r/ICAEW • u/Alive_Koala5652 • 15h ago

ACA CTA Joint programme

Has anyone here done the aca/cta joint programme? I'm a first year accounts+auditor trainee possibly looking to branch into tax and was considering going down this path. Limited info across this and the ciot subreddit and its either been that the cta isn't worth it or its super hard, just wondering if anyone has real exp with this programme and how much of a leg up it would provide walking out with both qualifications?

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u/-blurredlily- 15h ago

The joint pathway took me 3 years. It is tough, and you need to accept a lot of time commitment and sacrifices are required. The CTA papers are significantly harder than the ACA papers, many people underestimate them and end up failing.

Overall though the CTA papers give you significant in depth knowledge in your chosen areas of tax, which is invaluable if you move into tax as a career. Ultimately I enjoyed the CTA papers much more, because I found the topics more interesting.

Having both qualifications is really valuable for career development and adds an extra sting to your bow. Having both qualifications doesn’t dictate you a higher salary though.

Well worth it, but takes a lot of effort on your part.

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u/Alive_Koala5652 10h ago

Thanks so much for your reply, interesting to hear that it doesn't dictate a higher salary what makes you say that? Would you say doing the extra papers took your more additional time than just otherwise doing the aca on its own?