Last updated on August 13th, 2024 at 08:46 am
Are you planning a career in finance with lucrative opportunities and global recognition? Then the ACCA qualification is the right path for you! ACCA is a well-known designation that stands as a symbol of excellence in finance and accounting. The top companies in the world hire these professionals due to their exceptional knowledge and skills.
Becoming a part of the association is a matter of pride and takes utmost dedication. However, ACCA careers are extremely rewarding. Candidates are offered high-paying salaries working in the top positions of an organisation.
Let’s take a look at the career prospects of an ACCA member. In this guide, we will also discuss the ACCA salary in India for different job roles.
What is ACCA?
ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the world’s oldest, largest, and most widely recognised accounting association. It has a presence in over 180 countries of the world. ACCA has etched its marks in finance, fostering a community of highly skilled professionals.
Employers worldwide are actively searching for ACCA-qualified individuals to lead the financial teams of the company. These professionals are not just good with numbers. They are well-rounded finance professionals, equipped with comprehensive skills. The ACCA salary is very lucrative, which makes candidates work towards completing the course.
Why are people choosing ACCA?
Being ACCA-qualified has several perks. Let’s look at some of the reasons why people in finance are striving towards an ACCA qualification.
- International recognition: ACCA members are sought after and respected globally. This qualification allows you to explore careers in banking, auditing, or leadership roles such as CFO. The ACCA course has a worldwide network allowing you to explore international career opportunities.
- Strong foundation: ACCA is the best path to choose if you want to enter the world of finance and accounting. The course is open to school graduates, college graduates, as well as experienced professionals looking to make an advancement in their careers. ACCA will teach you fundamental financing and accounting skills, communication expertise, managerial abilities, and technical aspects.
- Immune to change: The finance industry is constantly evolving, including changing regulations, shifting economic conditions, and booming of new technology. ACCA-qualified candidates have the upper hand in this situation. These professionals are the top-tier professionals in the industry, which keeps them always in demand.
- Leadership roles: ACCA focuses on building its members' business thinking, ethics, and technical skills. This pushes these individuals to leadership roles, offering them a strategic advantage in the industry. These professionals are considered for managerial positions that need a strong understanding of finance.
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Career prospects for ACCA professionals
ACCA graduates are needed in almost every sector to help balance the finances of an organisation. There are several ACCA careers that you can explore and choose from. Here is a list of different job roles for these professionals and the associated ACCA salary:
- Public practice sector jobs: As an ACCA graduate, there are several public sector practising jobs that you can explore.
- Tax consultant: These professionals are hired to guide and advise their clients on tax-related matters. Tax consultants work with organisations to ensure that they are compiling with tax laws. They also help minimise potential tax liability.
These professionals prepare and submit tax returns, research tax laws, advise on tax planning, and represent clients in tax disputes. Tax consultants also determine any possible deductions that their clients might be eligible for. Here is a list of tax consultant ACCA salary in India:
| Experience level | Salary (per annum) |
| Entry-level salary | INR 6,00,000 |
| Intermediary-level salary | INR 10,00,000 |
| Senior-level salary | INR 24,00,000 |
- Forensic accountants: These professionals are hired to analyse and examine accounting procedures and systems related to legal and criminal enquiries. Financial accountants play a big role when it comes to the well-being and financial stability of a firm.
They gather financial evidence, analyse the collected data, and explain their observations using reports and presentations. Financial accountants also help their clients discover potential financial threats, and prevent any loss of funds.
Here is a list of forensic accountants salary in India:
| Experience level | Salary (per annum) |
| Entry-level salary | INR 3,00,000 |
| Intermediary-level salary | INR 9,90,000 |
| Senior-level salary | INR 13,00,000 |
- Business advisor: These professionals help entrepreneurs in planning and executing business strategies. This improves the business reach and helps accomplish goals. Business advisors research market trends and customer reviews to create useful strategies to achieve set targets.
