British Expats

British Expats (https://britishexpats.com/forum/)
-   Canada (https://britishexpats.com/forum/canada-56/)
-   -   Early Days (https://britishexpats.com/forum/canada-56/early-days-756198/)

Howefamily Apr 26th 2012 12:26 am

Re: Early Days
 

Originally Posted by siouxie (Post 10026458)
According to this website, ACCA is a mutually recognised qualification.

http://www.cga-canada.org/en-ca/Inte..._acca_cga.aspx

ACCA and CGA-Canada Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA)

I am going to send that to someone I know here whos ACCA and doesnt understand that to be the case. Thanks

nerdherd Apr 26th 2012 12:46 am

Re: Early Days
 

Originally Posted by VivaPayne (Post 10025651)
I'm planning some visits out there in the coming years so I'll be looking at it in a more objective light than when I was there on holiday and with work.

Good to hear, that is one of the best things you can do to prepare for your project. I' d recommend going to open houses, trying a commute during rush hour in public transport, going into a supermarket to look at prices of everyday groceries, that kind of stuff. Vancouver is absolutely lovely, but cheap it ain't, mainly due to housing market. This ends up putting a lot of people off.

Have you discovered the MLS yet? www.realtor.ca

Good luck with it all :)

VivaPayne Apr 26th 2012 1:26 am

Re: Early Days
 
Thanks so much guys. I'm looking at doing the degree in applied accounting to before the move which I spotted was mentioned on the CGA page I think too. This is all exactly why I wanted to start looking into this now as opposed to further down the line. If I know I need to do something in particular I can work that into the plan!

The ACCA - CGA agreement is in place until 2016 I believe which will be before the intended move so I'll have to see what happens in that time.

Thank you for the other links. I'll have. Read them through!

nativenewyorker Apr 27th 2012 4:22 pm

Re: Early Days
 
My husband is an accountant. As long as you have a degree and have ACCA the switch to CGA is fairly easy and can be done in the UK prior to your arrival.
I am a nurse and a midwife, but as they make it so difficult to convert I gave up and became a lady of leisure;)
Good luck with everything

fletcher m Apr 27th 2012 4:34 pm

Re: Early Days
 

Originally Posted by nativenewyorker (Post 10029658)
My husband is an accountant. As long as you have a degree and have ACCA the switch to CGA is fairly easy and can be done in the UK prior to your arrival.
I am a nurse and a midwife, but as they make it so difficult to convert I gave up and became a lady of leisure;)
Good luck with everything

That is the point, not all accountants have a degree, many do, some don't. One can get onto an accountancy program in UK with AAT or 2 A levels, CMA want you to have a canadian degree or equivalent (I suspect that means 4 year degree) a two year stratigic leadership course (must be taken in Canada)and two years relevant canadian experience. Better off just taking your UK qual if it is recognised and letting the canadians get on with it.

nativenewyorker Apr 28th 2012 4:49 am

Re: Early Days
 
Apparently you don't have to have a degree if you qualified before 1997 which won't be the case here I know, but for any other accountants that were wondering.

fletcher m Apr 28th 2012 6:22 am

Re: Early Days
 
I got some great advice from another BE poster, if you are an associate or fellow member, you can obtain CGMA throught CIMA. I have taken my eye off the ball for sometime and i need to seriously refresh and take stock of the situation. Thanks again S.

VivaPayne Apr 29th 2012 7:59 pm

Re: Early Days
 
Thanks for all the responses over the weekend. It's all useful information to take away and digest over the coming years. I was toying with doing the extra degree anyway before my girlfriend and I had decided about emigrating as I believe when I get to that point it's only an extra module I have to do.

I've got a friend that's currently working in Canada (not in accounting or nursing) but I may drop him a message about this as well and see how he's getting on.

Again thanks for all of the help.

Tony_Tiger Apr 30th 2012 12:00 pm

Re: Early Days
 
Hi VivaPayne,

I lived in Canada for three and a half years and Im waiting for my PR.
to answer your question on 'What kind of things did you guys consider when weighing it all up? Obviously there are the obvious ones like family, etc, but there are always going to be those other things you don't think of until someone else suggests them!'

