CA vs CPA? (1 Viewer)

[Korn]

u need no exeprience for the first module (CA Foundations)

u need ONE years experience and have completed the relevant accreditation subjects (in uni) to start the technical modules (after foundations)



weeeeeell....i always hear that 'chartered accountants' are in demand overseas....i never hear the name 'certified practicing accountant"

its a widely known factthat CA is more widely accepted than CPA

I was Going off how many members of each org are working overseas, it appears that CPA is more recognised then CA
CPA
CA

 

[mr_shittles]

Hi guys, this is my limited knowledge/opinions of the two programs:

1. CA has 25,000 members and CPA has 105,000 members.

2. CA exams are much harder to pass than CPA exams, predominatly because there's lots of content and they make their Qs a bit tricky (not hard, but tricky)

3. CPA is regarded as more pactical/industry based accounting, used in major companies in manufacturing, or in privatepractice. CA is stronger in audit, assuranace and business advisory.

4. In Australia, the demand for CAs is greater than the demand for CPAs.

5. Internationally, it does not make that much of a difference because:
a. most overseas countries prefer members of their locally respected institutions as opposed to Australian ones
b. both CA and CPA are strong globally (CPA is particularly stong in Asian countries)

5. Most acctg students at UNSW choose CA, whereas at Macquarie and UWS, CPA is really strong (Sorry, got no idea bout USyd - maybe someone can tell me).

 

[Korn]

Hi guys, this is my limited knowledge/opinions of the two programs:

1. CA has 25,000 members and CPA has 105,000 members.

2. CA exams are much harder to pass than CPA exams, predominatly because there's lots of content and they make their Qs a bit tricky (not hard, but tricky)

3. CPA is regarded as more pactical/industry based accounting, used in major companies in manufacturing, or in privatepractice. CA is stronger in audit, assuranace and business advisory.

4. In Australia, the demand for CAs is greater than the demand for CPAs.

5. Internationally, it does not make that much of a difference because:
a. most overseas countries prefer members of their locally respected institutions as opposed to Australian ones
b. both CA and CPA are strong globally (CPA is particularly stong in Asian countries)

5. Most acctg students at UNSW choose CA, whereas at Macquarie and UWS, CPA is really strong (Sorry, got no idea bout USyd - maybe someone can tell me).

Yeah, u seem to be right

 

[aditya]

i can give u an idea about sydney... first accounting lecture i went to, like 300 odd people i guess ( i dno estimate how much in a lecture room) adn the guy asks us how many people wanna do a major in accounting - literlalli, like 5 or 10 hands went up.... so yeh u can draw ur own conculsions form that

 

[jpr333]

Sorry to bump an old thread, but just to update the information regarding the CA program; the two important changes that have been made are:
- There is no introductory module in the program anymore, this means the program simply consits of 4 technical modules. Before it was 4 plus the introductory module which you could take concurrently when starting one of the technical modules.
AND
- The amount of work experience in a CA accredited firm required before you can start the program is now 9 months. Previously this was 1 yr but it has been shortened.

Carry on...

 

[kow_dude]

i can give u an idea about sydney... first accounting lecture i went to, like 300 odd people i guess ( i dno estimate how much in a lecture room) adn the guy asks us how many people wanna do a major in accounting - literlalli, like 5 or 10 hands went up.... so yeh u can draw ur own conculsions form that

And the rest were probably too embarassed to be labelled as accountants.

 

[jpr333]

That is tue what did one of the 1st yr lecturers say, she wont see many hands go up, but 2 years on she'll see a lot of the same faces slogging it through for that accounting major. Accounting- the only recognised profession in commerce.

 

[waiter]

Old post:

As I said somewhere before, all Big4 firms require you to undertake the CA Program at some stage.

Wow. Talk about a dramatically generalised bullshit statement.


If you want to be a nobody number crunching external auditor, then yes having a CA is smiled upon by the partners. Yay, it means you can have aspirations to sign off on accounts one day.

What our under-educated friend forgot to mention was that there is a lot more to professional service firms, that the dry crud called external auditing - the only service line which so desparately "requires" this beloved CA title.

Oh our friend forgot to mention, or most probably, didn't know, that the CPA is also acceptable by these big 4 service lines.

Faggets who are brainwashed by keeping up with the jonses, are seduced by the bullshit prestige that the ICAA so desparately tries to portray. It's so damn obvious to smell here. These smartass vacationers with 1 month experience feel they know it all.

Research properly, then chose the program which is right for you. Recognise and steer clear of the overbearing crap that the ICAA wankers and followers try to feed you.

 

[turtleface]

waiter I've just been taking a look at your past posts. You literally troll every sub forum or topic you go to, spew out a lot of BULLCRAP about CAs/CPAs/Big 4 Firms/Accounting. you claim you are an experienced CA at a Big Four Firm and that you allegedly know stuff about accounting.

you fool, you can't progress beyond an audit AM in a Big Four Firm if you do not have a CA. If you did work for a Big 4 you'd know that.

If you want some more info on CA vs CPA theres a good discussion here:
http://community.boredofstudies.org/136/faculty-commerce/98986/cpa-requirements/2.html just steer cleer of waiter's bullcrap

What our under-educated friend forgot to mention was that there is a lot more to professional service firms, that the dry crud called external auditing - the only service line which so desparately "requires" this beloved CA title.

You idiot, CA is need for Transaction Services, most tax lines, some corporate finance lines as well as middlemarket/EGM, corporate recovery and Internal...pretty much everything except marketing/hr/some tax and corporate finance and generalist business advisory services. I don't know what dodgy firm ur at...

The only thing I do agree with waiter on is that ICAA promotional material is largely a load of propaganda.

 

[jpr333]

As if, they are the best in numbers!!!

The cross city tunnel ad if pretty funny, but the central factor for failure was the projected sales, would a CA analysis have predicted this more accurately???? Who knows???....

 

[azreal]

actually i believe the agsm now gives both CPA's and CA's an equal 2 exemptions from their mba programs. previously the CA's got 3 i think.

Well if you want to work for Deloittes, Ernst and Young, Price Waterhouse Coopers or KPMG I suggest you do a CA.
These firms rarely hire CPA's.
As well the CA program actually gives you a graduate diploma and units from it can thus be counted towards an MBA in the future.
The CA is a lot harder than the CPA but if I were to do one of the two I wouldn't waste my time on a CPA as the CA is so much more acclaimed.

 

[azreal]

U wanted to know, well here it is
CA program
CA subjects for undergrad
CPA

Anyways, if u want to work overseas, the CPA is better, as it is more widely recognised, however in Australia the CA is considered the best

couldn't disagree with respect to the overseas working thing.

 

[azreal]

Yeah, well the ICAA is the org that runs the CA program, so it might have been biased info

if you looked at which overseas bodies recognise CPAs and CAs, you will clearly see more recognise the CA qualification.

think wikipedia has a list..

 

[azreal]

Oh, ok cause the CPA is prided on its well recognised nature overseas.
The main difference between CPA and CA (i think, unless it has changed) is that CPA's can have their own business and are tax specialist

korn...sounds like you have the CA and CPA confused.

 

[azreal]

I thought it said it one the website, i think, in a pda or something.
Anyways there are more firms out there then just the Big4, and they will not have enough vacancies for every graduate of Accounting

true...but Big 4 is the cream of the crop.
just like there are more unis out there than Usyd, Unsw or Monash..

 

[azreal]

I was Going off how many members of each org are working overseas, it appears that CPA is more recognised then CA
CPA
CA

i think you need to clarify if the CPA numbers quoted are "certified PUBLIC accountants" or "certified practicing accountants".