These professionals help companies induce long-term growth. They improve on current business strategies, prepare budgets for the company, and identify expansion opportunities. They suggest changes that can be made within the company to improve the result. The ACCA salary of a business advisor ranges between:
| Experience level | Salary (per annum) |
| Entry-level salary | INR 2,90,000 |
| Intermediary-level salary | INR 4,90,000 |
| Senior-level salary | INR 9,10,000 |
- Financial analyst: These professionals help companies make investment or business decisions based on their market understanding. They study industry trends, business news, and the company’s financial position to make informed decisions.
Financial analysts create business models to perform financial forecasts, predict future scenarios, and provide other data to business owners. These professionals also suggest budgeting efforts for the organisation. Here is a list of the ACCA salary of financial analysts.
| Experience level | Salary (per annum) |
| Entry-level salary | INR 4,60,000 |
| Intermediary-level salary | INR 5,70,000 |
| Senior-level salary | INR 7,70,000 |
- Financial sector jobs: The ACCA course prepares you to work with numbers and money. As a member of this association, there are several job roles that you can explore in the financial industry.
- Risk manager: As the name suggests, these professionals identify, evaluate, and manage the risks that a company might encounter. Risk managers must conduct research and assessments to gauge potential risks to the company. They need excellent analytical skills to identify potential threats.
Risk managers also make changes to pre-existing risk management processes, allowing the company to achieve maximum risk control. They create reports and documentation to communicate their findings to the stakeholders. They also have to monitor and estimate the effectiveness of their plans and make any necessary changes.
Here is a comparison of the salary of a risk manager changes according to their experience.
| Experience level | Salary (per annum) |
| Entry-level salary | INR 9,20,000 |
| Intermediary-level salary | INR 12,20,000 |
| Senior-level salary | INR 15,20,000 |
- Anti-money laundering officer: Every financial institution is always at risk of money laundering and financial crimes. These professionals oversee the pre-existing norms and procedures. This helps them detect, report, and prevent any suspicious financial activity.
An AML officer is responsible for ensuring that their organisation is meeting all the local, international, and federal anti-money laundering regulations. They should also ensure anti-money laundering policies that abide by the national and international norms. They also periodically review customer transactions to spot any suspicious activity.
It is one of the most rewarding ACCA careers. Here is a list of the salaries offered to anti-money laundering officers in India:
| Experience level | Salary (per annum) |
| Entry-level salary | INR 2,20,000 |
| Intermediary-level salary | INR 5,00,000 |
| Senior-level salary | INR 12,80,000 |
- Fund accountant: These professionals specialise in accounting and reporting of funds like hedge funds, mutual funds, equity funds, etc. They are also responsible for managing and reconciling financial transactions done in investment funds. This includes tracking assets, calculating asset value, creating financial statements, and ensuring compliance with regulations.
Fund accountants play an important role in maintaining proper financial records of investment funds. They communicate their findings with the company regulators, auditors, investors, and stakeholders. This helps the fund stakeholders to make accurate and timely decisions.
Here is a list of the ACCA salary offered to fund accountants in India:
| Experience level | Salary (per annum) |
| Entry-level salary | INR 5,20,000 |
| Intermediary-level salary | INR 5,60,000 |
| Senior-level salary | INR 6,00,000 |
- Public sector jobs: As an ACCA graduate, you will be offered high-ranking job roles in the public sector. Here is a list of the public sector jobs that you can explore:
- Finance manager: These professionals are responsible for overseeing the financial health of an organisation. They create financial resorts, develop and implement financial strategies, and manage investments. A financial manager's primary goal is to maximise the investments of an organisation.
These professionals also ensure that the financial resources of the company are being managed properly. Financial managers work closely with other leading members of the company to ensure that the financial goals are aligned with the overall company objectives.
