12-21-2011, 07:16 PM
@Fareed
Sorry for the delayed reply. I am glad you find this thread helpful and informative. We have tried to accumulate all the issues in one go. Anyone who reads this thread from the start till end will have most common queries answered by itself. <b>As of this date i will consider the information on this thread up to date.</b>
Look buddy. CFA is a qualification that was initially persued by the highest people in the industry in Pak when it arrived and that resulted in its prestige. Most treasury heads, CFOs, MDs and Higher level Managers opted for CFA most of whom are around peak of their careers. There is absolutely minimum market for this qualification today in Pakistan. 75% of the financial theories you study in CFA is not applicable to the financial industry of Pak. It is something everyone wants but they don't know why they want it. Lets just say everyone is following everyone. I personally know atleast 3 CFA qualified invididuals working as simple treasury officers for around 25-35k. Here in UAE financial industry is still in its infancy to tackle CFA. This qualification is absolutely for world financial centres USA, Australia or Japan. It has no application here. Don't expect any advantage. Rather, expect disadvantage form it. You will not be called by employers because they think you have a CFA and you will demand 1 Lac salary. It has happened to my friends. Employer starts to think you are over qualified for entry to mid level jobs. Market for CIA is more mature in Pakistan than CFA. As i mentioned most CFAs are already working in proper positions. There is hardly any place for "fresh" CFAs. Most jobs relevant to the CFA were tradionally handled by finance professionals. It will take some time before CFA starts making its place. The prestige is just artificial.
You are abo****ely wrong in saying that with accountancy qualification, you can't reach CFO level. Obviously in Pak CA is the ultimate to become a partner and most of the times CFO and righly so. 80% of Pak CFOs must be ICAP qualified. If you move abroad and continue in finance, i assure you even with just ACCA, you will reach CFO in 12 to 15 years or may be less depending on your skills.
My personal goal is to become CFO and i am going to do it with ACCA only. I consider it to be my base and most beloved designation. I never thought i would need anythign more than this. Though, i am planning to study further for personal satisfaction ONLY.
I would really advise you to stick to finance and accountancy. This field is mature and has proper career graph. Rest is your decision. I'll get specific now.
Q1.....No. You will reach wherever you are suppose to reach with ACCA in 2021, no matter you take no matter how many qualifications. It is my personal opinion from experiences that number of qualifications would hardly give you any advantage over other candidates who are also qualified. The rule is simple. Your 5 qualifications does not make the person having one qualification, non-qualified. You both are qualified and that is it. Now comes the question of quality of experience. Always remember to go for further designations for personal satisfaction, know your limits and ensure you are studying in the relevant field that you are persuing. Working as finance /executive manager and doing CFA makes no sense. Many people say they will move later to treasury. Well, if you keep moving you will start fresh or low everytime. Choose a field stick to it and build a career.
Q2....Anything in treasury/Risk management and may be Investment Banking. These will become your home department like finance is for CA/ACCAs.
@Faisal_Faisal
I think i have your email. Sorry for the delay i will reply to you directly.
@haris_alshafi
The diff between Academic and Professional is spot on. Having ACCA+Masters is MUCH better than having ACA+ACCA or ACCA+CIMA or whatever. Finance professionals totally ignore academics in our country. They must know that there are a huge number of people who are working in top finance positions with a Masters degree only having never done Articleship or Profesisonal qualification. Obviously i am talking about out of Pakistan.
Regarding the UAE market and combo of designations, whatever you mentioned is correct.
@fareed, i am strictly talking about UAE Market. For e.g. as i mentioned above CFA has quiet a huge market in the west. However, as we all know their economies are in a mess so forget the west for a while now. Don't go for LLB or MBBS. My advise is to complete your ACCA get your OBU and focus your energies on gaining quality experience. Give yourself a break from the books.
@afnan
Most HR agencies here are scam. They fake interviews and ask for upto 500 AED for registration of your CV. Use the following sites. These are actually recruitment agencies but do not charge the job seeker. I had extremely good experience with these sites. I still keep getting calls from CVs i uploaded around June this year. One of my friend was hired directly from Pak to Gulf through Monster in July this year. I never got call through Nadia but it works for others. It is all about luck at the end.
www.gulftalent.com
www.jobs-me.com
www.gulfnews.com
gulf.monster.com
www.nadia.com
www.bayt.com
Do not get in the web of head hunters. MOST of them are scammers. Just start applying online as much as you can. Wait for interview calls. That is all you can do.
