CPA a useful qualification?????

lucky2b5

Can anyone tell me if the CPA qualification is worth doing? Some people say its useless and not up to the standard of other professional qualifications, however it does offer great flexibility as regards both exams and work experience........any opinons?
Would ACCA be a much better qualification? There seems to be alot of students taken ACCA exams now which may result in the market being flooded with them.
Currently doing CAP1 of ACA but want to get out of it.its too rigid and stuck to the same firm.

Shurwhynot

Any accountancy qualification is a good one. I'm a CPA student and with exemptions only have to pass 6 exams to qualify. Get plenty study leave as well.

jimboddb

Good thread, Im currently doing a postgrad with a view to doing ACA if I can actually get a job. Just wondering whats the difference between ACCA, ACA or CPA & what each can and cant do.

hebeegb

I guess it all comes down to what will be best for you, there are people who would argue that chartered is the best qualification, for my money, a job will be secured by the individual, there are actually only TWO irish accountancy bodies in real terms the IIPA and the CPA, CPA is a member of IFAC and that will enable you to work as a CPA anywhere in the world, particularly the US where they love their CPAs
ACCA is worldwide also, from when i was younger they used to say ACCA was easier exams to get, and they are being churned out by the dozen, i think any accountacy qualification is a good thing to have, you can go anywhere with it, its a bit like being able to tend bar!

aassddff

hebeegb wrote: »

I guess it all comes down to what will be best for you, there are people who would argue that chartered is the best qualification, for my money, a job will be secured by the individual, there are actually only TWO irish accountancy bodies in real terms the IIPA and the CPA, CPA is a member of IFAC and that will enable you to work as a CPA anywhere in the world, particularly the US where they love their CPAs
ACCA is worldwide also, from when i was younger they used to say ACCA was easier exams to get, and they are being churned out by the dozen, i think any accountacy qualification is a good thing to have, you can go anywhere with it, its a bit like being able to tend bar!

It must have been a while ago since you did the ACCA exams, I sat some exams last December and await the results. I can assure you they are not easy, just to warn anyone reading this thread who might think ACCA is easy .......................... they ain't

Snake Plissken

Hi,

There are 5 or 6 accountancy bodies permitted by the government to audit,etc. The ACCA,CPA,ACA are all there.

There is no difference with exam standards.All are of a very high standard.
I agree with Hebeegb (except for the exam bit)

The CPA in Ireland are a younger institute compared to the others, (1960 something) The Charter bit comes from "Royalty" issuing a Charter to allow one operate within this profession. I found there were more restrictions with the others in terms of moving employers,etc. May not be as bad today. I'm talking late 90's. I qualified as a CPA in 2001.

From you e mail it appears some folk are more comfortable using the title "Chartered" This no doubt would also be reflected within many other areas of their lives. Bit like tearing down your neighbours house to make yours look better.

Always hire the person,not the company!

Hope this helps!

smcgiff

hebeegb wrote: »

I guess it all comes down to what will be best for you, there are people who would argue that chartered is the best qualification, for my money, a job will be secured by the individual, there are actually only TWO irish accountancy bodies in real terms the IIPA and the CPA, CPA is a member of IFAC and that will enable you to work as a CPA anywhere in the world, particularly the US where they love their CPAs
ACCA is worldwide also, from when i was younger they used to say ACCA was easier exams to get, and they are being churned out by the dozen, i think any accountacy qualification is a good thing to have, you can go anywhere with it, its a bit like being able to tend bar!

I'd say it'd take a fair auld trawl through boards to find a more inaccurate post.

hebeegb

smcgiff wrote: »

I'd say it'd take a fair auld trawl through boards to find a more inaccurate post.

in what way? perhaps it was inaccurate of me to suggest that acca was easy, granted, there are no professional exams "easy"

smcgiff

hebeegb wrote: »

in what way? perhaps it was inaccurate of me to suggest that acca was easy, granted, there are no professional exams "easy"

Humour me - why don't you think the ICAI is Irish.

Follow that up with a suggestion of how long you'd spend in jail if you got a job in the US and they later found out you were not a CPA in the way you suggested - just because you've CPA after your name isn't the same thing by a long way.

