I'm ACA qualified, contract was for 3.5 years, sounds like a long time but truthfully it went by very quickly as there wasn't time for anything else but exams. One bad thing is if you stuck with a company you don't like later on, there's no turning back and believe me when i say there are pretty bad ones out there. in some companies, there's usually a probationary period of 6 months if you change your mind. i went this route as i wanted the security of a job for the entire length of my training. also everything was paid for, registration fees, exemption fees, course fees and exam fees, which over a few years this can amount to quite a lot. also paid my institute entry and yearly sub fee when i qualified. ICAI have a minimum recommended yearly increase to your training salary which training companies are not allowed to go below if you pass your exams, you are more than likely to get 1.5 or 2 time that. Paid sudy leave was also an important factor, 5 weeks for Prof 2, 7 for Prof 3 and 8 for FAEs.