HJG

Hi -

Am UK based CIMA who has just got permanent visa for Oz - and am due to fly this xmas.
Would like to have passed bridging studies in tax/law and auditing before I get there - Can anyone advise me on cheapest and quickest method?

Cheers
HJG

JAJ

You should be guided by the ICAA list of accredited bridging courses. Some distance learning courses are included. If auditing is not on the standard list then you should be guided by advice from the ICAA.

Have you already got a university degree? If not, you should consider your options to obtain one (with these bridging studies as a part of it).

Also - are you planning to do the Australian CA Program?

HJG

Hi JAG

Would be really helpful if you could give me a steer re the qualfications and the benefit of your experience.

I do not have a degree because in the 'old days' it was much less common to get a degree before doing CIMA - I'm 43 and have been FD of £75m company for ten plus years.

I've approached ICAA about conversion and it looks a long road - I would need to do the bridging exams, then all but one of the qualifying exams, then be mentored for two years. I am up for the exams, and in particular want to familiarise myself with commercial Australia so that I can do my job properly,
however I am worried about who would want to mentor a very mature student - I would be nearing 50 when I got to the end of the road, and though I am always really ready to learn, I might find it difficult to find someone ready to teach.

I thought the ideal approach would be to find a University course which picked up the bridging studies, and ideally gave me a degree, and possibly exemptions from some of the professional exams. I have spent a tiring day trying to find the right course on the internet working through the ICAA list and am still struggling. I have to go for distance learning, or a Melbourne based university.

Was going to have another stab in the morning however if you have any suggestions or comments would be most grateful?

HJG

JAJ

Thoughts, in no particular order:

1. If you want to do a bachelors degree, you should try and get a credit of 2 years (out of 3) for your CIMA qualification. CIMA is assessed as being the equivalent of an Australian bachelors degree.

2. Doing the Australian CA Program should be higher priority than doing a bachelors degree. I wouldn't worry too much about mentored work experience - as long as you are working alongside an Australian CA (or member of another eligible body, eg New Zealand CA) who is happy to sign off on your work experience.

3. Distance learning universities include Monash, University of New England (UNE), Deakin, University of Southern Queensland and Charles Sturt University. If you want to do bridging study as part of a full degree, then Monash and UNE are probably more "prestigious" options than the others.

4. Have you obtained Fellowship of CIMA? You should do that if you're eligible. It won't make a great deal of difference, but you need to know that if you describe yourself as an "Associate" member then many Australians won't understand that this means fully qualified.

5. You could also consider becoming an ICAEW member through direct entry:
http://www.icaew.com/index.cfm?route=125720

Becoming an English CA this way won't help you become an Australian CA (mutual recognition does not apply to direct entrants) but having English CA on your resume plus CIMA will likely get it noticed more than only having CIMA on its own. Not all Australians understand foreign qualifications, CA excepted.

If this route to becoming an English CA interests you then apply sooner rather than later as it's an anomaly that will likely be withdrawn sooner or later by the ICAEW.


6. As far as I know, CIMA members can become Professional National Accountants (PNA) through recognition from the National Institute of Accountants (http://www.nia.org.au). PNA is not nearly as well regarded as CA or even CPA, although this may change in the next 10-15 years now the entry standard has been upgraded. It might be useful to you if you wanted to get immediate practising rights in Australia, although you would need to check if additional practising certificate requirements apply.



And in all this remember that acquiring some additional qualifications isn't really about doing your job better (although there is a CPD benefit). It's about a. your employability in the external market, and b. not reaching a glass ceiling in an Australian organisation because someone higher up doesn't understand your non-local qualification.

gak

Please check out Open Universities Australia for bridging studies. It is the cheeapest course you can get.

If you do the course while you are in UK you will have to pay the fee upfront. However, if you opt to enroll after you reach Australia, you are eligible for a interest free loan from GOVT of Australia with liberal repayment terms. Please check out the deatils in the web site www.open.edu.au

GAK

HJG

Thankyou JAG

The good news is I am FCMA(1997) so this should help a little, and also have the Associate of Corporate Treasurers qualifications, so this should put me in good stead to improve the look of my CV and give me more evidence to claim two years toward a degree as you suggest.

I have printed off the ICAEW forms and will proceed with them as I am fully eligible. Thanks for the advice re getting on with this - it will spur me on.

I keep being tempted to leave the Australia Accountant exams well alone, (other than the bridging studies) because of the time they will take, it appears my daughter could qualify as quickly or quicker than me who has never prepared a set of accounts- and it feels like I will be going over predominantly old ground. Although I like being an accountant I keep wondering if this would be a good time to retrain in something else if the amount of retraining for accountancy is so substantial..

However nose to the grindstone, and back to reality - you are absolutely right, I would never forgive myself if I missed out on a promotion because I did not get the correct qualifications.

One final point in case it is helpful to others - I note that CIMA offers a joint MSC with Lille now, I am looking into this also - although it would not have an Australian tag - it offers another route forward.

Thanks again for your guidance, any further thoughts or ideas most welcome.
Still a lot to work through - but I am better armed with the information which you have provided.

HJG

HJG

Thankyou JAK -

I will check this out as I really need to keep down to as low a budget as possible, to save money for if I cannot find work.

Kind Regards

HJG

JAJ

I don't know where you get the idea from that there are a lot of exams to do. You should be able to get at least one exemption from the CA Program, so that leaves around four papers to do (plus bridging studies).

If you have FCMA and become an English CA as well, then there may be no need to become an Australian CA immediately but you should think about the option going forward.

Don't restrict yourselves to CIMA sponsored degrees - there are plenty of others. If your future is in Australia, an Australian degree would normally be preferable, all things being equal.

You should think of any additional study not as "retraining" but rather as either bridging/conversion study, or continuing professional education.

SunshineGirl

Whilst I do agree with Jeremy about restricting oneself to a CIMA degree, I'd like to know more about the MSc with Lille as it appears to have completely passed me by.

HJG

The CIMA MSC is on the CIMA website under CPD.

I liked it because if you have CIMA then you have full exemption to the taught element and are required to do a thesis to obtain the MSC, There are various financial issues I would like to explore further which I won't bore you with - but which throughout my career I have felt need more consideration.


The hitch I'm currently working on, is that the earliest one appears to be able to start the thesis is Nov or Dec this year when they will be holding seminars in London on how to do a thesis - of course I'm due in Melbourne about that time.

I have time on my hands now to do a thesis, and lots of support from UK organisations I've worked for which would make it a good time to do it - however I'm not able to strat it until I'm due in Australia - at which time it would make more sense as JAG says to do further study in Australia.

Good luck if you decide to go for it - are you applying to ICAEW as well as you have FCMA?

HJG

SunshineGirl

Yes I am. I actually sent you a PM earlier, don't know if you got it though. We appear to be in exactly the same boat, quals and age-wise.