You still seem to suggest that while ACCA is not easy it's not as hard as others.

That you view the ACCA's huge number of students and members as a negative is plain wrong. The ICAI and ICAEW know this hence the attempts at mergers.

You exaggerate the importance of IFAC - there are accounting technician bodies that are members of IFAC - being an Irish CPA is, I'd suggest, not the most portable qualification in the world.

hebeegb

Ok then i will humour you, isnt it to do with the charter, and the commonwealth, notwithstading that chartered is probably the oldest institute in the country, and my point was not to discriminate against any institute by the way, if you want to work and live in ireland as an accountant in practice, to me its irrelevant what qualification you hold, as long as you hold a practising certificate and perhaps an auditing certificate from your institute you can earn a crust. As for IFAC and being a CPA i didnt make any suggestion that could land a person in jail, no matter what qualification you hold, you still need a license to practice in the US or to hold yourself out as a member in practice, and there are mutual recognition arrangements in place with many bodies around the globe, that includes chartered also.
as regards ACCA, i have nothing more to add on that, i think the real issue of the initial post was whether CPA was a decent qualification, and i revert to my previous ones, i have had to endure interviews from all types of qualified accountants in industry and practice, all the CVs pretty much look the same, everyone a qualified accountant, i do not rate one qualification over the other, it ultimatly goes down to the experience of a candidate as to whether they get called for interview or not, and even then can go down to the personality of an individual...i cant say i would definatly call a chartered accountant to interview, just because they were chartered, and i would say the same for a CPA or ACCA....bottom line, for a good job as an accountant, ya gotta bring more than just your qualification to the table, it might get you an interview but it wont get you the job....

smcgiff

There is no mutual recognition between the CPA in Ireland and the CPA in the US.

I don't know many that would agree with you that the ICAI is not an Irish organisation. It was created while Ireland was part of the UK, and to suggest that it is not Irish is to likewise suggest some cities in Ireland are not Irish because they were established by charter. I don't know what the commonwealth has to do with the ICAI.

I do agree with you that the person is more important than the qualification, but it is a fact, rightly or wrongly, that some bodies are more highly regarded. And, as they say, perception is reality.

aassddff

smcgiff wrote: »

There is no mutual recognition between the CPA in Ireland and the CPA in the US.

I don't know many that would agree with you that the ICAI is not an Irish organisation. It was created while Ireland was part of the UK, and to suggest that it is not Irish is to likewise suggest some cities in Ireland are not Irish because they were established by charter. I don't know what the commonwealth has to do with the ICAI.

I do agree with you that the person is more important than the qualification, but it is a fact, rightly or wrongly, that some bodies are more highly regarded. And, as they say, perception is reality.

I would like to 2nd this, anyone staring out in accountancy would need to be aware that there is a snob/hierarcy when employees are looking at the different accountancy qualifications. This will be more important now as the recession takes hold

Also for the record ICAI (The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ireland) is an all Ireland stand alone accountancy body

sataction

You will get a big shock if you think your Irish CPA qualification will be recognised as equivalent to USA CPA.

You will have to do most of their exams to become a CPA in US.

mari2222

The major accountancy professional bodies in the UK and Ireland joined together in 1974 to form the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies. CCAB is now a limited company with six members:

• The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS)
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI)
• The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
• The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
• The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)

http://www.cimaglobal.com/About-us/Press-office/Press-releases/2011/March-2011/CIMA-withdraws-from-the-CCAB/
CIMA withdrew from the CCAB recently

CIMA is to withdraw from membership of the CCAB. As the world’s largest management accountancy body with a strong and growing global presence, CIMA is focusing its resources where they have the largest benefits for our members and students, the public interest, business as a whole and the science of management accountancy.
CIMA’s agenda is to develop and support the role of financially qualified business leaders who work in organisations around the world. Therefore the CCAB, with its emphasis on audit, has diminishing relevance for the institute.
CIMA sees the UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) as the independent statutory regulator for the sector and plans to play an active role in both the FRC and International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) to pursue its strategic global ambitions where relevant to our stakeholders.