I based it on what type of lifestyle and standard of living I wanted.
I found it give and take compared to living back in the UK. The music and fashion is waaay better in the UK. But when I used to wake up in the morning in Calgary Alberta I could see mountains. On weekends I went hiking, mountain biking and snowboarding. In London here, when I looked out of the window last year I saw the smoke from the riots.
My health in Canada was better as I was more active, but family and friends were far away. But on the plus side I made some great new friends.
I met a few expats, some moved back.
What I learned was first two years are the hardest. You have to adapt rather than the surroundings adapt to you.
As I wrote above ask what type of lifestyle you want. Its give and take.

huddersfieldlass Apr 30th 2012 9:50 pm

Re: Early Days
 

Originally Posted by VivaPayne (Post 10025473)
Hi,

I've been spending a lot of time reading various articles and threads on here over the last several days and figured it was about time I actually posted.

First off I wanted to say how amazingly informative this website and forums have been so thank you for all the indirect advice!

Anyway, my girlfriend and I are considering moving out to Canada in a few years. She's a nurse (qualifying in a few months) and I'm training to be an accountant. Currently we're waiting until I qualify before we get the ball rolling as we figure we'd stand a better chance if we're both qualified. In this time we're also thinking about getting hitched. Am I right in assuming that if we're both qualified and married we'd stand a better chance (I appreciate it's on a case by case situation and them needing your skill, but look for more of a general steer)?

What kind of things did you guys consider when weighing it all up? Obviously there are the obvious ones like family, etc, but there are always going to be those other things you don't think of until someone else suggests them!

At the moment we're considering moving out to Vancouver and over the course of the next several years we'll visit Canada and have a good old explore, but what's the daily grind like? Is it fairly similar to the 9 to 5 (or in my case 5.30) culture as we find here or is it more laid back?

I had so many more questions in mind before I started typing and now my mind's gone blank! Thanks so much in advance for any and all advice/answers.

Cheers
Adam


Hi Adam

A couple of things I was not clear on-

1. annual leave in ALberta region is 2 weeks only ( I am in retail and hubby is the same he is in engineering)
2. work culture is different here than we thought. We thought it was more family orientated NOT THE CASE - My OH and myself are expected (not asked) to work on if busy (we do of course get paid). I was told canadian employers are pro-family and often pack up at midday on a friday - laughable now looking back!
Good luck

huddersfieldlass May 1st 2012 8:56 pm

Re: Early Days
 
[

ann m May 2nd 2012 12:43 am

Re: Early Days
 

Originally Posted by huddersfieldlass (Post 10034873)
Hi Adam

A couple of things I was not clear on-

1. annual leave in ALberta region is 2 weeks only ( I am in retail and hubby is the same he is in engineering)
2. work culture is different here than we thought. We thought it was more family orientated NOT THE CASE - My OH and myself are expected (not asked) to work on if busy (we do of course get paid). I was told canadian employers are pro-family and often pack up at midday on a friday - laughable now looking back!
Good luck

I really depends on the employer. Retails is notoriously a slave-driver, in either country. ( I get four weeks off and 10 flex days - it took me a while to find this kind of employer but they do exist, and they are great if I have issues with my kids, etc ;) ).

I actually like commuting on Fridays as the traffic is down by about a third.
There are a couple of oil and gas companies in the downtown area, and I forget which ones, that do pack up on a Friday, or even have the whole of Friday off - but you are kinda unofficially expected to make up those hours elsewhere.

JonboyE May 2nd 2012 3:50 am

Re: Early Days
 
If you are a full member of the ACCA in good standing (not just completed the exams) then acquiring a CGA designation is relatively easy. You need to complete an on-line course that costs $200 and takes about sixteen hours.

The mutual recognition agreement came after I qualified so I did not take the conversion course. I understand that any competent accountant will be able to complete it. It is not a test of whether or not you know the difference between a debit and a credit. More about exposing you to the issues you need to be aware of, and study later in your own time, if you seek work as an accountant in Canada: Canadian GAAP, the regulatory framework, tax (big differences), law (not so much) etc.

KAT16 May 2nd 2012 6:18 am

Re: Early Days
 
I too get 4 weeks Ann, after a job change. I work in the North not Downtown. Although previously I worked head office Retail and only got 2 weeks, although this did increase to 3 weeks in your 3rd year and 4 weeks in your 5th year.

As you said it depends who and where you work!

DandNHill May 2nd 2012 6:56 am

Re: Early Days
 
2 weeks and only 5 bank holidays! That's why I'm about to resign! lol


All times are GMT -12. The time now is 12:35 pm.

Powered by vBulletin: ©2000 - 2026, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.