I am currently just at the start of the visa process, and I have read several threads on here about ACCAs working in Oz. I was just after some clarification really, if I get the visa ok.

Would it be absolutely necessary to obtain the CA qualification once we get there, or would I be able to secure a job straight away without it?

If I have to/choose to study the local CA route, as an ACCA with 8 years PQE, exactly how many papers etc would I need to study and is there anything I could do from the UK to speed up the process?

Hope someone can help.

Thanks

You might well be able to secure a job based on ACCA, but realistically if you want a good long term career in Australia there's no substitute for becoming an Australian CA.


You would need to do:

- tax/law bridging study (this could be done from the U.K.); and
- the 5 paper CA Program; and
- obtain 3 years work experience mentored by an Australian CA, in practice or industry.

Have you got a university degree in addition to ACCA?

Thanks JAJ

No I dont have a degree, left school at 18 and did AAT first.

How about if I became a member of the ICAEW, would that make it any easier to get CA?

Long term you should think about getting a university degree as well. Your ACCA qualification should give you credits up to 2 years full time equivalent.

University of New England is a good distance learning option in Australia (if you can get credits from them for a BCom degree), if you were staying in the U.K. then the Open University would give you good credits.

Getting your CA should take priority over a degree however.

Becoming an ACA by direct entry (assuming you mean the ICAEW entry route for ACCA with 5 years experience) does not allow you to become an Australian CA by direct entry.

However it may be still worth doing if you are eligible because of:

- the "name brand" of the ICAEW (and perception it's equivalent to Australian CA); and
- as an ICAEW member you can access ICAA services at member rates under the Global Accounting Alliance.

Do you mean a degree in accounting/finance?

Would definitely rather get CA first, would I still have to do the 5 papers if I obtained membership of the ICAEW?

Not sure how easy it would be to be mentored for 3 years by an Australian CA, especially if I would be looking for jobs as an FC/FD, with potentially no superior. Maybe I will have to get back into a practice.

I'm an ACCA with no degree, been living in Brisbane for just over a year. When I first got here I saw a lot of agencies most of which said that not having an Australian qulification would prove a handicap. However I picked up a 3 month temp job within 3 days of looking and after that moved to another 6 month temp job. Three months into that I started applying for permanent jobs and got offered three in a week. I am now CFO at a reasonable size manufacturing company (I have no prior manufacturing experience).

In my experience there are plenty of accountancy jobs in Brisbane (cant comment on other places) , naturally many employers prefer those with Australian qualifications, but also if you are confident, interview well and can provide good Australian references from Temp positions, some will give you a fair go.

Go for it and live the dream

Cheers for that, sounds promising. I'm not scared of doing more studying but just really disappointed the ACCA isnt such a global qualification as I thought.

Never had a problem getting a job so fairly confident I can get my foot in the door, even if it is temp work at first, then either get some Australian references or prove myself and work my way up.

You could also try CPA, as you may not need to do a bridging course based on your ACCA studies (thats what happened to me). You can then apply for membership and start taking the exams (in the UK if you want). I also understand that once you join there is an exemption for the 3 years work experience in Oz, as long as you have the equivalent elsewhere. CPA is highly rated in Oz too.

I am a UK FCCA with 8 years PQE, so I understand where your coming from about ACCA not being as global as its marketed, however its a case of protectionism from the Chartered bodies to a large extent. I'm not too happy about having to do 6 papers, however having an Australian Qualification should make life a lot easier.

Yeah I will look at CPA too cheers, I knew there would be similar exams to take and just thought that Chartered would be preferable. However, most jobs I see advertised state CA/CPA so probably no real difference. Now that I know the CPA could be started in the UK and I could be exempt from the 3 years experience bit, will look at their website.

Cant believe I might have to do more exams. Still, it should be a piece of cake second time around, its not like I have forgotten most of what I ever learned because it has no relevance to my job or anything!!

Once again. The answer is yes you would have to do the CA Program. ICAEW membership by direct entry does not count for mutual recognition.

But if you are eligible to join ICAEW this way it is probably a good idea to do so anyway. This entry route will probably be closed sooner or later.

The alternative as someone else has noted is to become an Australian CPA.

