CFA AND ACCA
One of the two highly acknowledged certifications nowadays in the field of accounts, finance and investment are CFA & ACCA. We will be dealing with respective info for both in this articles.
CFA
CFA stands for Chartered financial analyst that is offered by CFA institute. You can consider it as among most competitive credentials in the finance industry. It is gold standard certification when it comes to investment management and financial analysis. Being a rigorous certification in finance, CFA covers many areas of financial and investment knowledge. For these reasons it is the best career option for people who are interested to pursue a career in finance. It is the perfect match for those desirous of working in investment banking or being financial analysts. Though MBA Finance from top institutes are nowadays in high demand but CFA professionals are leading all certifications in banking and investment sector. This is the certification via which you can earn reputation and good income as well. If you a CFA professional there is no way for you to get rejected anywhere.
ACCA
ACCA is an old yet modern certification as it is equally desired by all. ACCA is highly valued certification, a credential that makes professional accountants. ACCA builds key skills for finance & management and validates professionals` capabilities to be aspirants of finance profession. ACCA can be called as multi-tier certification that primarily focuses upon knowledge areas concerned with accountancy, auditing and taxation. Though CFA supersedes ACCA with respect to reputation and demand but ACCA is widely acknowledged for helping students as well as accounting professional to significantly boost their careers.
ENTRY REQUIREMENT FOR CFA & ACCA
For entering CFA one need to be a bachelor degree holder or someone who is in his/her bachelor`s final year. Those with four years professional work experience as well those with four years higher education & professional experience together can enter into CFA certification.
For being ACCA student one need to have 12 years of education from mainly commerce stream. Though others can start it too. Those with graduation degree can also start it. For students of chartered accountancy there are exemptions available up to a certain level of papers.
WHY CFA OR ACCA SHOULD BE PREFERRED
Everyone has his/her own reasons for pursuing a career. Same goes right for CFA & ACCA. CFA professionals are people who are interested in financial modeling, equity research, investment management or other similar areas. CFA charter provides such platform for people. CFA equips knowledge of experts regarding finance with experience of investment sector and enables professionals to get maximum out of their certifications. Being a CFA enables you to work with industry-leading employers. In investment sector this certification opens up doors for new growth opportunities.
ACCA has its professionals working in over 8,500 worldwide organizations. Being ACCA you get global opportunities being both a student and a professional. ACCA certification enables you to work in diverse industries with good appreciation in each.