gak

I am a CIMA passed finalist. I have about 5 years expereince in finance. I am planning to migrate to Australia. Grateful, if any one could let us know regarding the Job market for CIMAs. What could be the probable starting salary ?

Anoop

JAJ

Try the Hays salary survey : http://www.hays.com.au

You should sort out your CIMA membership as soon as possible. You might need to do that even before you can get a skill assessment.

Long term you'll help your career in Australia if you make the effort to become an Australian Chartered Accountant. Although CIMA is known in the large cities, not having an Australian qualification will limit your options longer term. And CA makes more sense as a development option than Australian CPA.

If you don't have a university degree (any subject), obtaining one will also help your skill profile long term. Most Australian accountants are graduates.

cratfy

You need to get your membership to be able to do your skilled assessment.

JAJ

Unless one already has a university degree in accounting.

cratfy

I have a degree in accountancy and CIMA, but had to wait until I had my membership in order to get skilled assessment.

JAJ

A degree in accountancy (Australian bachelors equivalent) is enough provided there is sufficient syllabus coverage and you can prove it. However it's much simpler to use CIMA membership.

gak

Thx, for all the reply.

I have a univeristy degree and have passed CIMA final examination. I got a favourable assesement from CPA . I think it is much simpler to get the assement from CPA if you have a univerisity degree.

I was wondering how good is the job market for CIMA in australia. If a memebership helps me to get a job, I can definitely get one. I have the required experience.......Othewise, I am not too keen on parting with 200 pounds of application fee. Grateful, if anyone could throw some light on how good is the job market in Australia. I was also wondering whether to go to Sydney or Gold coast. Any tips?


GAK

sherie_in_oz

Seems there are lots of accountancy jobs here on the gold coast,its definitely one of the job areas where you shouldn't be out of work for long, have a look at www.seek.com.au but we have neighbours who are both accountants who came from South africa and they very quickly got accountancy jobs and another friend from the Uk who also got accountancy(tax)work straight away.
A lot of people here do an accountancy conversion correspondence course at nearby Uni Southern QLD to bring their quals up to Aus standard so do look into that too.If you are an accountant and want the sunshine and a laid back lifestyle come to the gold coast! There are lots of people from the UK and the rest of Aus moving here..about 100 families a week move to the GC so you won't be the only one making the move

JAJ

Where on earth did youget that idea from? ICAA and NIA will also issue a skill assessment based on a university degree in accounting.

The difference between CPAA and ICAA/NIA is that CPAA will not positively assess anyone who has a professional qualification on its own without a tertiary degree (any subject).


You have no choice in the matter, sorry.

Your "passed finalist" CIMA status is not worth a great deal (especially in Australia) unless you progress to membership, sorry. And CIMA does insist you apply for membership (or provide a very good excuse why you are not eligible) - if you don't then you will be struck off the register entirely after a few years and what you have done will be completely worthless.

Long term, you would be best advised to become an Australian Chartered Accountant to help your employability in the labour market. CIMA has a strategic alliance with ICAA so you should make use of this - it doesn't give complete exemption from the CA Program but it makes the path more streamlined.

JAJ

A tax/law conversion course is not enough to "bring their quals up to Aus standard". It is necessary to become a fully qualified CA or CPA if this is what you want. For those who have to do extra exams, it normally makes more sense to do Australian CA because this is a more prestigious and better recognised qualification than Australian CPA.

gak

NOT REALLY, CPA AUSTRALIA WILL GIVE YOU A FAVOURABLE ASSESSMENT. CPA DO NOT LOOK INTO YOUR EXPERIENCE OR MEMBERSHIP. AS LONG AS YOU HAVE A DEGREE IN ACCOUNTANCY AND PASSSED THE FINAL EXAMINATION OF CIMA, YOU CAN BE SURE OF A FAVOURABLE ASSESSMENT FROM CPA AUSTRALIA.

GAK

JAJ

If you have an accountancy degree the same applies to ICAA and NIA. Why promote CPAA in particular?

And there's no need to post in capitals.

gak

I am sorry for posting in capitals.

Incase you want an assessment based on accountancy degree, ICAA would require you to submit a copy of the syllabus issued by the university. I had passed my university examination about 18 years back and I have not kept a copy of my syllabus. In such cases, CPA permit you to submit an approximate syllabus which can be self- certified. This facility is not available with ICAA. Hence I preferred CPA. I never considered NIA as an option, so I am unable to comment on the same.

I am in the process of applying for membership of CIMA and propose to request for an assessment from ICAA after I obtain my membership. While going through the discussion here I am convinced that it would be ideal to go for a CA qualification.

Thanks a lot

GAK.

JAJ

If you don't need the skill assessment for migration purposes, it will probably be a lot cheaper to ask for a "non-migration" assessment of eligibility to enter the CA Program. This is likely to cost A$50, not A$350.

You should still keep your CIMA membership long term in Australia as ACMA/FCMA is a good complement to the CA qualification.

Hellboy663

I quite agree with Jeremy. If you wish to go for a local qualification in Australia, CA makes sense as it is the most prestigious among the three.