!!!!!help!!!!!!!!!!!

[ruvi_143]

wats d diff btwn the diff aspects of CA, CFA, CIMA, ICFAI, ICWA,.................

imean all assure
* reputation
* globally recognised status
* flexibility of career options.

plz help

[roshcrazy]

CFA n ACA r different qualifications with no comparision.

ACA is specialist in audit&tax. while CFA is specialist in investment management (including portfolio & funds management).

ACA is qualification in Accounting field, while CFA is supreme most qualification in Finance. so much so, tht i know many good universities abroad who ve designed their syllabus of degrees in Finance in accordance to CFA!!!

but the bottom line is tht it is the talent inside u tht matters, not being the CFA or ACA. if u dont enjoy financial markets and economic trends, CFA is useless for u.

if u insist on comparing ACA n CFA, CFA is way too better; but no doubt, extremely difficult. website of AIMR (owners of CFA charter) itself admit tht "... even the most experienced investment bankers find CFA exams extremely difficult..." and on one place, "...CFA charter is awarded to extremely few ppl arround the world...".


most ppl prefer to sit for CFA exams after they have arround 1-2 yrs experience in investment mgmt., and they ve completed their masters/bachelors degree in Finance (not in accountancy!). CFA website says: "... our syllabus is of master's degree level..."

importance of CFA is also highlighted whn u find tht many (if not most) CPAs (ACA of USA) turn to CFA!!!

[roshcrazy]

CA is another thing and CFA is other one

CA are trained for basically audit

&

CFA are not trained they are mainly passed and there nature of profession is different they are Financial analysts
that is only speciality
as after being a doctor a person may be Heart specialist or any other

Such is the case of CFA

No matter CFA is paid more than a CA but you cannot compare these two
a CFA tells u how to generate return from resources.

a CA (mainly) checks whether a CFA has complied with the regulations and reported the truth.

There are no exemptions currently available for anyone wishing to pursue CFA qualification. A number of chartered accountants pursue CFA post qualification mainly if they want to leave audititng field and perhaps join investment or investment related profession. Coming with an accountancy background may help you in some CFA topics, e.g. Financial Statement Analysis.

[roshcrazy]

Merits of the MBA vs. CFA.
The Master of Business Administration (MBA) or the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation?

Which credential ultimately adds more value and helps its holder get on the fastest track to meeting his/her professional goals? There is no question that an individual with either should expect a higher salary. In fact, it would be ideal to carry both. However, time and money limit one?s ability to pursue both the CFA and MBA, so if you had to choose only one designation, which would it be?

In essence, the CFA is a far more specialized program, aimed primarily at those either interested in or already pursuing a career in the financial industry. On the other hand, the goal of the MBA is to expose its candidates to a wide variety of business streams ? marketing, finance, accounting, or organizational behaviour ? and give them the options to specialize or remain a generalist.

The CFA route is designed for individuals interested in a finance career. The candidate must have four years of experience related to the aforementioned tasks, or be in the process of accruing it. This designation has another caveat emptor however: Summer internships do not count.

MBA programs do not segregate candidates based on their past work experience and future work plans. However, there are a number of hurdles to jump over before entering a distinguished MBA program. Depending on which school you are interested in, you may be required to verify a certain amount of job experience (usually two years) before entering the program.
Due to fierce competition over entry into these programs, a strong supplementary application coupled with proven work experience and high GMAT scores are necessary for admission.

Now for the meat of the discussion: the costs versus pay-offs. Depending on the MBA school of choice, one will likely spend anywhere between $30,000-$100, 000 over the course of one to two years. Starting salaries also vary from school to school: Top US Ivy League schools have an average post-MBA salary of US $110,000 compared to the average pre-MBA salary of US $70,000. That is a 57% increase in salary upon graduation.
On a more domestic note, MBAs attending top Canadian business schools such as the Western?s Ivey, Queen?s, Rotman, and Schulich can expect a salary increase of 56% upon the completion of their degree; the average pre-MBA salary of US $45,000 increases to approximately US $70,000 upon program completion.

