IFA certification - how difficult is the exam and how does it compare to AAT?
I'm considering the Institute of Financial Accountants certification and I'd like to hear from people who've actually sat the exam. Most information online comes from IFA's own marketing or from people who haven't done it yet. I'm particularly curious how it compares in difficulty to other UK accounting qualifications.
My background is 5 years in bookkeeping and accounts payable for a mid-size manufacturing firm. I've got an AAT Level 3, so I'm not starting from scratch, but I haven't done any formal study in about 3 years. I'm planning to study about 6 hours per week over 16 weeks.
The areas I see covered are financial accounting, management accounting, taxation, and business law. Is there a section that tends to catch people out? And is the exam computer-based or paper, and how do resits work if you don't pass first time?
Business law was lighter than I expected - maybe 15% of the exam and mostly scenarios rather than pure memorization of statute. If you've worked in a commercial environment you'll recognize most of the situations even without heavy study.
It's computer-based, feedback comes back relatively quickly, and resit policies are reasonable. The IFA is well-regarded among smaller practices and SMEs in the UK - I got a pay bump within a year of qualifying.
Passed my IFA papers about 18 months ago. The taxation section was the hardest because the rules change year to year and you need to be current. Make sure your study materials are for the correct tax year - that tripped up someone in my study group badly.
With an AAT Level 3 you're in a solid position. The financial accounting content overlaps substantially, so you won't be starting from scratch on debits/credits and final accounts. The management accounting section has some new concepts but nothing extreme.
I studied about 5 hours a week for 14 weeks and passed comfortably.
Failed it first time, honestly wasn't expecting to. I'd done AAT Level 3 and thought the financial reporting paper would be similar, but the IFA goes deeper on standards interpretation than I realised. Second time I actually drilled the technical stuff properly and used free ifa financial reporting accounting standards practice questions which helped me get used to how they phrase things. That was the bit I'd underestimated.
Compared to AAT I'd say it's roughly similar in workload but the exam style caught me off guard. AAT felt more structured in what it tested. IFA expects you to apply judgement a bit more, especially in financial reporting. If you've got solid AAT under your belt you're not starting from scratch, but don't assume it'll be straightforward either.
Just a quick update on where I'm at — sitting the Financial Reporting paper in about six weeks and I've been drilling practice questions pretty much every evening. Hit 74% on my last mock, which I wasn't expecting honestly, felt a lot shakier going in. If you're prepping for the same paper, I found the free ifa financial reporting accounting standards questions really useful for getting a feel for how they phrase things.
On the difficulty versus AAT question, I'd say it's comparable at level 4 but the style is different. AAT felt more structured in terms of what to expect, whereas IFA questions can trip you up with the wording. I did AAT a couple of years back so I'm not going in completely blind, which helps. Fingers crossed for next month.