Can an ACCA practice audits in India?

This question previously had details. They are now in a comment.

13 Answers
Samuel Kumar
Samuel Kumar, studied at Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
Answered Dec 3, 2016
Not straight away. But there's an indirect alternative for icai membership.

Apply for ICAEW(UK) membership after getting ACCA membership. Once you're ICAEW member
after clearing a few papers and becoming a member you can apply to ICAI for membership. Then
clear the final course of ca. And vola.. you're a chartered accountant.

Caveats: membership to ACCA needs 3 year work experience

Membership to ICAI is conditional to articleship also 3 years. HOWEVER, 3 years of work experience
while getting ACCA= 1 year in the eyes of ICAI. So you'll need to still work 2 more years before
getting membership.

....................................................................................................................................
What is ACCA?

ACCA or Association of Chartered Certified Accountants is a world leading organization of accounting

professionals. The qualification is well acknowledged in almost all countries of the world, and considered as their
local qualification.

ACCA is the best way to let employers know that you have the ability to manage all aspects of business aspects. It
also happens to be one of the fastest growing accounting careers in the world with over 500,000 members around
170 countries.

ACCA or CA?

When we think of a rewarding career in accountancy in India, Chartered Accountancy is the first thing that comes
to our mind. For the longest time, there was no contender for this qualification in India. However, the emergence
of global accounting degrees and growing awareness have brought into light new age global qualifications like the
ACCA.

While CA is undoubtedly the most coveted degree in India, many aspirants seem discouraged by its low passing
rates and limited recognition in the global arena. This is the reason students and young professionals are now
also considering ACCA as an accounting qualification.

Have you also faced the dilemma while making a choice between ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified
Accountants) and CA? Read on to understand the fundamental differences between these two big qualifications:
ACCA after CA

However, you need not always have to make a difficult choice, you can have the best of both worlds too! Pursuing
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants after CA also has a number of benefits and gives you an edge over
other candidates.

The advantages of doing ACCA after CA are:

Global recognition – Indian CAs who want to brace themselves for a global recognition can opt for ACCA. This
gives candidates an opportunity to work in diverse roles such as financial advisory, analysis, treasury etc. in top
MNCs. Additionally, a candidate can also apply for opportunities abroad if he is qualified as an ACCA.

Flexibility – As an Indian CA, you will get an exemption of all 9 papers, which means you need to appear for
only 5 papers (professional level) of The ACCA Qualification to obtain the membership. Also, the CA articleship is
counted as the Practical Experience Requirement (PER) for ACCA.

Exam pattern – Exam pattern is quite flexible as compared to that of Indian CA and is not held in groups.
When appearing for ACCA exams, you will only need to appear only for the modules you haven’t cleared and not
the entire group.

Our Recommendation

Now that you know about the features of each of the qualifications and its prospects in India as well as on the
International job front, decision making will be a little simpler for you. Both these qualifications are highly sought
after, but it depends on your aspirations what you pick. Your decision will be broadly based on these 3 factors:

Career Goals: If you are looking at a global career you can opt for ACCA, but if you want to pursue a career in
domestic or public sector companies, especially in taxation and auditing, Chartered Accountancy is more suitable
for you. Please note that presently in India, ACCA members who aren’t Chartered Accountants, do not have the
authority to sign the books of accounts as an Auditor. They can work in Audit teams though. The authority to sign
is still statutorily reserved for members of the ICAI.

The flexibility of the curriculum: Another factor that could impact your choice of qualification is the degree
of flexibility that each of them offers as well as your comfort level with the structure of the course and exam
pattern.

Time commitment: While passing the CA papers takes quite a few years due to its difficulty level and re-
examination pattern, ACCA can be completed in 2-3 years. So if you have time constraints and do not want to
wait too long before starting your career, you can opt for ACCA.

What is ACCA?