Sorry for the delayed reply. I am glad you find this thread helpful and informative. We have tried to accumulate all the issues in one go. Anyone who reads this thread from the start till end will have most common queries answered by itself. <b>As of this date i will consider the information on this thread up to date.</b>
Look buddy. CFA is a qualification that was initially persued by the highest people in the industry in Pak when it arrived and that resulted in its prestige. Most treasury heads, CFOs, MDs and Higher level Managers opted for CFA most of whom are around peak of their careers. There is absolutely minimum market for this qualification today in Pakistan. 75% of the financial theories you study in CFA is not applicable to the financial industry of Pak. It is something everyone wants but they don't know why they want it. Lets just say everyone is following everyone. I personally know atleast 3 CFA qualified invididuals working as simple treasury officers for around 25-35k. Here in UAE financial industry is still in its infancy to tackle CFA. This qualification is absolutely for world financial centres USA, Australia or Japan. It has no application here. Don't expect any advantage. Rather, expect disadvantage form it. You will not be called by employers because they think you have a CFA and you will demand 1 Lac salary. It has happened to my friends. Employer starts to think you are over qualified for entry to mid level jobs. Market for CIA is more mature in Pakistan than CFA. As i mentioned most CFAs are already working in proper positions. There is hardly any place for "fresh" CFAs. Most jobs relevant to the CFA were tradionally handled by finance professionals. It will take some time before CFA starts making its place. The prestige is just artificial.
You are abo****ely wrong in saying that with accountancy qualification, you can't reach CFO level. Obviously in Pak CA is the ultimate to become a partner and most of the times CFO and righly so. 80% of Pak CFOs must be ICAP qualified. If you move abroad and continue in finance, i assure you even with just ACCA, you will reach CFO in 12 to 15 years or may be less depending on your skills.
My personal goal is to become CFO and i am going to do it with ACCA only. I consider it to be my base and most beloved designation. I never thought i would need anythign more than this. Though, i am planning to study further for personal satisfaction ONLY.
I would really advise you to stick to finance and accountancy. This field is mature and has proper career graph. Rest is your decision. I'll get specific now.
Q1.....No. You will reach wherever you are suppose to reach with ACCA in 2021, no matter you take no matter how many qualifications. It is my personal opinion from experiences that number of qualifications would hardly give you any advantage over other candidates who are also qualified. The rule is simple. Your 5 qualifications does not make the person having one qualification, non-qualified. You both are qualified and that is it. Now comes the question of quality of experience. Always remember to go for further designations for personal satisfaction, know your limits and ensure you are studying in the relevant field that you are persuing. Working as finance /executive manager and doing CFA makes no sense. Many people say they will move later to treasury. Well, if you keep moving you will start fresh or low everytime. Choose a field stick to it and build a career.
Q2....Anything in treasury/Risk management and may be Investment Banking. These will become your home department like finance is for CA/ACCAs.
@Faisal_Faisal
I think i have your email. Sorry for the delay i will reply to you directly.
@haris_alshafi
The diff between Academic and Professional is spot on. Having ACCA+Masters is MUCH better than having ACA+ACCA or ACCA+CIMA or whatever. Finance professionals totally ignore academics in our country. They must know that there are a huge number of people who are working in top finance positions with a Masters degree only having never done Articleship or Profesisonal qualification. Obviously i am talking about out of Pakistan.
Regarding the UAE market and combo of designations, whatever you mentioned is correct.
@fareed, i am strictly talking about UAE Market. For e.g. as i mentioned above CFA has quiet a huge market in the west. However, as we all know their economies are in a mess so forget the west for a while now. Don't go for LLB or MBBS. My advise is to complete your ACCA get your OBU and focus your energies on gaining quality experience. Give yourself a break from the books.
@afnan
Most HR agencies here are scam. They fake interviews and ask for upto 500 AED for registration of your CV. Use the following sites. These are actually recruitment agencies but do not charge the job seeker. I had extremely good experience with these sites. I still keep getting calls from CVs i uploaded around June this year. One of my friend was hired directly from Pak to Gulf through Monster in July this year. I never got call through Nadia but it works for others. It is all about luck at the end.
www.gulftalent.com
www.jobs-me.com
www.gulfnews.com
gulf.monster.com
www.nadia.com
www.bayt.com
Do not get in the web of head hunters. MOST of them are scammers. Just start applying online as much as you can. Wait for interview calls. That is all you can do.