CERTIFIED ACCOUNTING TECHNICIAN (CAT)

CAT qualification is a highly regarded accounting technician qualification designed for people who are looking to start a career in finance, achieve recognition for the skills and experience already gained in employment or gain accelerated progression to the ACCA Qualification.

Your Route to Career Success

Such famous names as Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill and Bill Gates have demonstrated that academic achievement at school is not a pre-requisite for career success.

But in Singapore’s qualification-obsessed culture, students who do not perform well at school and who do not obtain the grades necessary for entry to polytechnics or junior colleges may be written off.

However, degrees and diplomas are not the only route to career success, and certainly may not be the quickest.

For example, the Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) qualification offered by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) offers a diploma-level qualification which may be completed in as little as a year. CAT graduates are then given direct entry into Part Two of the ACCA’s professional scheme, and could pass the examinations to entitle them to be Chartered Certified Accountants just 18 months later.

This compares very favourably with the three years necessary to complete a polytechnic accountancy diploma, which will normally also give exemption from Part One of the ACCA professional scheme.

For those students who want to go on to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), CAT graduates are given direct entry to Module of the ACCA Qualification. Students need to complete six papers at Part Two and two optional and three compulsory papers at Part Three. Again, the scheme is designed to be flexible, but a student could complete the exams in as little as 18 months if the maximum of four papers is taken each time.

Just 2½ years after commencing the CAT course, a student could be an affiliate member of the ACCA. Students also need to complete three years of relevant working experience, which can be gained before, during or after their examination studies.

So, disappointing exam results do not mean the end of students’ hopes for a successful professional career. CAT and ACCA offer a swift first step to career success in a very short period of time.