ACCOUNTANT -

Gemukkkkkkk

ambik acca je lah..  senang cerita..

audit firms kat penang ni banyak.. banyak sangat..  kalau google atau cari kat mia pun boleh dapat..

JohnDeSouza

ya betoi, ari tu dah google dah. hohoh....

Lana

Originally posted by Gemukkkkkkk at 22-6-2006 08:38 AM
oh, maaf..  tak clarify things..  all the while, this is my personal opinion lah..
cfp - insurance, unit trusts etc..  basically, asset management..
cfa - upgraded version..  
kalau nak kerja di commercial banks..  tak perlu cfa..  diorang bukan buat full-fledged corporate finance and advisory..
kalau nak kerja di investment/merchant banks..  tak perlu cfa, tapi cfa membantu..

................................
senang cerita la..  acca is a professional course, recognised internationally..  bukan senang nak lulus semua parts..  is it any wonder ramai yang takut nak ambik sampai habis lalu tukar arah?  cfa, cfp, etc..  ambik batu, baling ke every  corner..  tengok berapa ramai cfa, cfp, etc kat sana..

Hi Gem..thanks for the info..

Yup you're  right in every sense about me tak paham pasal acca (in fact my knowledge about ACCA is close to nil & CFA pon tau sesikit jer),  hence the question & kalau mana2 yg salah tolong tunjukkan . I'm just curious about all this hype about  people going  for CFA.  

Since i cant give personal opinions given my limited knowldege, i decided to do a little bit of research to find out more about CFA (& other people's comments on CFA vs ACCA) ..here goes my findings..

Selepas menjengah ke CFA institute nyer website & a brief chat with the fella taking CFA, i found out that the requirements for one to be awarded a cfa charter are quite tough:
- Sequentially pass the Level I, Level II, and Level III examinations
- Have at least three years of acceptable professional experience
- Fulfill CFA Institute membership requirements and apply concurrently for membership in the CFA Institute and an CFA Institute member society or local chapter
- Sign the Professional Conduct Statement and Members' Agreement. Comply with the CFA Institute By laws. Exhibit a high degree of ethical and professional conduct

Sama macam ACCA, it's also a globally recognised  professional qualification & well known for low pass rates due to its high level of difficulty, avg around 20-30% & highest being  just obove 50%. And i also gathered that more and more financial institutions/ investment houses are hiring CFA holders.Although cfa is not required ,  cfa holder employee candidates are preferred over those without one & commands higher salaries /increments with faster promotion track.

Still curious, i decided to browse through some of the finance/finance career discussion boards re: cfa vs acca

Here i quote some of the comments:  

CFA is a top qualification but don't forget that they assume previous, sometimes quite extensive, knowledge. Ie. a lot of people do CFA after they're ACCA/CIMA qualified.
......CFA is more difficult than ACCA but not many people manage to qualify and hence if you do, you're in a really good position.

Well mostly likely i will be aiming for ACCA 1st haha CFA looks too intimidating to me at the moment. I will like to establish a better accts foundation 1st.

The ACCA and CPA qualifications are very basic requirements, in my opinion. If you already have a basic degree and want to take a post-graduate degree, don't waste your time with the above two. If you can afford it, go straight for the ACA and/or the CFA.

It is the ACA and CFA that will differentiate you from the rest and if you think you are capable of moving beyond middle management.

[size=-2]I'm an ACA, teach/have taught ACCA (for 15 years), and know a smidgen about CFA.ACA means that you're a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), so a British Institute.

I'd politely disagree with How About? that ACA is better, although we ACA's like to pretend it's the case so we can make more money :-). Having taught both, they are of an approximately equal standard, but certainly in the UK there is more snob value attached to ACA. In the UK the Big 4 will tend to recruit ACA trainees rather than ACCA, hence the perception that it's better.

Having also taught on degree and masters courses, ACA and ACCA will teach you a lot more about accounting than a degree course.

Until around 5 years ago, you couldn't do ACA outside the UK. You can now, but you need to have a training contract (i.e. job) with a firm of Chartered Accountants. It's also not that recognised in Singapore, as most employers recognise ACCA. My company tried offering ACA courses a few years ago, but there was insufficient demand. Don't know much about CFA, except that it's really tough to pass. The first level is MCQ I believe, but the final level is essays, and the pass rates are very low.

Not sure on this statement of yours .

once dah lulus full acca.. ada 3 tahun pengalaman bekerja..  you can even straight away be the boss of all those cfa yang bekerja di banks..  so, agak sendiri lah berapa gaji..

