Hellboy663

Hi Everyone:

I'm an Australian PR and will be moving to Sydney in May'07 this year. I'm an FCCA (Fellow ACCA ) and also hold a US MBA as well as PNA Australia. I have about 20 years of experience in the accounting and finance field and am currently a Finance Manager in a medium sized multi national company.

Would appreciate hearing from someone in relations to my job prospects in
Australia.

Would it be better for me to get CPA or CA Australia now?

Thks.

JAJ

Long term it would be a good idea to get Australian CA or CPA. If you're going to have to do extra exams, then CA is preferable as it's the top-tier qualification.

Are you living in the US currently? If so, your best option might be to do the US CPA and look to convert it to the Australian CA through mutual recognition later on. And have you got a bachelors degree?

Hellboy663

Hi JAJ:

Thanks for your reply.

I do not have a bachelor's degree but I have a US MBA.

Yes. I'm currently in the US but would be posted to Singapore come this August. I've actually done the US CPA exams last month but am not sure about whether I could make it through all the 4 papers. Australian CA grants direct membership to US CPAs and that prompted me to take it up. Apart from this, when I looked at the Australian CA and CPA sometime last year, both bodies required an applicant to have 3 years of mentored experience. This is a joke as I've got more than 20 years and do not want to go through that I think Australian CPA has recently revised its rules and done away with the requirement to have mentor experience for many of the professional bodies. As for CA, I thik it still remains.

If I do make it, then its good, otherwise, I intend to finish ithe US CPA in Australia, as I'm very familiar now with the syllabus (I'll be moving to Sydney this May). The exams themselves are not that bad, unlike ACCA, God!!!! It was like, well, I thought it could take forever.


How about NIA? I was told that the recognition is growing? Would that be sufficient in the long run? How is its recognition in the Australian market currently?

Thanks.

JAJ

However, not all US CPAs are eligible for direct membership of ICAA. In particular, you need a License to Practice from a U.S. state - a CPA certificate (from a two tier state) won't necessarily do.

What state board are you a candidate of?


ICAA does require work experience for US CPAs seeking direct entry, but while this needs to be signed off by a CA or overseas equivalent, as far as I know this does not have to be mentored.

For those seeking entry through normal requirements, it does seem that CPAA now have simpler requirements for most overseas professionals compared to ICAA. However, CA is a more prestigious qualification.


Remember you must sit for the Uniform CPA Exam at a test center in the U.S. - it cannot be done in Australia. If in Sydney, then Honolulu is likely to be your closest location. What's your nationality? - are you eligible for the U.S. visa waiver scheme?

Long term the recognition of PNA is likely to approach that of CPA. But that is some time off. And I think CA is likely to stay the premier qualification for some time to come.

Hellboy663

Hi again:

Thanks for the reply.

I'm actually registered with the Colorado State Board of Accountancy. That is the only State Board that recognizes ACCA. The rest of the State Boards require a bachelor's degree or equivalent with 150 credit hours of education and an assessment of qualifications by a foreign credential evaluator(just did not want to go through with all these troubles so I registered with Colorado).

The licensing is also a lot more lenient in Colorado where a person is required to have either a 1 year experience under a CPA or a higher qualification such as a Master's degree, as opposed to most other states that require at least 2 years of experience under a US CPA (I'm not sure if the any of the states would be prepared to consider foreign experience as I have less than 2 years in the US).

Yes. there are unfortunately no exam centers in Sydney (how I wish there were).
However, as the market for accountants in Australia appears to be pretty good now, I think it might be in my best interest to to study for the US CPA exams in Australia but I intend to fly over to the US to take the exams, probably California, as that's where my brother in law lives and would thus be easier for me. That's the unfortunate trouble that I would have to put up with as the exams are not offered in any other parts of the world besides the US.


US visa is not really a problem. I'm actually a citizen of Singapore and am able to travel to US without a visa for 90 days.

Aside from CA membership, I think having a US CPA would help me when it comes to applying for jobs in US companies in Australia, as I could be regarded as having knowledge of US GAAP and Sarbanes Oxley.

Well, let's see how it goes. Hope I make it or else, I would have to take the exams again this November or next February.

JAJ

Colorado is the only state board to automatically recognise ACCA for eligibility to sit for the Uniform CPA exam. Other state boards might or might not recognise professional study like ACCA (depends on their policies), but a qualification evaluation would be needed.

You should check to see if Colorado are willing to accept work experience outside "public accounting" - many state boards are not. Take a look at their rules/policies which are on the state board website.

So if you haven't got that you might have to get a qualification evaluation done to see if you can get their work experience waived. Your combination of ACCA + MBA might or might not be considered 150 hour equivalent, and even if it is, you still have state-specific subject content areas.

If it turns out you can't get licensed in Colorado (which is probably your best option, if possible), then your options are either to do some extra study to meet the academic requirements (such extra study, if properly planned, could lead to a bachelors degree as well). Alternatively look at another state board to transfer credit after you've passed the Uniform exam - send me a PM if you'd like to know more on the options.



It is unlikely that the Uniform CPA Exam will ever be offered outside the United States.

Sitting for an exam (as opposed to attending school or college) is normally acceptable on the visa waiver.


