Do I need to do CAT before ACCA?

With every passing day more and more students are learning about ACCA and are not interested but also registering for ACCA.

But among these students there are also those who posses no accountancy related background or academic connection. And they fear much about failing in ACCA at advanced stages as things get complex and technical in the later exams.

So the most obvious question is how we should go around the basics of accountancy or auditing etc if we have no previous knowledge about these areas.

Many people and teachers suggest that one who do not posses basic knowledge or the one who is weak in basics of accountancy should go for entry level qualifications before starting ACCA qualification.

However, I am with a different opinion about this. I think if you have the option to start ACCA straight or if you can start ACCA at least earlier then there is no point in doing more than required to start ACCA.

For example, you are holding some degree like MBA and you can claim exemptions in the first three papers of ACCA but you are worried about basics. I believe that you should go for exemptions and start ACCA from F4 and should not worry about the basics. Its not only going to save you time but also money.

In this case you should consult with your teacher about your problem regarding basics and teachers are for sure going to help you about this or at least tell you some way how to go around this.

If you are self-studying then even in that case, my opinion in not different. Today we have really good books by official publishers and really helps you in understanding the subject from the basic. For example, F5 needs F2 as basics, but if you go through F5 books then publishers includes many topics which are not part of F5 syllabus but still carry them forward in F5 from F2 just to make things easier for those students who got exemptions in knowledge module subjects.

But in the end its up to you and your circumstances. If you think that you are too weak and will not be able to find a teacher who can cover your basics while doing the later stage subjects. Than you might have to do some investment on yourself which will surely pay you back later in your academics and professional life.