Career advice · Updated October 2026

CPA vs ACCA in Kenya: Costs, Exams, ICPAK Membership and Which One to Choose

If you want a career in accounting, audit, tax or finance in Kenya, you will sooner or later face the question of CPA vs ACCA in Kenya. Both are full professional accountancy qualifications and both are respected by Kenyan employers. They differ in who sets the exams, what they cost, how they are paid for, and how easily they get you into the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK). This guide compares the two using the fees and rules published by Kasneb, ACCA and ICPAK, so you can choose based on your own plans rather than on what classmates are doing.

The short answer

• Choose CPA (Kenya) if you plan to build your career in Kenya, especially in audit practice, tax, the public sector, county governments or SACCOs. It is cheaper, it is examined in Kenyan shillings, and it leads straight to ICPAK membership once you have the required experience.
• Choose ACCA if you are aiming for a multinational, a regional or global finance role, or work outside Kenya. It is examined on a global syllabus, recognised in many countries, and paid for in British pounds.
• Some people do both. A common path is to finish CPA first, then use it to claim exemptions and add ACCA later, or the other way round.

Who runs each qualification

CPA (K) is examined by Kasneb, the Kenya Accountants and Secretaries National Examinations Board. Once you qualify, membership and the licence to practise come from ICPAK, which is set up under the Accountants Act.

ACCA is the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, a UK-based global body. You register with ACCA directly, pay ACCA in pounds, and sit ACCA exams in Kenya. ACCA and ICPAK have a memorandum of understanding that covers collaboration and reciprocal CPD hours for members in good standing of both bodies. It does not turn an ACCA qualification into ICPAK membership on its own; more on that below.

Entry requirements

Kasneb’s minimum entry for CPA is a KCSE mean grade of C+ (Plus), a Kasneb diploma, or any other recognised diploma. Degree holders can apply for paper-by-paper exemptions, which Kasneb grants where your degree covered the content of a paper. Check what your course qualifies for on the Kasneb exemption page before you pay for papers you may not need to sit.

ACCA also grants exemptions for relevant degrees and for other accountancy qualifications, and charges a fee for each exemption awarded. Use ACCA’s exemptions tool for your exact degree; do not rely on what a college sales agent tells you.

Exam structure compared

CPA papers in detail

Under the current Kasneb structure, the Foundation level covers Financial Accounting, Communication Skills, Introduction to Law and Governance, Economics, Quantitative Analysis, and Information Communication Technology. Intermediate covers Company Law, Financial Management, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Auditing and Assurance, Management Accounting, and Public Finance and Taxation.

At Advanced level you sit Leadership and Management, Advanced Financial Reporting and Analysis, and Advanced Financial Management, plus one specialisation paper chosen from Advanced Taxation, Advanced Auditing and Assurance, Advanced Management Accounting and Advanced Public Financial Management (Kasneb allows a double specialisation). You also take the Business Data Analytics practical paper and a Workshop on Ethics. Students without one year of relevant practical experience take a Workshop on Work Simulation.

The Business Data Analytics paper is worth noting: employers increasingly expect accountants to work with data, and it is one reason CPA has become more practical than many people assume. If that side interests you, read our guide on how to get into data analysis in Kenya.

ACCA papers in detail

ACCA starts with Business and Technology, Management Accounting and Financial Accounting (Applied Knowledge). Applied Skills covers Corporate and Business Law, Performance Management, Taxation, Financial Reporting, Audit and Assurance, and Financial Management. Strategic Professional has two compulsory exams, Strategic Business Leader and Strategic Business Reporting, plus two options from Advanced Financial Management, Advanced Performance Management, Advanced Taxation, and Advanced Audit and Assurance.

What each one costs

The fees below are the exam and registration fees published by each body. They do not include tuition, books, revision kits or transport, which often cost more than the exams themselves.

