About ACCA Australia & New Zealand
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is a global professional accounting body with 116,000 members and 295,000 students in 170 countries.
Established in 1904, ACCA's Head Office is located in London, one of the world's established financial centres. ACCA now has over 35 staffed offices and around 700 staff worldwide.
ACCA members are permitted by Provy Council to use the designation "Chartered Certified Accountant" and the acronyms "ACCA" (member) or "FCCA" (Fellow).
ACCA qualified accountants are sought after by employers in many countries. Many ACCA members and students are employed in "Big 4" accounting firms and major corporations.
Attaining the ACCA Professional Scheme qualification entails passing a series of globally uniform examinations based on a comprehensive syllabus. Completion of ACCA Parts 1 and 2, and a 5000-word research paper, qualifies students for the BSc (Hons) Applied Accounting from Oxford-Brookes University, an accredited United Kingdom University. Exemptions may be approved from some or all papers 1 to 9 in the Fundamentals stage to students who have completed a university degree accredited by ACCA. However, all students must complete ACCA Part 3 examinations - the Professional stage - and complete three years of approved work experience to qualify for full ACCA membership.
The ACCA syllabus has been used by the United Nations as a global benchmark for a professional accountancy qualification and is highly recognised as a preferred qualification in many countries.
Statutory Recognition
United Kingdom: ACCA has identical statutory recognition as the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) - 1989 Corporations Act - for the purposes of statutory auditing and receivership.
Australia: The ACCA qualification is recognised as a prescribed body for insolvency purposes under the Corporation Act 2001. ACCA is recognised as "a professional body" by the Australian Taxation Office under Section 251LA of the Income Tax Assessment Act.
New Zealand: ACCA is gazetted by the Ministry of Economic Development under the relevant act (Under Section 199 of the Companies Act 1993: Qualifications of Auditors) as an overseas qualification enabling a n ACCA member to undertake statutory audit work in New Zealand so long as they hold an ACCA public practice certificate (with audit qualification) in their country of origin.
CPD
From the 1st January 2005, all ACCA members worldwide are required to undertake continuing professional development (CPD) according to ACCA regulations.