You would still have to do the tax/law bridging study and the CPA Program (6 papers) but there are two advantages:

1. The CPA Program can be done by distance learning while the CA Program can't be (it's more interactive); and

2. If you are ACCA, the CPAs will waive the mentored experience requirement.


The two disadvantages of doing CPA are:

1. As you don't have a university degree (any subject) you will need to do a special "Challenge Exam" before you can start the CPA Program.

2. CPA is well regarded in Australia but isn't quite as prestigious as CA. It's more the Australian equivalent of ACCA (even though they can't work out a good mutual recognition agreement).

However, if you get your English ACA then Australian CPA would be ok for a local qualification.


If you're still a member of AAT, they now have a presence in Australia:
http://www.aat.org.au

i'm scared now after reading all these posts! i'm ACCA qualified and although i had already realised it wasn't the "global" qualification it markets itself as, i never realised how difficult it would be to convert to cpa!

from what i've read on the cpa website i would need to do bridging studies (and exams?) in aussie law and tax but what's this about doing 6 papers???!!!

i'm on my way over to oz in 8 weeks and not at all organised. can anyone let me know if they needed to submit syllabus summaries for all accountancy related subjects studied as part of their degree (mine was a ba accounting & finance so most subjects studied were accountancy related!) if so, i'll need to get this sorted as soon as i go. i'm very confused as wasn't sure if i need to supply this info to cpa as also have acca qualification?

after reading other posts on this forum, not too worried about getting work as happy to do temp/contract work for a while which other accas said they had no problem getting but do want to join cpa as soon as possible in order to secure a good long term job down the line. any info would be appreciated!

thanx!

Compared to ICAEW, ACCA doesn't appear to "travel" quite as well.

At the end of 2006, ACCA did conclude a mutual recognition agreement with the Canadian CGA institute and it's entirely possible that the Australian CPAs will become part of this in coming years. No guarantees if or when, however.

Incidentally - do you have a university degree? If so, what kind of degree is it? It can be important to CPA Australia.


The 6 paper CPA Program, which is the post-degree part of the professional qualification.
Plus bridging study in tax/law beforehand.


Have you considered the pros and cons of doing CA instead of CPA?


Also, what visa are you going to have in Australia and have you been skill assessed?

I do have a degree in Accounting & Finance so I understand this would exempt me from the 3 years supervised experience if I joined CPA, this and that I thought the only studies I'd have to do to gain membership were tax and law bridging were the reasons I'd only considered CPA and not CA. Couldn't bear the thought of having to go through the whole process of recording my experience again as only finished it over here last year!

As for visas, I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm an Aussie citizen with an Aussie passport (grew up in Australia and left when I was 11) so no need for a skills assessment!

Thanks for all the info JAJ, I'm feeling much better now and also the post from Dimwit (they don't seem like a dimwit to me lol!!) regarding getting work out there. Will probably go down the same route, getting contract work first then apply for perm once settled and got some Aussie experience. Cheers!

As you have a university degree, your steps then depend on your choice:

CPA Australia

1. Get your skills assessed by CPAA. This will be cheaper as you are already an Australian citizen, should only be about A$50 or so. Make sure they know they don't need to do a migration skill assessment.

2. Do the bridging study, tax + law + whatever else they ask you to do

3. Do the 6 paper CPA Program

4. CPA Australia will probably waive the mentored experience requirement as you are an ACCA member.

ICAA

1. Get skill assessed by ICAA.

2. Do the bridging study they ask you (tax, law etc).

3. Do the 5 paper CA Program

4. Obtain 3 years supervised work experience signed off by an Australian CA. Members of other professional bodies, such as English or Scottish CAs, may also be able to sign off your experience.

CA or CPA

Two other points to consider in making your decision:

a. The CA qualification is slightly more prestigious than CPA and is better recognised if you go to other countries, eg New Zealand

b. It is always possible that ACCA may conclude a recognition agreement with CPA, like they have done with the Canadian CGAs. It's quite a safe bet there will never be such an agreement with ICAA.

Having done a bit of research on the job front, I would have to say that there seems to be a bit of scaremongering going on.
I agree that ACCA is not as popular in Oz as it is in UK, but I have found a number of good positions that include ACCA as a recognised qualification on the same level as CA and CPA.
It would seem to me that if the Big 4 are happy to employ an ACCA qualified accountant/auditor, then everyone else will follow suit.
Good luck to everyone.