Cos i just got to know yesterday (i decided to be kepohchi) that a friend's colleague who has ACCA qualification from Emile Woolf with 5 years experience working in an international bank as the right hand man to a  Financial Controller is earning as much as his executive colleagues in other departments (with no CFA nor ACCA)..Guess it  depends on company's compensation policy..

And i suppose  it depends on which career direction/goal one is heading before deciding on taking cfa or acca. Nevertheless i  tend to agree with you that there are more  opportunities for acca qualified  person since accounting exists/is required  in almost every organisation (including non-banking/finance) . CFA on the other hand,  is more relevant and applicable in banking/finance/investment industries ie only "qualified" environment (pinjam word dari one fellow forummer). From the info gathered, it's also interesting to know that some ACCA qualified people decided to take CFA to move forward.

Other facts on CFA that i stumbled upon :
[size=-1]Most Common Occupations of CFA Charterholders: CEO/Principal , Credit Analyst , Chief Investment Officer , Equity Analyst, Fixed-Income Analyst , Investment Banker , Investment Counselor, Investment Firm Manager, Portfolio Manager,  
Portfolio Strategist, Sales/Marketing Professional, Securities Trader,
Financial Planner

CFA Career Prospect : Investment/ Financial Analysis, Fund/Portfolio Management, Financial Planning, Insurance Unit Trust, Stockbroking, Banking, Corporate Finance, Real Estate Investment, Derivatives Analysis & Trading

CFA salaries : Chartered Financial Analysts form an exclusive club of some of the world's most highly trained and best paid finance professionals. According to a compensation survey by Russell Reynolds Associates, a global recruitment firm, the CFA Institute members with ten years of working experience have the highest median yearly compensation level at US$295,000 in Singapore, followed by the UK at US$257,000 the US at US$245,000 and Hong Kong at US$240,000.

source:http://www.kasturi.edu.my/2nd/cfa.html#occupations

Gemukkkkkkk

very informative..  mod, you should reward this post..

sigh..  i need to stop this soon..

the thing is..  when you ask at a cfa forum..  you are sure to get skewed answers..  same goes when you ask at an acca forum.. and coming from an accounting background, of course i will be biased towards acca (not aca, as that is mainly for british grads)..  

as i have said in my post before, the diverse career advancement opportunities with having an acca is the one that matters..  
it all boils down to what you want..  to be able to find jobs in a competitive Malaysian market? or to somehow hope you can secure a high-paying job some time soon?  

it is obvious that you have already decided that cfa attracts you more..  you should go for cfa..  if you can confirm a job with any of the financial institutions or investment houses, why not go for it, right?
cfa is a good qualification for a specialised, thus restricted industry..  i am sure the survey includes fund managers in their portfolio..  again, as i have said in my post before, fund managers are the unknown millionaires/billionaires of the world..  so the median may be skewed..

as for your friend..  it depends on opportunities too..  
his FC may not have ACCA or CFA..  but he may have CPA or CA, which is actually THE main requirement (but not enforced) in many companies..
another example..  my friend worked in MacKenzie right after graduation.. his pay was ~RM30K at the time i checked a few years back..  imagine what his salary is now?  need i say more?

hi all,
i am back..exam has long gone..result has been published..time to get home...gemukk is right..there is an element of bias towards which one you should go..it is very much depends on yourself...i think all exam is though..Acca..Micpa..CFA..ICAEW..the good things about them is the professional recognition once you are admitted ad the respective bodies..for me..Acca, Micpa belong to the same group..while CFA is in another group..could be both aisle has different application..acca for internal and external audit..perhaps CFA more usefull when it comes to managing money..and of course there is some overlapping between them..what important is which route are you willing to go..Acca..with certain exemptions..more or less takes 3 semester for you to finish provided you succeed on 1st attempt of each exam..so you could be admitted to the body within 2 years timescale..micpa i dont really know..ICAEW need more less 4.5 years for you to be admitted..CFA is dont really know..but the end product is very much..global recognition..and perhaps what some people forget to capitalise on the early stage of their selection is which route suitable for me given my lifestyle and work demand?as for me..just do the right thing for you..i believe by comparing which one is the best would not really help..the best is when you score the field that love the most..despite my comments (perhaps rubbish to you all)..there is an answer for this question..the best is still the ICAS..the Institute of Chartered Accountant in Scotland..why are they the best?perhaps only the big 4 in the world (other than malaysia) could give you the answer..i was told that there is only 9 ICAS member is Malaysia..and no doubt they are the higher tax bracket income earner...back to my point..yes we are very much in need of professional qualification for our long term career development but please dont leave behind how we market our self..talent/skills and knowledge go in hand..been a while since the last time i wrote something in this forum..more and more future accountants are welcome to ask..gemukkk will always be here to help of you..

