ACCA vs CMA: Which Qualification Will Boost Your Career?

Many professionals face whether to choose ACCA or CMA when looking to advance their careers in accounting and finance. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the ACCA, and the Certified Management Accountant or CMA certifications offer global appeal and career options yet designed for different purposes and target different spheres of finance. This article aims to provide a comprehensive study of both ACCA and CMA, more focused on all about ACCA and CMA so that you will know what course best suits your needs and objectives.

What is ACCA?

The ACCA, or the  Association of Chartered Certified Accountants is a widely accepted professional certification, especially among accountants and other professionals in similar fields. This qualification encompasses a wide range of skills and knowledge, including auditing, taxation, financial statements, and management accounting. ACCA enjoys accrued popularity, especially in the United Kingdom, Middle East, and Asia, making it suitable for women and men who desire a dynamic career in accounting and finance.

Key Features of ACCA

1. Worldwide Recognition: The ACCA program qualification is held in over 189 countries, including India, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and most European Countries. Many countries consider it to be on par with their local qualifications, thus allowing practitioners to move across borders.
2. Study Structure: ACCA consists of a series of 13 relative exams categorized into three levels: Applied Knowledge, Applied Skills, and Strategic Professional. The subjects studied include financial management, auditing, taxation, corporations and their governance, and professional ethics.
3. Length and Scope: ACCA is designed to minimize time pressure on the candidates and allow them to sit for the examinations at their convenience. Normally, it takes about 3-4 years to achieve the qualification, whichever is the most rapid route available for passing the exams.
4. Practical Experience Requirement (PER): To become a member, a candidate must prove three years of practical working experience in appropriate fields such as accounting audit or financial management.

Advantages of ACCA

• Wide Coverage: The ACCA syllabus includes financial management, taxation, and auditing, making it appropriate for many, such as those in auditing consulting and financial management. 
• Exemptions: In fact, ACCA gives exemptions to students who have completed courses like B.Com, MBA, or even CA (Chartered Accountant).
• Job Prospects: An ACCA member can take on the professional responsibilities of a financial controller, an auditor, a consultant, a tax advisor, or a risk manager.

What is CMA?

The Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) offers the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification, which is concentrated on management accounting and financial management. The CMA is best suited for professionals who wish to assume strategic placement in an organization’s internal financial management, decision, and corporate strategy.

Key Features of CMA

1. Strategic Focus: The focus area of CMA lies mainly in management accounting, cost accounting, budgetary control, and performance management. Management professionals who wish to work closely with management in implementing financial strategies will find this certification appropriate.
2. Global Reach: The CMA is an internationally accepted qualification, but its worth is most felt in the US, India, China, and the Middle East regions. It is considered the best qualification that a management accountant can attain.
3. Curriculum: The complete course structure of the CMA Program has two parts. Part 1 deals with financial planning, performance, and analytics, and Part 2 concerns strategic financial management.
4. Duration: On average, CMA can be achieved in 6-12 months, depending on the pace of the candidate, proving it a faster route to a professional qualification than ACCA.

Advantages of CMA

• Condensed Duration: The CMA Course’s completion time is shorter than that of the ACCA, thus attracting professionals who want to speed up their career progression. 
• Management-centric: The certification aims to equip individuals with skills necessary for the upper hierarchy of the organization, and outcome-orientated management focused on the organization’s finances. 
• Scarceness: Companies are looking for CMAs in several sectors, including manufacturing, health, and information technology, to perform cost analysis, budgeting, and financial forecasting.

Key Differences: ACCA vs CMA

There are several key differences between ACCA and CMA. Both are very knowledgeable courses about finance, and both are highly demanded in the finance and accounting industries.

Factor	ACCA	CMA
Focus Area	Financial reporting, auditing, taxation	Management accounting, strategic financial management
Duration	3-4 years	6-12 months
Exams	13 exams across three levels	20 exams across 3 stages
Global Recognition	Recognized in over 180 countries	Particularly valued in the US, India, China, Middle East
Career Roles	Auditor, tax consultant, financial manager	Cost accountant, financial planner, budget analyst
Exemptions	Exemptions for CA, MBA, B.Com	No exemptions offered
Work Experience Requirement	3 years of relevant experience	2 years of relevant work experience

Eligibility Criteria for Indian Students

• ACCA: Candidates must have completed their 10+2 (high school) education for ACCA eligibility. Students from commerce backgrounds (B.Com, M.Com, MBA) may receive exemptions from certain papers. Graduates from other fields can also apply for ACCA.
• CMA: Candidates must enroll in the CMA program and possess a bachelor’s degree from a recognized institution. They must also possess two years of work experience in relevant fields of financial management or management accounting to obtain the CMA designation.

Salary Expectations in India

In India, the salary prospects for both ACCA and CMA professionals are pretty competitive.

• ACCA Salary: Fresh graduates who are due to start work as ACCA professionals can expect an annual salary ranging from ₹6 to ₹8 lakhs INR. More experienced individuals, particularly in foreign companies, can expect this to increase to between ₹15 and ₹25 lakhs INR in a year.
• CMA Salary: The analysis shows that the salary offered to standard entry-level CMA graduates is usually between INR ₹7 – ₹12 lakhs, while older professionals may earn more than INR ₹20 lakhs per year, particularly in financial planning, cost management, or back office services, where one has to make strategies for the practice or product. 

Difficulty level

• ACCA Degree of Difficulty: The ACCA syllabus is moderately complex because of the volume of subjects studied. It has 13 exams divided into three levels. Therefore, students must put great effort and considerable time into clearing all the papers. Nevertheless, students can study independently because of convenient examination schedules. 
• CMA Degree of Difficulty: CMA is believed to be slightly easier than ACCA as it has only two parts, but it entails a thorough comprehension of management accounting and strategic finance. Such examinations can be challenging or accessible but can be done within a shorter period, making CMA a quick but equally challenging course.

Conclusion

The ACCA and CMA are commendable certifications, but the determination should be based on individual career objectives. If the professional targets and aspirations are focused on auditing, taxation, or any financial role, acca provides a more extensive and detailed syllabus that is flexible on all geographical fronts. In contrast, if a candidate is looking for a quicker option to certification and is more interested in management accounting and strategic finance, then a CMA would probably work better. Whereas the ACCA gives a broader spectrum of opportunities, the other one is more specific to internal financial management and planning.