CPA fees (Kasneb fee structure)

Source: Kasneb fee structure, checked October 2026. If you sit every paper and pass first time, registration plus the 16 written papers, the data analytics practical and the ethics workshop add up to KSh 54,700 in Kasneb fees, before annual renewals, any work simulation, resits and tuition. Annual renewal is due on 1 July each year, starting from the 1 July after your first eligible sitting. Persons with disability get a 25% discount on the registration fee with a copy of their NCPWD card.

ACCA fees (ACCA’s Kenya fee page)

Source: ACCA fees and charges for Kenya. Fees for the three Applied Knowledge exams taken at a computer-based exam centre are set by the centre. Late entry costs far more: the December 2026 late entry fee for an Applied Skills exam is £387.

At standard entry rates, the six Applied Skills exams, the four Strategic Professional exams and the ethics module come to £1,830 before registration, yearly subscriptions, Applied Knowledge exams and tuition. Because you pay in pounds, the shilling cost also moves with the exchange rate.

ICPAK membership: the deciding factor for many

To be called a certified public accountant in Kenya and, later, to sign audits, you need ICPAK. According to ICPAK’s member categories page:

• Non-practising membership is open to CPA graduates with three years or more of experience, and to holders of foreign accountancy qualifications as specified in section 26(2) of the Accountants Act. The application fee is KSh 27,200 and the annual subscription KSh 11,200.
• Graduates with less than three years’ experience can join as associate members for up to three years (application KSh 3,700, annual subscription KSh 3,200).
• A practising certificate, which lets you offer audit and accountancy services to the public, needs further years of supervised external audit experience, CPD hours and professional indemnity cover.

For ACCA holders, the route goes through Kasneb’s Foreign Accountancy Qualifications (FAQ) exams, which test the Kenya-specific areas a foreign syllabus does not cover. The December 2026 FAQ papers are scheduled for 1 and 3 December 2026. Kasneb’s fee structure lists a KSh 40,000 registration fee and KSh 20,000 per paper for foreign qualifications. Confirm with ICPAK which papers apply to you before you register.

In practice, this means CPA is the more direct route to Kenyan practice, while ACCA holders who later want to practise in Kenya should budget time and money for the FAQ step.

Which one employers ask for

Read the qualifications line in a few adverts in our accounting and finance jobs section. Kenyan public bodies and many local firms typically ask for “CPA (K)” together with ICPAK membership. Multinationals and regional finance teams often accept either, or ask for “CPA, ACCA or equivalent”. For external audit in Kenya, ICPAK membership matters most.

Pay depends far more on your role, sector and experience than on the letters after your name. Use our salary checker to compare offers, and the net salary calculator to see what a gross offer leaves you with after PAYE and deductions.

Practical tips before you register

1. Check exemptions first. A business or commerce degree can remove several papers on either route.
2. Watch deadlines. For the December 2026 Kasneb exams (30 November to 3 December 2026), the closing date for registration and exam entry is 30 October 2026. ACCA’s December 2026 standard entry closes on 2 November 2026.
3. Pay only through official channels. Kasneb says fees are paid through its student portal and that no payment should be made through any staff member or agent. ACCA fees are paid through your myACCA account.
4. Choose a tutor carefully. Business Radar has a guide to the best online CPA classes in Kenya if you need to study around a job, and Kasneb’s offices can be reached through the Kasneb contacts listed there.
5. Build your CV as you study. Each part you pass is worth listing. Our guide to an accountant CV in Kenya shows how to present part-qualified status.

Key takeaways

• CPA (K) is cheaper, paid in shillings, and leads directly to ICPAK membership after three years’ experience.
• ACCA has 13 exams plus an ethics module and three years’ experience, is paid in pounds, and travels better internationally.
• ACCA holders who want to join ICPAK should expect Kasneb’s Foreign Accountancy Qualifications exams.
• Check exemptions and deadlines before paying anything, and use only official payment channels.

Frequently asked questions

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