One of South Africa's best-kept secrets in the quest to become a Chartered Accountant is the very limited awareness that there are indeed three Chartered Accountant Qualifications that are registered and recognised by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). These include the 'Chartered Accountant South Africa', CA(SA) (of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, SAICA); the 'Chartered Certified Accountant', CCA (of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, ACCA) and the 'Chartered Global Management Accountant,' CGMA (of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, CIMA). 

The ACCA, CA (SA) and CIMA qualifications are all pitched at level 8 of the South African National Qualifications Framework (NQF), so there is no dispute that all three broadly share the same level of complexity. For a detailed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each of these qualifications, review our interview with Deon Fredericks on page 14 as well as our article titled 'Are You A Future CFO?' in our prior edition. 

THE CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT (ACCA | CA (SA) | CIMA): 3 PATHWAYS TO ATTAINMENT 

Depending on whether you study full-time or part-time, the diagram below (and the subsequent analysis) broadly depicts and compares the path to each of these three coveted finance qualifications.

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