Expert: Warren D. Miller, CFA, CPA, ASA - 7/17/2009

Question
QUESTION: respected sir,

  it would be very informative if you would help me.
These are my details;-

I am a B.com graduate residing in India.I passed in 2009
with first class. i am very interested in accounting.
right now i have joined for ACCA full time course in India.
As i have done b.com i am eligible for exemptions for 4
papers out of a total of 14 papers.

now the problem....!!!


iam very interested in stocks too. i developed this craze
for the market after a very good  seminar about the capital
market in our college. Since then i have been tuning to each
and every movements of the market...ok to be frank, maybe
not every but atleast the important ones!!
Its like i have to know about the performance of the market
everyday otherwise i have this feeling iam missing something
very important!!..crazy rit but yeah i do it!!.
i also started trading  recently.....well..with few funds
that is!!( considering iam not having a job!!).....just to
learn how this works out.....believe me i was no  warren
buffet....but i did make some small profits and...a little
bigger than small losses!...but i think i learnt too.

I think hes a genius.....he invested in goldmans when they
were so bust they needed the government to bail them out and
i heard today that they gave the bailout money back to the
US government and that too within such short span of
time...eventualy increasing stocks and especially warren's
buffers!!......genius!!!....sorry.....lil bit off topic!

And now iam thinking i should join for CFA...or is it just
my wierd feeling?
but the thing is i already paid for first sem for acca!
What about acca and CFA......it would be extremes but i
think i can manage it...by gods  grace.
Whats your opinion? its scope?its VIABILITY?

now u might ask me my ultimate objective?........and that is
to create  my own business empire.....i jus dont want to die
one day as a nobody!!

one more question.......what about this qualification for a
person=
bcom,mba,acca,cfa,cma,Bsc(hons)and MSc?

and if theres something called over qualification for a job?
? and is the abov example an example of it??

thank you so much.
I believe your vast experience in this field would be able
to guide me.

Alan
An ambitious student



ANSWER: Dear Alan--

Now that you've disclosed your background, which is helpful to me, please submit ONLY your question.

Thanks--

Warren

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: respected sir
         i must tell you it is a little cramped up when i
looked it up again.  i hoped my background would be easy for
you to give a more accurate answer.

To cut it real short these are my questions

1. is acca and cfa a good combination? if not, considering i
have already started to do acca , which course would be apt
for me par my interests?

2.acca + cfa ...its scope as well as its Viability?\

3.is there anything as over qualification and would it be
difficult to get the apt job if one has many qualifications?
say a person having B.com,ACCA,CMA,CFA,Bsc,MBA and MSc?

thank you so much for the promt reply

Alan



ANSWER: Alan, I had never heard of ACCA until you wrote me about it. Therefore, I cannot express an opinion on it. I can, however, express opinions on two other issues you raised, one explicitly, one implicitly.

The explicit opinion is that you are ALWAYS better off professionally with "CFA" after your name. I hope you know that only 20% of those who enroll in the program actually finish it. It is VERY demanding, far tougher than getting an MBA degree, but it is well worth it. I've never regretted my decision to pursue it, even though, in terms of opportunity cost, it cost me over $500,000 U.S.

The implicit opinion is about all that goofy-looking alphabet soup you had in the last line (i.e., B.Com, ACCA, CMA, etc.). Choose two of those, and let it go at that. Too many credentials make it appear as that's all you have to offer. At least as important, too many of them degrade the CFA, which is the hardest of all to obtain.

Hope this is helpful. Please do me a favor by completing the rate-the-expert email you'll receive about the same time you get this reply from me. Your ratings and, especially, your comments help me do a better job of helping folks like you who ask such interesting questions!

Thanks--

Warren

==================================================================

Alan, I'll bet you a bucket of money that I can come up with a whole bunch of organizations that you have never heard of. For starters, ACCA is NOT A CREDENTIAL. IT'S AN ORGANIZATION. You can't tell the difference between heartburn and a heart attack.

For you to give me a '6' on "knowledge" is pure garbage. Don't bother sending in any more questions because I will not answer them. You're an idiot.

WDM

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Sir,
   you dont need to bet "a bucket of money" or anything at
all for that matter, sir.....yes! u might know a whole bunch
of organisations that i never heard of.
but with due respect sir,i might know most of the
"accounting designations" if i had the vast experience and
varied qualifications in accountancy and finace as you have.
I never asked for any clarifiaction about MBBS(doctor),B.Sc
Nursing etc or anything of which details you nor me would be
aware of.

About ACCA, it is an organisation, a global accounting body
based in UK and it is one of the largest accounting bodies
with a backround of around 100 years. It is accredited in
over 170 countries including the  US. It is equalent to CPA
of US.(except u have to write an extra exam on US tax).

This body has a set of exams like any other certification
and after one passes the exams and gains the experience
requirements, you are said to be a member of ACCA and hence
giving one the authority to place the credential "ACCA" with
his/her name (Association of Certified Charted Accountant)

"For starters, ACCA is NOT A CREDENTIAL. IT'S AN
ORGANIZATION. You can't tell the difference between
heartburn and a heart attack."

The above was your statement and hence you are proving again
that your score "6" on the knowledge scale was apt.

i dont know if i can differenciate between a heartburn and a
heart attack but i do know whats a credential and an
organisation for sure!!

I am not here to debate but i only wanted to clear my doubts
with you considering your experience and qualification of
which i was also beneffited to some extend(about CFA) and it
will indeed help me in taking my decisions.

idiot?...i hoped a highly qualified sir like you would be
more mature and polite!

With due respect sir, Putting a score for you was my sole
discreation based on your reply without any bias. One cannot
expect a full 100% anywhere, atleast thats what i believe.

in my country there is a proverb. it goes like this

"Always yearn for 100% so that we earn somewhere close to
it"

iam living by it.....and also wish everyone else would too.

thank you once again for your valuable advice on my
queries...and i never intented to hurt you in any way.
*No harm intended*
god bless
Alan  

Answer
Your points are well-taken, Alan.

I inferred ACCA was a credential because, in your first two posts, you listed it among a string of letters that ARE credentials. Here's what you wrote:

B.com,ACCA,CMA,CFA,Bsc,MBA and MSc?

Had you put "CA" instead of "ACCA," of course I would have known what you were talking about. But you didn't, so I didn't. I know and have worked with many CAs and have great respect for that credential. In fact, I think it is a better and more demanding one than the CPA version we have here in the U.S. I have found CAs' knowledge to be broader, deeper, and more nuanced that most the knowledge of the hundreds of CPAs I know here in the U.S.

I do apologize for my intemperate response, Alan. I am sorry. I should not have engaged in name-calling. Please forgive me.

For the record, I consider myself very knowledgeable about such issues. And, judging from the ratings I've gotten from other people, they do, too: http://www.allexperts.com/expert.cgi?m=12&catID=2301&expID=84697. I was quite taken aback by the "6" on "Knowledgeability." That's what got me going.

Take care, and best regards--

Warren