The salary offered to finance managers in India according to their experience is as follows:
| Experience level | Salary (per annum) |
| Entry-level salary | INR 9,60,000 |
| Intermediary-level salary | INR 13,60,000 |
| Senior-level salary | INR 16,90,000 |
- Management accountant: These professionals are hired to plan and analyse the performance and risk of an organisation. Management accountants gather financial data from financial documents including transactions, sales records, ledgers, and inventory records.
Management accountants evaluate the performance of a company by comparing factors like profitability, solvency, liquidity, and efficiency. They also compare the actual financial results against the expected financial results of the company. The salaries offered to these professionals at different stages of their careers are as follows:
| Experience level | Salary (per annum) |
| Entry-level salary | INR 6,90,000 |
| Intermediary-level salary | INR 10,60,000 |
| Senior-level salary | INR 12,30,000 |
Management accounting plays a crucial role in the strategic decision-making process of an organisation.
- Internal auditor: These professionals help safeguard the organisation’s finances by analysing potential threats and improvement areas. They study the financial documents of the company to identify data inaccuracies, noncompliance regulatory issues, and employee theft.
Internal auditors are hired by organisations to audit their company expenses. These individuals find potential areas of financial and legal risk. They communicate their findings to the stakeholders of the company.
The salary of internal auditors varies depending on their experience level. Let’s draw a comparison:
| Experience level | Salary (per annum) |
| Entry-level salary | INR 4,00,000 |
| Intermediary-level salary | INR 5,80,000 |
| Senior-level salary | INR 8,90,000 |
- Corporate sector jobs: Corporate sector jobs are booming in today’s day and age. Here are the various corporate sector jobs for ACCA graduates:
- Business analyst: These professionals are responsible for driving change in an organisation. They analyse the business by documenting the processes, assessing the business model, identifying vulnerabilities, and devising solutions.
Business analysts also work towards identifying issues in the IT process, organisational structure, or staff management. They plan the structure of the business using forecasting and budgeting tools. The salary offered to business analysts based on their experience level has been discussed below:
| Experience level | Salary (per annum) |
| Entry-level salary | INR 6,90,000 |
| Intermediary-level salary | INR 9,40,000 |
| Senior-level salary | INR 13,30,000 |
- Chief financial officer: These professionals are senior executives of a company responsible for managing the financial actions of a company. They track the cash flow and carry out financial planning for the organisations. The CFO of an organisation plays a vital role in the strategic planning of the company.
However, you cannot directly become the CFO of a company. You must have prior work experience or higher education to be selected for this top-level managerial role. Being a part of the ACCA course is going to be of great advantage to you. Let us see how the salary of a CFO varies with experience.
| Experience level | Salary (per annum) |
| Entry-level salary | INR 21,70,000 |
| Intermediary-level salary | INR 33,20,000 |
| Senior-level salary | INR 52,10,000 |
Conclusion
As the finance industry worldwide continues to evolve, the demand for ACCA graduates is going to rise. The ACCA course is your one-way ticket to a world of opportunities. It will allow to to explore several successful career paths in finance, both nationally and internationally.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Which sectors are hiring ACCA professionals?
ACCA professionals are sought after in many sectors of the world. They are mainly hired by financial organisations like banks, investment firms, and insurance companies. They are also in demand in the IT sector. One of the highest demand rates for these professionals is in audit firms.
- Will the ACCA salary in India increase?
The ACCA salary in India is going to increase in the upcoming years. This is because the financial landscape of India is becoming more complex. For this, the demand for professionals who can operate in multifaceted environments and have a strong understanding of finances is going to boom.
- What skills does the ACCA course teach?
The ACCA course is a well-rounded programme that teaches its members various skills that allow them to excel in various industries. Some of these skills are financial reporting and analysis, management and accounting, auditing and assurance, financial management, taxation, etc.
- Why is ACCA considered prestigious?
The ACCA certification is globally accepted and valued in almost 180 countries. The course certification acts as a foundation for a global career in international financial companies. It is the most widely acknowledged accountancy qualification.
