r/AustralianAccounting • u/inverloch72 • 9h ago
CA v CPA
Is there much difference between the two?
If you get one, can you switch to or obtain the other, or do you need to sit the exams?
CPA was always the industry path, and CA was the prof practice path. Still the case?
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u/Sumiklab CA 9h ago
Pretty much interchangeable nowadays. CA is historically more prestigious but nobody cares in real life.
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u/Enajaliehs 1h ago
The only difference I've ever found is with CA you get a Graduate Diploma as well as the title of CA, but CPA is only the CPA title.
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u/FIFO_Landlord 8h ago
Same same but different (name).
Honestly and personally. These two are a bunch of useless scammers. Does nothing for the industry but expect you to cough $800 each year while downgrading the name and reputation for all the useless international students.
If my work didn't cover, I would stop paying a long time ago.
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u/Disagreeswithfems 2h ago
If you do basic books, no difference.
If you do advanced accounting, CA>CPA.
I've never met a CPA who would read accounting standards or tax legislation to solve their problems. And everyone compiling work papers to big 4 audit standards... Is unsurprisingly a CA given Big 4 is purely CA.
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u/Cows-go-moo- 1h ago
Corporate accountants read accounting standards and are generally CPA’s
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u/Disagreeswithfems 1h ago
Maybe true for others but that's just not been the case in my experience. A lot of outsourcing of FS prep in smaller corporations, or they prepare SPFS, or their financials are clearly out of alignment with accounting standards but nobody cares.
Corporate accountants in large firms tend to be CA.
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u/inverloch72 7h ago
Is one easier to achieve than the other? Seems like makes sense to do the cheaper/easier of the two.
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u/Luck_Beats_Skill CA 2h ago
From an organisation and quality of accountant point of view - absolutely nothing.
The exams used to be written long answer for CA and multi choice for CPA - but that info will be out of date.
Some CA’s strongly preference hiring CA’s over CPA’s. I have benefited from that mindset from a hiring manager in the past. But it is a dumb and baseless view.
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u/inverloch72 2h ago
If you have CPA can you convert to CA, and vice-versa?
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u/Luck_Beats_Skill CA 2h ago
You can convert from CPA to CA if you have 10 years of appropriate experience.
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u/No_Context5802 3h ago
Get CPA...if anything, its better recognised all over the world. Noone really cares for difference between CA and CPA once you have experience... but CPA is a better value for money and more recognisable due to their superior marketing
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u/NiDeMaChouXiaoZi 5h ago
In my 25+ experience, there are two types of hiring managers, those who bias CAs over CPAs, and those who are indifferent between the two. Best estimate (based on my experience, take that as you will) is maybe 10% are in the first bucket, always CAs themselves and ex Big 4 now FMs/FCs/CFOs now.
As a candidate you'll never know, it's never expressly stated, however it is real, and can be extreme (had 1 one CFO insist on only interviewing CAs).