ACCA or Association of Chartered Certified Accountants is a world leading

organization of accounting professionals. The qualification is well acknowledged in
almost all countries of the world, and considered as their local qualification.

ACCA is the best way to let employers know that you have the ability to manage all
aspects of business aspects. It also happens to be one of the fastest growing
accounting careers in the world with over 500,000 members around 170 countries.

ACCA or CA?

When we think of a rewarding career in accountancy in India, Chartered

Accountancy is the first thing that comes to our mind. For the longest time, there was
no contender for this qualification in India. However, the emergence of global
accounting degrees and growing awareness have brought into light new age global
qualifications like the ACCA.

While CA is undoubtedly the most coveted degree in India, many aspirants seem
discouraged by its low passing rates and limited recognition in the global arena. This
is the reason students and young professionals are now also considering ACCA as an
accounting qualification.

Have you also faced the dilemma while making a choice between ACCA (Association
of Chartered Certified Accountants) and CA? Read on to understand the fundamental
differences between these two big qualifications:
ACCA after CA

However, you need not always have to make a difficult choice, you can have the best
of both worlds too! Pursuing Association of Chartered Certified Accountants after CA
also has a number of benefits and gives you an edge over other candidates.

The advantages of doing ACCA after CA are:

Global recognition – Indian CAs who want to brace themselves for a global
recognition can opt for ACCA. This gives candidates an opportunity to work in
diverse roles such as financial advisory, analysis, treasury etc. in top MNCs.
Additionally, a candidate can also apply for opportunities abroad if he is qualified as
an ACCA.

Flexibility – As an Indian CA, you will get an exemption of all 9 papers, which
means you need to appear for only 5 papers (professional level) of The ACCA
Qualification to obtain the membership. Also, the CA articleship is counted as the
Practical Experience Requirement (PER) for ACCA.

Exam pattern – Exam pattern is quite flexible as compared to that of Indian CA

and is not held in groups. When appearing for ACCA exams, you will only need to
appear only for the modules you haven’t cleared and not the entire group.

Our Recommendation

Now that you know about the features of each of the qualifications and its prospects
in India as well as on the International job front, decision making will be a little
simpler for you. Both these qualifications are highly sought after, but it depends on
your aspirations what you pick. Your decision will be broadly based on these 3
factors:

Career Goals: If you are looking at a global career you can opt for ACCA, but if you
want to pursue a career in domestic or public sector companies, especially in taxation
and auditing, Chartered Accountancy is more suitable for you. Please note that
presently in India, ACCA members who aren’t Chartered Accountants, do not have
the authority to sign the books of accounts as an Auditor. They can work in Audit
teams though. The authority to sign is still statutorily reserved for members of the
ICAI.

The flexibility of the curriculum: Another factor that could impact your choice
of qualification is the degree of flexibility that each of them offers as well as your
comfort level with the structure of the course and exam pattern.

Time commitment: While passing the CA papers takes quite a few years due to its
difficulty level and re-examination pattern, ACCA can be completed in 2-3 years. So
if you have time constraints and do not want to wait too long before starting your
career, you can opt for ACCA.
Starting from 8 January 2010, ICAEW introduced a new "Pathways to Membership" programme whereby it offers the ACA
designation on passing its Examination of Experience and sponsorship by ICAEW member or under ICAEW's ATE training
environment, to members (qualified through normal examination and training route) of the following accounting institutes:

 American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)

 Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
 Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
 Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)
 CPA Australia
 Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA)
However, AICPA and MICPA members who join the ICAEW under the Pathways to Membership scheme must maintain their
home body membership.
ICAEW has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with accounting bodies in overseas countries. These bodies are
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh(ICAB), Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), Institute of
Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) and Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS). There is also a
joint scheme in place to enable members of the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CICPA) and the Hong Kong
Institute of Certified Public Accountantsto qualify as ACA with ICAEW.[7] ICAEW is an affiliate of the Institute of Chartered
Accountants of the Caribbean.[14]

.......................................................................................