UK Accounting Qualifications: ACA vs ACCA vs CIMA

ACA, ACCA and CIMA are not three versions of the same thing. They train you for different jobs, they start in different ways, and one of them closes the door on audit permanently. Picking the wrong one costs about three years.

ACA (ICAEW) is the traditional chartered route for practice and audit. You need a training agreement with an authorised employer before you can start, so in practice the employer chooses you first - your start date is not yours to decide.

ACCA is the most flexible of the three and the most portable internationally. You can study and sit exams before you have a relevant job and log the practical experience as you gain it, and it keeps practice and audit open. The flexibility cuts both ways: nobody is organising your study or paying for it by default.

CIMA is management accounting - costing, planning and commercial decisions inside a business rather than reporting on the past. It is not an audit qualification and will not take you to signing audit reports, so if you later decide you want practice, you have trained for a different job.

AAT is the usual way in without a degree, often through an apprenticeship, and it gives exemptions if you go on to one of the three above. It is a starting point rather than a destination.

Five questions settle it, in order. Do you want to work in an accountancy firm or inside a business - this eliminates more options than the other four together. Has an employer already offered to train you, because a funded training agreement beats your theoretical favourite. Do you have a degree. Might you want to work outside the UK. And how certain are you that you want to be an accountant at all.

Exam structures, exemptions, fees and experience requirements change most years, so this page deliberately does not quote them. Confirm the current rules with ICAEW, ACCA, CIMA or AAT directly before you commit.

If you are weighing accountancy against other fields rather than choosing between its routes, answer that first - every option here is a multi-year commitment. Career Compass ranks up to ten UK careers from your own answers with the reasons, the routes and a 30-day plan to test a direction before you pay for any of it. £19.99 once, full report included. Or read the free accountant career guide.