Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Online Status: Offline Posts: 377
Posted: 09 Jun 2009 at 10:33 | IP Logged
As a CPA who is living in Canada, I completely concur with your friend that CPA is much easier than a CA.
It's not about the difficulty of the CA exam (UFE) vs CPA exams, but more about the process of becoming a CA compared to a CPA.
To become a CA, you need to achieve a 70% average in certain courses and then you are responsible for finding a position in an approved CA office (not just any accounting firm or company) then you have to enroll in the School of Accountancy (SOA) where you have to complete many cases, when done you sit for the Core Knowledge-exam (CKE), a four-hour, computer-scored, multiple-choice examination, then you qualify for the UFE exam (Canada's version of the CPA exam).
The CPA is an American designation so it's not that useful outside of the US. Canada has her own accounting designations....CA/CGA/CMA.
There are hundreds with both CA/CPA since CAs only need to write one simple exam (IQEX) to become a CPA.
I know many newcomers to Canada who take the CPA exams just to get an advance standing in the CGA program,
At the end of the day it's your work experience that counts.
The CPA exam is fairly easy if compared with other exams (actuarial exams, CFA).
One more thing, CAs in Canada earn much more than CPAs in the US.
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Online Status: Offline Posts: 377
Posted: 09 Jun 2009 at 10:48 | IP Logged
Is CPA worthwhile ? It depends on your career objectives, if you want to live and work in the States, then you have no choice but to get the CPA even if you are a Canadian CA, if you want to settle down in Canada, go for the CA, if you want to work in the UK, then it's the UK CA, Indian CA for India, etc.
Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Online Status: Offline Posts: 377
Posted: 09 Jun 2009 at 15:05 | IP Logged
Employers in Hong Kong, Singapore or Japan don't really care if you are a CA or CPA, they are concerned about your US/Canadian experience (big 4, Fortune 500).
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Topic: is CPA a good designation?
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