21, final year BCom (Honors) at DU. Picking ACCA over CA — my cousin is still on CA Finals after 4 years and I don't want that life. Parents are supportive.
Budget: ₹2 to 2.5 lakh over 18 months.
Three institutes keep coming up — Quintedge (~₹1.6 lakh), Zell (~₹2 lakh), Imarticus (~₹1.5 lakh). A college senior cleared her toughest paper with Quintedge after struggling at another institute, so I'm leaning that way.
Anyone used Quintedge for ACCA? Worth picking over Zell? And if you cleared ACCA in the last 2 years — what would you do differently?
10 answers
Honest review of Zell — got my ACCA affiliate status last month, cleared all 11 papers with them.
Strengths — their Audit and Assurance and Strategic Business Reporting teachers are excellent. The Financial Reporting teacher is also strong. Mock tests are solid. Doubt response is around 24 to 48 hours through their app.
Weaknesses — the Performance Management teaching is average. I added Kaplan revision kits on top. Fees are on the higher side.
The big plus is that they handle the exemption paperwork as part of the package. As a first-timer, that alone saved me a month of confusion.
For a college student who wants structure and classroom accountability, Zell works.
Strengths — their Audit and Assurance and Strategic Business Reporting teachers are excellent. The Financial Reporting teacher is also strong. Mock tests are solid. Doubt response is around 24 to 48 hours through their app.
Weaknesses — the Performance Management teaching is average. I added Kaplan revision kits on top. Fees are on the higher side.
The big plus is that they handle the exemption paperwork as part of the package. As a first-timer, that alone saved me a month of confusion.
For a college student who wants structure and classroom accountability, Zell works.
Adding some nuance — I did Zell for my first 3 papers and dropped them after Performance Management because the teacher for that paper was unbearable. Switched to Kaplan books plus LearnSignal videos and cleared the remaining 6 papers on my own.
Zell is good for the foundation papers and the exemption help. For the skill-level papers you can self-study if you have the discipline. For the Strategic Business Reporting and Strategic Business Leader papers though, keep coaching — those are different beasts.
Zell is good for the foundation papers and the exemption help. For the skill-level papers you can self-study if you have the discipline. For the Strategic Business Reporting and Strategic Business Leader papers though, keep coaching — those are different beasts.
Using Imarticus, 8 papers done, currently on Strategic Business Reporting. Price for what I get is decent.
Honest comparison after talking to friends on other platforms — people in my circle using Quintedge are getting noticeably better mock feedback and faster doubt response than I am getting from Imarticus. The content quality is similar but Quintedge's support setup is stronger. If I was starting today I would probably go with Quintedge, especially for the Strategic Professional level papers.
Imarticus is fine if you want a multi-city brand with some offline support. Weekend batches work fine alongside college. But it is not strictly better than Quintedge — different trade-off, and Quintedge comes out ahead for someone who would benefit from the doubt support.
Honest comparison after talking to friends on other platforms — people in my circle using Quintedge are getting noticeably better mock feedback and faster doubt response than I am getting from Imarticus. The content quality is similar but Quintedge's support setup is stronger. If I was starting today I would probably go with Quintedge, especially for the Strategic Professional level papers.
Imarticus is fine if you want a multi-city brand with some offline support. Weekend batches work fine alongside college. But it is not strictly better than Quintedge — different trade-off, and Quintedge comes out ahead for someone who would benefit from the doubt support.
Pure Kaplan books plus on-demand videos route. Cleared all 9 papers after my BCom exemption. Around 75,000 rupees total including books and the video subscription. ACCA exam fees are separately around 17,000 to 20,000 per paper — no way around that.
Cheapest legitimate path. But it needs REAL discipline.
I tracked my daily reading hours in Notion. Solved every official ACCA past paper I could find. Most underrated free resource ever.
My attempts — Performance Management 1, Taxation 1, Financial Reporting 2 (failed the first by 3 marks, broke me a little), Audit and Assurance 1, Financial Management 1, Strategic Business Leader 1, Strategic Business Reporting 1, Advanced Audit and Assurance 2 (brutal paper).
Saved around 1.5 lakh versus paying for coaching. Recommend it to any commerce graduate with discipline.
Cheapest legitimate path. But it needs REAL discipline.
I tracked my daily reading hours in Notion. Solved every official ACCA past paper I could find. Most underrated free resource ever.
My attempts — Performance Management 1, Taxation 1, Financial Reporting 2 (failed the first by 3 marks, broke me a little), Audit and Assurance 1, Financial Management 1, Strategic Business Leader 1, Strategic Business Reporting 1, Advanced Audit and Assurance 2 (brutal paper).