Regards,

ecam

Originally posted by Capt_ICAEW at 1-7-2006 06:48 AM
hi all,
i am back..exam has long gone..result has been published..time to get home...gemukk is right..there is an element of bias towards which one you should go..it is very much depends on yours ...

agreed with u... prof qual. is the stepping stone whereas leadership qualities
is more important if u want 2 climb d corp ladder. being a top manager (CEO)
means (at least for me) leading abunch of people from all disciplines.. we (acct dudes) migt never understand engineering/psychology/human resorce bla bla bla but the main
thing is to know how to get the best from 'em..
my own experience - i just have a local degree in acct, after 3 years i've been
admitted as MIA member.. now doing masters in finance..
my logic - i want to expose my self to other management skills  and learning new
skills in finance .. for me its worth the effort + my wife is already doing her acca

Originally posted by ecam at 1-7-2006 08:30 AM



agreed with u... prof qual. is the stepping stone whereas leadership qualities
is more important if u want 2 climb d corp ladder. being a top manager (CEO)
means (at least for me) leading a ...

thanks mate..looking forward to get home..how much is the cost of doing master and Acca in malaysia?

ecam

Originally posted by Capt_ICAEW at 1-7-2006 09:13 AM


thanks mate..looking forward to get home..how much is the cost of doing master and Acca in malaysia?

masters degree fee depends on whether u take it on full time basis or part time basis
full time is cheaper and faster but relatively tougher (since u may not have business
contacts to do your research).. i take the part time .. the costs is around RM19k

ACCA not very sure.. but it depends on how many exemptions u get..
not very expensive (take into acc the potential income).. its the tution fees
that will kill ya :geram:
for UKM acc degree we only have 2 finish 7 papers.. but again it depends
on your results (individually) becoz we have to submit the transcript
to claim the exemption (still have to pay the exemp fee though)

Originally posted by ecam at 1-7-2006 10:02 AM


masters degree fee depends on whether u take it on full time basis or part time basis
full time is cheaper and faster but relatively tougher (since u may not have business
contacts to do your ...

sama ah..aku pon exemption 7...cuma aku xpursue Acca..rasa cam malas nk study cam sekolah dulu..so aku amik ICAEW je la..nk dptkn title ACA tu..haha..ko dah keje ker?

Lana

Originally posted by Gemukkkkkkk at 26-6-2006 09:10 AM
very informative..  mod, you should reward this post..

sigh..  i need to stop this soon..

the thing is..  when you ask at a cfa forum..  you are sure to get skewed answers..  same goes when ...

Hi gem,

Did't expect that the things i wrote  wud upset you. Sorry bout that.
I was merely askin' & tryin' to get both sides of the stories (& sorry again if it appears to you that i 'm one-sided).  Was just curious with all the hype  & at the same time , by gathering further understanding/perspectives  from accounting pros here, i was hoping  to prove a point to my pal that he's actually comparin' apple to orange. Or so i thot. Well, not that i have much interest in  any of the subjects. Am pretty contented with my lesser educational background and meagre salary that i'm currently earning.

I'm done with my "inquisition"  &  i shall stop right  here  but before that i  must thank you for the insights that you've  given thus far. They're useful indeed. Sincerely appreciate that.

p/s Oh btw, i didn't really get the info(the views/comments bits)  from CFA forum. They're from some Financial/Accounting Career discussion board.

ecam

Originally posted by Capt_ICAEW at 1-7-2006 05:09 PM

sama ah..aku pon exemption 7...cuma aku xpursue Acca..rasa cam malas nk study cam sekolah dulu..so aku amik ICAEW je la..nk dptkn title ACA tu..haha..ko dah keje ker?

pehh.. ICAEW lagi prestigous fr ACCA.. ACCA nih ramai org sbb dia lebih
commercialized.. aku dah pat taun keje ngan manufacturing co
memalam gi kelas amik masters

Originally posted by ecam at 3-7-2006 08:44 AM


pehh.. ICAEW lagi prestigous fr ACCA.. ACCA nih ramai org sbb dia lebih
commercialized.. aku dah pat taun keje ngan manufacturing co
memalam gi kelas amik masters

end product sama 2-2 qualified jadi accountant bertauliah..kalau ko ada ACCA ko exempted part 1 ICAEW..so sapa2 berminat boleh la..aku amik pon just mengejar ACA title belakang nama aku je nanti..ecam keje sector apa?

