more responsibility - produce analysis, writing reports and making recommendations etc. By then you should be nearly qualified and the world is your oyster - if you want it to be.

If you really want to do that type of job then take any crappy starting job you can if it gives you the right experience. If you dont have any experience then it probably wont pay very well but on the upside you dont have to do it for very long! Tell your employers that you really want to get into accounts and see if they can get you a secondment or anything similar (of course it wont come on a plate - you will have to work hard for it). I left university with a degree in accounts and started working on £12.5k five years ago and now I earn three times that having just qualified.

456789

BCD wrote: »

Do you think it would be better to hold fire for a while and try and get a relevant job first, and then get involved with the ACCA/CIMA?

I think that is a good idea - have a look on the ACCA/CIMA websites they should have a list of

1) Jobs that companies are offering which you could apply for
2) A list of accountants/practices who are affiliated with ACCA/CIMA - try emailing some of these locally as not all advertise on the institute websites

In the meantime you could try getting some books from the library/ebay and start studying if you know which one you want to do for definate

As for university exemptions it is likely that you will only get them with a full degree and would likely be for about 5 exams (differs depending on which course and which uni) so wouldn't be that much benefit to you?

Do you have a degree though? Some of the bigger employers will expect a degree

Also remember that if you start a job and are doing exams you will need to balance these commitments - also employers will only pay for so many attempts at an exam so you really need to try and pass 1st/2nd time and some may fire you if you don't pass

BCD

I don't have a degree, nor any accounts based qualifications.

I've been in touch with the CIMA direct and they recommend that I complete the Certificate level. This should then open up jobs such as ledger clerks, accounts assistants etc.

I'm still going to try and find a relevant job though.

Can the accounts link be quite tenuous?

jessicamb

BCD wrote: »

I don't have a degree, nor any accounts based qualifications.

I've been in touch with the CIMA direct and they recommend that I complete the Certificate level. This should then open up jobs such as ledger clerks, accounts assistants etc.

I'm still going to try and find a relevant job though.

Can the accounts link be quite tenuous?

How tenuous? It wont be enough to get you your work experience signed off (certainly not CIMA anyway) but you have quite a few years ahead of you yet so plenty of time to worry about it. If you dont have any experience though any relevant experience is a step forward and you can start building your CV. The key thing is not to stay in a role that is not adding anything to your experience for too long.

Good luck with the job hunting!

BCD

Well, I've just applied for a couple of jobs- one as a cash room assistant (collecting and totalling takings from different departments in a supermarket), and one as a cashier for an insolvency firm (collecting a recording cheques and other payments).

Are either of those relevant?

jessicamb

BCD wrote: »

Well, I've just applied for a couple of jobs- one as a cash room assistant (collecting and totalling takings from different departments in a supermarket), and one as a cashier for an insolvency firm (collecting a recording cheques and other payments).

Are either of those relevant?

they sound like perfect starting points Good luck!