Historically, training Chartered Accountants was seen by many practitioners as more expensive than training students with other accounting bodies. However a recent analysis of costs associated with training students shows Chartered Accountants Ireland provide excellent value in comparison to other accountancy bodies.
Chartered Accountants Ireland has an education fee structure unique to accounting bodies. All 1st attempt fees are incorporated into one yearly fee based on the amount of subjects a student is studying, with fees loaded more towards the latter years when students are more valuable to their training organisation.
In 2009, the majority of Chartered Accountants Irelands education fees were reduced by 10%.
All other accounting bodies based in Ireland have separate fees in the following areas:
- Registration
- Annual Subscription
- Exemptions
- Course Fees (provided by 3rd party providers)
- Exam Fees
It is only when the above costs are taken into consideration that an accurate comparison of costs can be calculated. The below tables illustrate the cost of education for two types of students:
- A typical commerce graduate
- A graduate from a non-business degree with no exemptions
The calculations are based on studying with Chartered Accountants Ireland or other large education providers in Dublin over a three year period. All costs displayed are in Euro (including the direct costs paid to professional bodies in the UK).
| Commerce Graduate | ACA | ACCA | CPA | CIMA |
| Exemptions Offered | All CAP1
(4 papers)
| 7 Papers
(F1 - F4, F5, F7, F9)
| 8 Papers
(All F1 & F2, 1 P1)
| 10 Papers
(All Cert, 2F & 2 P level)
|
| Papers left to sit | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Reg / Sub Fee | 0 | 219 | 384 | 264 |
| Exemption Fee | 0 | 469 | 420 | 394 |
| Course Fees | 7245 | 6580 | 4005 | 5765 |
| Exam Fees | 0 | 585 | 480 | 586 |
| Course Materials | 0 | 0 | | 720 |
| Total | 7,245 | 7,853 | 5,289 | 7,729 |
| Non-Business Degree | ACA | ACCA | CPA | CIMA |
| Exemptions Offered | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Papers left to sit | 12 | 14 | 15 | 15 |
| Reg / Sub Fee | 0 | 219 | 384 | 264 |
| Exemption Fee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Course Fees | 9270 | 10540 | 8265 | 10910 |
| Exam Fees | 0 | 1,024 | 1020 | 1,055 |
| Course Materials | 0 | 0 | | 1,110 |
| Total | 9,270 | 11,783 | 9,669 | 13,339 |
Responsibility for payment
The above comparison is done on a like for like basis where the training firm gives full support to the student. Of course it is possible for firms to reduce their expenditure by allowing the student to meet some costs.
The Chartered Accountants Ireland training contract stipulates that recognised training organisations must meet the cost of 1st attempt education and exam fees. The move to our new fee structure saw this changed to 85% of the yearly education fee in recognition that, historically, many firms did not pay student registration and exemption fees. Students studying outside of contract, or with other accounting bodies, have no guarantee of firm support for education fees.