Gemukkkkkkk

fyi, aku tak upset pun..  cuma tak nak thread ni jadi macam acca vs icaew vs cfa vs ca vs cpa vs aiia etc..

is ok..  walau menyusahkan cemana pun, tanya je..  orang tu upset or not, tak penting sangat..  sebab career ni a factor yang affect life kita..  so, takkan nak tanya secara lewa kan?  tanya je..  i will answer kalau reti..  selagi tak dapat jawapan.. teruskan tanya dan tanya dan tanya..  

kepada yang lelain..  sapa yang reti jawab, join la..  apa salahnya tolong kan..  macam aku ni, dulu mana ada orang guide aku pasla studies dan career..  aku budak sains yang terpaksa ambil akaun pasal parents tak mampu sponsor pergi oversea..  dapat fund jpa tapi mana le cukup selalunya kan..  masa tu, aku tak tau ada banyak cabang studies lain yang mungkin sealiran dengan jiwa aku..  anyway, i'm stuck to that..
dan semasa aku kerja..  takde orang bagitau career opportunities yang available..  cuma tahu audit/akaun je..  everything i know now, aku discover sendiri..  dan for some, dah too late untuk aku make the change..

so, kalau boleh, nak la tolong korang ni supaya tak face the same problems..

Gemukkkkkkk

anyway.. aku sekarang dalam heavy industry sector..  takde title professional..  cuma ada ca dan aiia..  walaupun aku tak buat akaun directly, portfolio kerja membuatkan aku dan fc kerja shoulder-to-shoulder..  jadi, masih tak dapat nak lari dari akaun..

ya, kalau boleh, aku nak lari dari buat akaun..  nak go up the ladder in other fields pulak..

ecam

Originally posted by Capt_ICAEW at 3-7-2006 08:57 AM


end product sama 2-2 qualified jadi accountant bertauliah..kalau ko ada ACCA ko exempted part 1 ICAEW..so sapa2 berminat boleh la..aku amik pon just mengejar ACA title belakang nama aku je nant ...

icaew musti grad uk kan? ko dah ade experience keje ke lom?
aku sector E&E buat parts utk aircond
stakat exp aku yg masih singkat nih satu bende yg aku nampk
"studying acctg is the easiest part" mgkn ramai tak setuju
aku tak kesah.. masa dah keje mcm2 mende ko buleh nampak
yet tak buleh buat pape.. eg manager makan komisen luar/
director joli duit profit etc
end of the year kata utg sikit.. ahahahhaha
budus

Originally posted by Gemukkkkkkk at 3-7-2006 09:12 AM
fyi, aku tak upset pun..  cuma tak nak thread ni jadi macam acca vs icaew vs cfa vs ca vs cpa vs aiia etc..

is ok..  walau menyusahkan cemana pun, tanya je..  orang tu upset or not, tak penting  ...

betol..it is not about which one the best..just nk tolong..so semua ada idea..what to expect bila ambik itu n ini..aku ambik pure sains..sempat ambik degree engineering kt UTM dulu..tp aku rasa xsesuai dgn jiwa aku..so hopefully thread ni tolong semua orang..malu bertanya sesat jalan beb..ada masa kita semua berkumpul makan2 pon ok gak..

Originally posted by ecam at 3-7-2006 09:19 AM


icaew musti grad uk kan? ko dah ade experience keje ke lom?
aku sector E&E buat parts utk aircond
stakat exp aku yg masih singkat nih satu bende yg aku nampk
"studying acctg is th ...

aku rasa malaysian grad pon dah boleh sekarang..tapi aku tak berapa sure ..aku xpernah kerja formal lagi..kerja cleaner time study ada la..haha..malas nk study intensive so amik ICAEW..kalau otak aku pickup cam dulu berani la aku amik ACCA..wah..best jugak sector ko tu ecam..sector ko tu memang camtu..ada dark side dia...ko nanti dah naik atas jangn jadi camtu lak..sungguh panas malam ni!

ecam

gemukk, aku dulu mmg gamble amik acctg sbb tak minat science
memula cikgu skolah lectured aku sampai dua tiga jam suruh aku amik
science.. aku cakap aku takmo.. tapi skolah tu takda acctg so diorang bukak
satu kelas acctg utk firt time dlm sejarah.. tapi aku cabut gak gi skolah lain
hahaha

makin lama makin malas la nak study..hampeh tol aku..

ecam

Originally posted by Capt_ICAEW at 4-7-2006 08:13 AM
makin lama makin malas la nak study..hampeh tol aku..

hahaha perkara biasa... oits enjoy time study laaa
bilo dah stat keja payah woo nak curik masa...
bz manjang