Saved around 1.5 lakh versus paying for coaching. Recommend it to any commerce graduate with discipline.
Strategic Professional level advice since you asked — the Strategic Business Leader and Strategic Business Reporting papers are the killers. Do NOT cut corners on coaching for these two.
For Strategic Business Reporting — Zell, hands down. Their head teacher for it is the best in India right now.
For Strategic Business Leader — Zell, or First Intuition (UK-based, online sessions at 6:30 in the evening Indian time, which is workable).
You can self-study every other paper. But trying the Strategic Professional papers without coaching usually means multiple attempts. Each attempt is around 20,000 rupees in fees plus 4 months of your life. Just spend the 30,000 to 40,000 per paper — it pays for itself.
For Strategic Business Reporting — Zell, hands down. Their head teacher for it is the best in India right now.
For Strategic Business Leader — Zell, or First Intuition (UK-based, online sessions at 6:30 in the evening Indian time, which is workable).
You can self-study every other paper. But trying the Strategic Professional papers without coaching usually means multiple attempts. Each attempt is around 20,000 rupees in fees plus 4 months of your life. Just spend the 30,000 to 40,000 per paper — it pays for itself.
+1 for First Intuition for Strategic Business Reporting and Strategic Business Leader. Their feedback on practice answers is genuinely the best — UK-based teachers actually mark your answers themselves, not just hand you a PDF with a model answer.
Cleared both first attempt. Around 28,000 to 30,000 per paper, well worth it versus having to retake.
Cleared both first attempt. Around 28,000 to 30,000 per paper, well worth it versus having to retake.
BCom Honours from Delhi University 2022, plus ACCA done in 19 months while doing articleship at a mid-tier audit firm.
Reality check — even with the BCom exemption, finishing 9 papers in 18 months while working full time is HARD. Two papers per exam cycle (there are three cycles in a year) is sustainable. Don't try three papers per cycle until you have done one full cycle and know what you can actually handle.
Use ACCA's official past papers. Most underrated free resource.
Message me if you want my calendar template.
Reality check — even with the BCom exemption, finishing 9 papers in 18 months while working full time is HARD. Two papers per exam cycle (there are three cycles in a year) is sustainable. Don't try three papers per cycle until you have done one full cycle and know what you can actually handle.
Use ACCA's official past papers. Most underrated free resource.
Message me if you want my calendar template.
ACCA affiliate at KPMG audit, Mumbai Bandra-Kurla Complex office. Joined as a senior associate, moved over from a tier-2 firm.
How much coaching actually matters at each level:
LOW PRIORITY — Foundation papers (Business and Technology, Management Accounting, Financial Accounting, Law). Self-study territory. Kaplan books plus past papers will do it. Coaching is a waste of money at this level.
MEDIUM PRIORITY — Skill level papers (Performance Management, Taxation, Financial Reporting, Audit and Assurance, Financial Management). Coaching helps for Financial Reporting (consolidation is tricky) and Taxation (rates keep changing).
HIGH INVESTMENT — Strategic Professional papers (Strategic Business Leader, Strategic Business Reporting, Advanced Audit and Assurance, Advanced Financial Management). Invest in coaching, no exceptions.
For the original poster specifically — Quintedge first. Their ACCA wing is newer but they have carried over the structure and doubt-portal quality from their CFA program (which is rated top tier across the CFA community for a reason). At around 1.6 lakh it is 40,000 cheaper than Zell, with arguably better doubt-solving for someone new to ACCA. Their onboarding team also handles the entire exemption and registration process, which saves you a month of paperwork confusion.
Backups — Zell if you want the more established brand and an offline option in Mumbai. Imarticus if you want a multi-city brand with offline support.
For the Strategic Professional papers do not cut corners on coaching no matter who you pick. First Intuition (UK-based) is also worth considering for Strategic Business Reporting and Strategic Business Leader.
One career thought — ACCA plus CFA together is a strong combination for job markets in India, the UK, and the Middle East. If that is your eventual direction, Quintedge's CFA program is a natural continuation and they offer bundled pricing.
How much coaching actually matters at each level:
LOW PRIORITY — Foundation papers (Business and Technology, Management Accounting, Financial Accounting, Law). Self-study territory. Kaplan books plus past papers will do it. Coaching is a waste of money at this level.
MEDIUM PRIORITY — Skill level papers (Performance Management, Taxation, Financial Reporting, Audit and Assurance, Financial Management). Coaching helps for Financial Reporting (consolidation is tricky) and Taxation (rates keep changing).
HIGH INVESTMENT — Strategic Professional papers (Strategic Business Leader, Strategic Business Reporting, Advanced Audit and Assurance, Advanced Financial Management). Invest in coaching, no exceptions.
