Does ACA still have the sparkle?
A report from Accountancy magazine shows that 67% of FTSE 100 organisations have an ACA as their FD. This has been pretty constant for some time in British business. Is the tide beginning to change though?
ACA has long been considered the pinnacle of accounting qualifications. There are signs though, that it’s no longer the automatic choice for a lot of aspiring young accountants. Graduates are taking up other options more eagerly than ever before. CIMA and ACCA students are growing in number and starting to have a much bigger impact on British business. So, with all this background noise, is ACA still the route that new graduates looking for a career in accounting and finance should opt for?
Horses for courses
Through speaking with employers and candidates alike, one of the key messages to come through has been a “horses for courses” approach. There’s no doubt that getting an ACA qualification from one of the big four is still a great option. It’s a qualification with a long history and is instantly recognisable for employers. It’s well suited for people looking for a career in financial accounting, and focuses heavily on the details. It’s certainly more technically focussed than CIMA is, and provides great rigour and technical skills. All of these benefits have a great deal of relevance today.
It’s when graduates are looking to make a leap into the commercial world that CIMA seems to start winning people over. The CIMA route, generally gained within industry and commerce, gives people the chance to build people skills and a general understanding of what makes business tick – as well as some very practical aspects, such as getting to grips with in-house systems like SAP.
What do employers want?
Some employers are already starting to find it difficult to choose between ACA and CIMA graduates. Few would argue that both offer an excellent grounding and develop people into well balanced finance professionals across a range of business functions.
Yes, there remains a certain aura around ACA that CIMA yet doesn’t command. It’s something that’s borne out of its history – aside from anything else, it’s something senior figures are perhaps more comfortable and familiar with. But, as CIMA graduates start becoming more prevalent in the workplace, it’s likely that the 67% figure for FDs and CEOs will fall in the coming years. CIMA-qualified, and even ACCA-qualified accountants are getting a high level of business exposure, and no doubt more will make an impact in the boardroom in the future.
A question of growth
Looking at the figures, it seems the answer to the title of this article is obvious.
At the end of 2006, there were more than 115,000 ACA students. So it seems that, on the face of it, ACA does indeed have a sparkle.
However, delve a little deeper and we can see the signs of change. Yes, there remains less than 60,000 CIMA students, but that figure grew by nearly 24% in the five years to 2006. ACCA students showed even more impressive growth, with the student body growing by 25.1%. The number of ACA students grew by just 4.8% in the same period.
There’s no denying that a gulf remains between the different qualifications. If you were to come across an accountancy student by chance, the likelihood is that they will be studying for an ACA. But five years from now, that may well be very different.
The bottom line
The job market is a constantly evolving one, changing as the demands of British business shift. In the current environment, it’s perhaps more important than ever to make sure you have all the relevant tools you need to compete in that market.
ACA has provided the backbone of British accounting and finance professionals for many years, and that’s not a situation that’s due to change over night. It’s a qualification that still has huge amounts of relevance and one that retains much of its sparkle. The key difference now though, is that it’s no longer the de-facto route for all aspiring accountants.
For graduates, the added choice can only be a good thing, as long as they understand the options in front of them. For employers, they’ll need to think more carefully about exactly what kind of accountant they’re looking for.
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