ICAI Rant

Kingkong

So far my dealings with the ICAI have given me a bad impression on how the organization is ran. This is why.

1. The new PCA exam is irrelevant and a money making scheme because firstly the online training to teach you how to work a computer is insulting and the exam itself is excel at a very basic level. No value comes from it. IATI teach sage lot more useful and practical and this is considered a lower qualification.

2. The new continuous assessment system that they are putting in place does not favor students. Fail rates are now higher and you cannot pass by compensation now. Also ive heard there is talks about extending the length of the training contract.

3. The CA diary. Another burden that is pointless because not only is it enough to be in a training contract now you have to document your learning experience and approved by your firm.

4. Has anyone looked at the fees they charge for exams etc.. €5K for the FAE's.

5. The monitoring of attendance to lectures. Im old enough to make my own decisions thanks and the lectures are terrible!

Feel free to agree and disagree!!!!!!!!

Hanley

This is coming from someone just about to start their training contract, so keep that in mind.

1 and 2: no experience yet, so can't comment

3: Not a bad idea in theory. How detailed do you have to go with it??

4: That's shocking, I didn't realise it was that much

5: Following on from point 5, if your firm is paying that much, it's only resonable for them to require you to attend, no?

crapmanjoe

Kingkong wrote: »

So far my dealings with the ICAI have given me a bad impression on how the organization is ran. This is why.

1. The new PCA exam is irrelevant and a money making scheme because firstly the online training to teach you how to work a computer is insulting and the exam itself is excel at a very basic level. No value comes from it. IATI teach sage lot more useful and practical and this is considered a lower qualification.

2. The new continuous assessment system that they are putting in place does not favor students. Fail rates are now higher and you cannot pass by compensation now. Also ive heard there is talks about extending the length of the training contract.

3. The CA diary. Another burden that is pointless because not only is it enough to be in a training contract now you have to document your learning experience and approved by your firm.

4. Has anyone looked at the fees they charge for exams etc.. €5K for the FAE's.

5. The monitoring of attendance to lectures. Im old enough to make my own decisions thanks and the lectures are terrible!

Feel free to agree and disagree!!!!!!!!

1 - Possibly true (havent got around to sitting the exam) but dont think it's a big deal anyway

2 - No other prof acc body allows compensation so they are actually moving in the right direction here (says the man who passed 1 prof 3 by compensation ) Yeah ive heard the 4 yr contract rumour but havent heard anything concrete about it

3 - Seems reasonable enough to me, they want to see what level of student are they admitting and allowing to use there initals, ill agree its a pain to do but i can see why they do it

4 - Again maybe true but who cares, the firm pays all the exam fee's etc

5 - lectures are like all lectures, you get out of them what u put in and if the firm is paying for the course tutition then they have the right to know whether ur attending or not,its not like they tell ur parents

I'm not the biggest fan of the ICAI but id pick out their shocking admin mix up's, inability to answe fone calls or emails, exam day mix up's etc before id rant about your points

Just my 2 cents mind

charba

Kingkong wrote: »

1. The new PCA exam is irrelevant and a money making scheme because firstly the online training to teach you how to work a computer is insulting and the exam itself is excel at a very basic level. No value comes from it. IATI teach sage lot more useful and practical and this is considered a lower qualification.

2. The new continuous assessment system that they are putting in place does not favor students. Fail rates are now higher and you cannot pass by compensation now. Also ive heard there is talks about extending the length of the training contract.

3. The CA diary. Another burden that is pointless because not only is it enough to be in a training contract now you have to document your learning experience and approved by your firm.

4. Has anyone looked at the fees they charge for exams etc.. €5K for the FAE's.

5. The monitoring of attendance to lectures. Im old enough to make my own decisions thanks and the lectures are terrible!

Feel free to agree and disagree!!!!!!!!

First off I'm not an ICAI student, I study CPA but i just thought I'd give my two cents worth on this

1) I can't comment on this obviously. However CPA do have a similar IT competency skill sheet. In their case you can either provide and ECDL cert or you can have your manager to sign off on certain skills that you use during work. You can not graduate until this has been filled in.

2) Surely Continuous assessment should ease the stress levels on students? Gaining valuable points throughout the year as opposed to exams at year end. And from the rumour mill as far as I know extending the contract to 4.5 years has been agreed

3) This is in line with other Accounting bodies, I don't see the problem with putting together an outline of what you have been doing for three and a half years. It will help you when you are putting together your CV in any case.

4) How many exams is that for? It is steep but they do know that students are not going to be paying it and that students are being underpaid so the audit companies can afford it. For my finals this year I will be paying 595 per subject to attend college, 60 euro per subject more if I wish to sit a mock paper. And then I also have to pay exam fees. I can't remember how much they are

5) CPA monitor attendance too through the colleges. If you are borderline they look at your attendance if it is good they will see if they can find those extra marks, perhaps ICAI do something similar?

It looks like they are just trying to harmonise the accounting bodies which is only in the best interest in the profession.

ams

Kingkong wrote: »

So far my dealings with the ICAI have given me a bad impression on how the organization is ran. This is why.

1. The new PCA exam is irrelevant and a money making scheme because firstly the online training to teach you how to work a computer is insulting and the exam itself is excel at a very basic level. No value comes from it. IATI teach sage lot more useful and practical and this is considered a lower qualification.

2. The new continuous assessment system that they are putting in place does not favor students. Fail rates are now higher and you cannot pass by compensation now. Also ive heard there is talks about extending the length of the training contract.

3. The CA diary. Another burden that is pointless because not only is it enough to be in a training contract now you have to document your learning experience and approved by your firm.

4. Has anyone looked at the fees they charge for exams etc.. €5K for the FAE's.

5. The monitoring of attendance to lectures. Im old enough to make my own decisions thanks and the lectures are terrible!

Feel free to agree and disagree!!!!!!!!

Hi KingKong

1. I cant comment on the new exam as I did the older one last year but the exam has never been THAT difficult. Its just one of those things you have to do and get done with.

2.The pass by compensation was lowering the CA Irish qualification as it is not utilised in other countries. the continuous assessment should make things better for students as there will be less pressure at exam time as you can have marks under your belt for something you should score well on.

However if this is your opinion on it dont just post it here where it will not count. The ICAI are looking for student opinions on forming the new course and are open to suggestions from students. Get in contact with your local society and they will be delighted to discuss this with the ICAI for you.

3.The CA diary is not a new feature. It is designed to be of benefit to you so that you can analyse areas that you have not received training on and take it up with your training manager. Sure its a bit of a pain to fill out but like another poster said will aid you in preparing your CV.

4.Should be paid by for the firms anyway so not a concern.

5.Again this is an area where your feedback is invaluable. Get in touch with them and tell them this or it will not be acted on.

ams

charba wrote: »

5) CPA monitor attendance too through the colleges. If you are borderline they look at your attendance if it is good they will see if they can find those extra marks, perhaps ICAI do something similar?

QUOTE]

I'm not sure about the main exams but I know this was looked at for a student who failed the PCA exam - the amount of hrs she spent doing the online training was looked at after her boss enquired as to why she had failed.