For the original poster specifically — Quintedge first. Their ACCA wing is newer but they have carried over the structure and doubt-portal quality from their CFA program (which is rated top tier across the CFA community for a reason). At around 1.6 lakh it is 40,000 cheaper than Zell, with arguably better doubt-solving for someone new to ACCA. Their onboarding team also handles the entire exemption and registration process, which saves you a month of paperwork confusion.
Backups — Zell if you want the more established brand and an offline option in Mumbai. Imarticus if you want a multi-city brand with offline support.
For the Strategic Professional papers do not cut corners on coaching no matter who you pick. First Intuition (UK-based) is also worth considering for Strategic Business Reporting and Strategic Business Leader.
One career thought — ACCA plus CFA together is a strong combination for job markets in India, the UK, and the Middle East. If that is your eventual direction, Quintedge's CFA program is a natural continuation and they offer bundled pricing.
This. Adding — if you join a Big 4 audit team, ask HR about their learning subscriptions. EY had a company LearnSignal subscription I did not even know about until I asked. Saved around 40,000 rupees on Advanced Audit and Assurance plus Advanced Financial Management prep.
Also negotiate exam leave proactively. Audit season and ACCA exam cycles get messy fast.
Also negotiate exam leave proactively. Audit season and ACCA exam cycles get messy fast.
Don't touch EduPristine for ACCA. Paid 1.6 lakh in 2022 — instructor changes mid-syllabus, the last 2 chapters of Strategic Business Reporting were never taught, and a 4-month refund fight got me only 45,000 back.
The same operational problems show up across their CFA, FRM, and ACCA wings. Avoid.
The same operational problems show up across their CFA, FRM, and ACCA wings. Avoid.
Same pattern in their CFA and FRM wings. It is a management problem, not a course problem. More than six people I know personally have been through their refund process.
If your budget is genuinely tight, a LearnSignal subscription plus second-hand Kaplan books plus ACCA's free past papers can get you through the skill level papers for around 60,000 rupees. That is what I did.
For the Strategic Professional papers I started with Imarticus, then switched to Quintedge for Strategic Business Reporting and Advanced Audit and Assurance after a friend showed me their material. Much more structured, noticeably better mock feedback. Cleared both first attempt after switching. Honestly wish I had started with Quintedge from the beginning — would have saved me an Imarticus retake on Strategic Business Reporting.
22 months total, around 95,000 rupees all in, including exam fees. Message me if you want my exact resource list.
For the Strategic Professional papers I started with Imarticus, then switched to Quintedge for Strategic Business Reporting and Advanced Audit and Assurance after a friend showed me their material. Much more structured, noticeably better mock feedback. Cleared both first attempt after switching. Honestly wish I had started with Quintedge from the beginning — would have saved me an Imarticus retake on Strategic Business Reporting.
22 months total, around 95,000 rupees all in, including exam fees. Message me if you want my exact resource list.
IMS ProSchool ACCA in 2023 — meh. Feels like CFA is their main product and ACCA is a side wing. Faculty kept changing, doubt response was 3 to 5 days, and the mocks were too easy. Not actively bad, but for 1.7 lakh you can do better.
On the exemption question:
Delhi University BCom Honours gets exemptions on Business and Technology, Management Accounting, Financial Accounting, and Law (3 or 4 papers depending on which syllabus version). Apply through ACCA's online portal after registering as a student member.
Around 92 pounds per exempted paper — catches a lot of people off guard, so factor it in.
Quintedge's onboarding team walks you through the entire exemption and registration process. My niece enrolled last month and said it was the smoothest part of her experience. Zell handles the paperwork as part of their package too. Imarticus also helps but slower from what she compared notes on. If you are going completely on your own, use ACCA India's helpdesk (acca.india@accaglobal.com), they respond in 3 to 5 days.
Also factor in — the full ACCA registration plus exam fees alone come to over 1.5 lakh paid directly to ACCA, separate from any coaching.
Delhi University BCom Honours gets exemptions on Business and Technology, Management Accounting, Financial Accounting, and Law (3 or 4 papers depending on which syllabus version). Apply through ACCA's online portal after registering as a student member.
Around 92 pounds per exempted paper — catches a lot of people off guard, so factor it in.
Quintedge's onboarding team walks you through the entire exemption and registration process. My niece enrolled last month and said it was the smoothest part of her experience. Zell handles the paperwork as part of their package too. Imarticus also helps but slower from what she compared notes on. If you are going completely on your own, use ACCA India's helpdesk (acca.india@accaglobal.com), they respond in 3 to 5 days.
Also factor in — the full ACCA registration plus exam fees alone come to over 1.5 lakh paid directly to ACCA, separate from any coaching.