It would certainly be helpful. Although you should be careful about using the letters "CPA" on your business card - you should first check whether these are legally reserved in Australia for members of CPA Australia.

Incidentally, if you're ACCA and from Singapore, are you not a Singapore CPA as well?


Why those two months, in particular? You can take the Uniform CPA Exam in 8 out of 12 months a year.

Hellboy663

Thanks.

Yes. I am currently an FCCA, a Singapore CPA, a PNA Australia and also hold a US MBA. Even with all these, I still have to @#$%^& grrrr sit for more exams.

Yes. It is unfortunately the case that only Colorado recognizes ACCA and not any other state. That is the reason I registered with Colorado. I don't think that Colorado requires 150 credit hours apart from the requirement for an applicant for licensing to have a certain number of hours in accounting and business related subjects, it might however become an issue if I can't get licensed in Colorado and have to consider some of the other states (most of the other states require 150 credit hours).

You are right. Most state boards are only prepared to accept public accounting experience and not anything outside of it. My experience with a chartered firm dates many years back so it is unlikely that it would be accepted. Well, got to see if I could go based on my higher studies. May have to do some extra studies. Have been promising myself that I would not be doing any further exams after each studies and here I am doing more and more. Jesus!!!!

The CPA exams are offered throughout the year accept for the months of March. June. September and December. Why I wish to take it in November or February is because I thought it would give me more time to prepare as I will be busy settling other issues such as looking for a job and settling down when I first move to Australia.

Thanks again for the info and please do let me know if you have more options available. My email address is [email protected].

Thanks.

JAJ

CPA Australia offers mutual recognition to Singapore CPAs, but they usually insist on a degree equivalent to an Australian bachelors. On the face of it, an MBA on its own would not be enough to meet this requirement.


That's not quite true. Many other states will give credit for ACCA professional studies as part of a qualification evaluation.


Colorado does require 150 hours if you want a waiver of the work experience requirement. Read Rule 2.5 of the Colorado rules which clearly state you need a bachelors + 30 extra semester hours (150 hours), although a masters degree may also be ok:
http://www.dora.state.co.us/accountants/rules.htm


Don't make an assumption like that. Colorado does have a rule that they won't accept experience more than 5 years before the exam (and they only seem to want public accounting work experience, from reading their rules). However if you have some public accounting experience from further back you might want to look at New Hampshire or Vermont for example (both 120 hour states) which may accept less recent public accounting work experience, provided the supervisor's professional qualification is acceptable.

If you have a US Social Security Number, then Virginia is worth considering. It's a 150 hour state but if you can meet the academic criteria, it's reportedly fairly friendly in terms of work that they will accept. Other 150 hour states that may accept non-public accounting work experience include Georgia and Oregon. And Massachusetts is worth a look if you have a masters degree as they may waive the work experience requirement. For "certificate only" 150 hour states that don't demand work experience, look at Montana, Florida or DC.

There is a book available from the AICPA that explains the requirements in all 55 jurisdictions. A summary is in this table:
http://www.aicpa.org/download/states/require_pract.pdf

Hellboy663

Thanks very much for the detailed info my friend.

JAJ

You may also find this forum useful:
http://www.cpanet.com/cpa_forum/default.asp

Hellboy663

Thank you very much for the kind help and info. Jeremy.

Hellboy663

Hi again Jeremy:

Just like to let you know that I've passed the US CPA exams. I am very happy to have passed. Just couldn't believe it. I thought I was going to fail Auditing and Regulations. But I have passed in the end, all in one sitting. To be honest, this is nothing even close to ACCA (struggled for more that 4 years to complete it).

What is left is for me to take the Ethics course. It is a self study course that requires about 11 hours of study and taking the course on line or it could be sent by mail. Intend to do it on line and finish it off within this month (April).The cost of it is US$165, there goes more money down. At least, I will benefit from it in the long run.

Intend to apply for license using my education, I was told that Masters Degree will be accepted by Colorado State Board.

At least now, after doing the law and tax, I could apply for membership in Australian Chartered. Very glad that things are working out. So at least I could move to Sydney this May without this worry in my mind. Glad things are working out.

JAJ

Congratulations on passing the exam. As long as you can get a Colorado licence you are in good shape. From looking at Colorado's rules, bear in mind that a. you will need to get a qualification evaluation done and that a Masters in itself isn't enough and b. if you get a Colorado licence, check to see what CPD requirements they have to keep it.

Once you become a CPA in the state, you should look into joining the AICPA. This will entitle you to certain member benefits in the ICAA even before you become an Australian CA.
http://www.globalaccountingalliance.com

Hellboy663

Thanks Jeremy. Shall do it. However, I'm just curious about the passing grade for the Ethics exam. Would you know how much is it by any chance? I know the passing grade for the CPA exams is 75 but what about the Ethics exam?

Thanks

JAJ

You need to check the rules of the state board. Most state boards look for a grade of 90, but the exam is generally open book (and not done under exam conditions).

If you're doing the AICPA ethics course, you should know that it's geared for both general CPD and state board requirements (different pass marks) so make sure you select the right test otherwise it will not be accepted by the state board.

Some state boards (eg California) have very specific ethics requirements and only accept particular tests so if you don't get a Colorado license and have to transfer credit, you may need to re-do this.