The CFA works a little differently. It consists of three tests that can be written once a year, and provided you pass all three of them on the first try, you can obtain your designation in three years. However, that is a big ?if?. According to studies, one needs a minimum of 250 hours to study for all three tests. However, the pay-offs are lucrative: CFA holders enjoy an average salary of $180,000; that is 54% higher than those without the designation.
Furthermore, CFA holders with ten years of experience demand 10% higher salaries than their MBA counterparts. Considering that the program occurs over the course of three years, and taking into account that the preparation material and tests cost about $7,000, the immediate returns of a CFA are higher than that of an MBA.

Salaries aside, according to Managing Directors and Associates at TD Securities and CIBC World Markets, most professionals with a finance focus will be required to pursue their CFA at some point. In fact, employers with the largest number of CFA holders include CIBC, Deutsche Bank, Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Merrill Lynch, RBC, and UBS. For today?s young finance professionals, a CFA is a far better investment.

[roshcrazy]

ACCA vs CIMA which one is better and why?

1. ACCA tends focus more on the technical side of accounting practices and leads to jobs such as corporate accountant, auditor, tax accountant etc.
2. CIMA cover all the accounting practices but maybe not with the same intensity. It does however have much more of an emphisis on management reporting, corporate stratagy and organisations. CIMA jobs tend to fall more within the remit of forecasting, budget making, variance analysis and strategy.

To be honest both qualifications will help you career wise and there is a lot of cross-over between them. If you want to be an auditor you have to have an ACCA qualifation though.

ACCA , MSc or MBA?

ACCA is good, but you are not assured of time when you are going to complete it. Opportunity to work and earn income. Self disciple to study, support maybe lacking, high degree of fail 'cause of poor prep.
While MBA if its 18 month, then after 18 months you will graduate. Thats assuming you work hard and let yourself fail. Best support from Professors, full time, no income during the period. B-school wants to preserve its credibility so if they admit you, they will make sure they work to pass you.
MBA is more valuable than MSc, provided you go to a reputable B-school. As such your earnings after graduation will be substantial.

[roshcrazy]

The CA institute is against all other professional institutes like the ICFAI, ICWAI and ICSI, as it knows that if all these institutes are granted equal statutory rights (as is the case in UK), its members will no more stand out in the market.

So it has asked its members not to use the CFA qualification after their names and better still not to pursue the CFA course.

But it is a fact that the maximum number of professionals doing the CFA course are CAs. India being a democracy, you cannot stop any one from gaining knowledge.

You have to decide to chart out your career path. The presumption that being a Cost Accountant, your growth is restricted is a myth. Not every CA becomes a financial controller.

There are many middle level managers who leave companies viz. Glaxo, L&T because they are stagnated. The reason the top level is stagnant or the company is stagnant. So you have to chart out a proper career plan.

[roshcrazy]

Readers should be aware of the CFA controversy. Do you know that you cannot use the CFA qualification in the United States and Canada. Read the court order (www.aimr.org) for details.....And ICFAI does not seem to have learnt any lessons from this incident. They continue to give other degrees like CPA, CMA which are all trademark infringements..Come-on guys. Come up with some original ideas. Don't sell educational degrees like this in a cheap manner.

The real problem is that ICFAI is not transparent about this. When I enrolled into the course, they did not even mention it anywhere in the prospectus. Now-a-days I believe there is a fine print somewhere. Be careful folks, don't get cheated.

it is interesting to see what CFA institute is doing to attract the more students. It started the course named CPA. The institute of CPA , USA is also issuing similar qualifications and it is very much popular in india. Specially inthe time of globalisation where indian companies are started listing in US markets, the importance of CPA icreased because of statutory regulations in us and understanding of us gaaps.

Unfortunately CFA institte's CPA course is no where matching with US CPA course.

In India CA/ ICWA/CS institutes are working together for fulfiling various statutory responsibilities.

Just by issuing qualification CPA (FROM ICFAI) ONE WILL NOT BECOME CPA under US institute of CPA.