Depending on what you want. You want the knowledge and qualification, choose ACCA. You one a qualification only, then take CPA. CPA is easier.

Well I had a CPA consultation talk during my new company's orientation week. They actually revamped the structure of the course. Correct me if I am wrong, after completing whole course and fulfilling the 3 year experiences requirement, you are actually entitled for TWO membership- MICPA and CPA. You can check their website for more info.

What qualification you get doesn't matter in terms of employment. If your employer want to be picky, sure, someone get RM100-200 more at entry level. Is that a very big deal? You will even out and excel if you can perform better than the other guy.

The paper is just a paper.

When choosing a qualification, decide on:-

- which is faster to finish? (If you are UK grad, ACCA/ICAEW. If you are Aussie grad, CPA, if you are M'sian MICPA).

- which is suitable for your needs (you want to migrate? Then what is recognised in the country you want to go?)

- which is applicable to your work? (PA vs MA vs FA)

Knowledge and skills come from your own effort when you work, and your own capabilities and experience. CPA, ACCA, MICPA, ICAEW, etc etc is just a piece of paper to get you through the door.

Surely if you're aiming to progress higher in your career, don't take CPA. The standard of the CPA is ridiculously low & you will loose out completely to those ACCAs.
Be bold & brave enough to take the real & tough professional exam like ACCA, ICAEW, ICAA, MICPA etc. In the end of the day, the reward is in your hand if you pass the exam.

For CPA, no doubt it's a lot easier but in the end you will find that the whole program is deficient in every area & you're considered as 2nd grade if compared to ACCA, ICAEW or ICAA.

Well during the CPA consultation talk, the speaker did pointed out that there is open book test in the course. The reason why they implement such option is that, simply quite interesting, why take the hassle to memorize everything from top-to-toe while in real-life situation we will for sure pick our textbook up for references.

Furthermore, with the new restructured course that they have rolled-out, students are required to attend 3 or 4 focus class which emphasizes on developing soft and interpersonal skills. This is definitely a plus point as students will have to undergo workshop-like training that will eventually strengthen their interaction ability.

Last but not least, CPA affiliated is able to pick up ACCA qualification with only a single requirement that is to complete just the P1 paper. Well this had caused alot of frenzy among the existing ACCA student during the talk.

The difference between the "quality" of the professional bodies is purely perceived.

If you are seeking employment in the professional industry in Malaysia, the major and medium players don't care what paper you have, as long as you have paper and your degree CGPA is 2nd class upper.

If you are seeking employment overseas, your experience is what matters more. Your paper qualification only serves to get you recognised by that country's local accounting body. CPA members perform just as well as any other professional paper in the field.

I make this conclusion after working in the Malaysian accounting profession for the last 10 years, as well as overseeing the training and recruitment of employees in one of the Big 4. Those who are taking something other than CPA can continue to pat themselves on the back and look down on CPA grads, but at the end of the day, its performance that matters, the paper just gets you through the door. And these days, ANY paper can get you through the door.



This post has been edited by CKJMark: Sep 25 2010, 11:57 AM

couldn't agree more. It wholly depends on the performance of the individual, not the papers. Well, for instance if u've taken CPA, and felt that it isn't good enough, take additional professional designation instead. For instance, if u eventually got into a financial related position, take CFA, for accounting, there are tons of them. Even as an engineer who wants to get into the banking industry, he or she can opt to take CFA too. Nothing is too late. It's really up to the individual that matters. And of course, whether or not u get the job u wanted.

CPA is a qualification that can be bought easily by money meaning to say that as long as the students pay the annual subscription + exam fees, the qualification is theirs.
On the other hand, most CPA grads are incompetent & struggle in the work place & don't even know the basic stuff.
I agree that the individuals' performance is more important than the paper qualification but bear in mind all the top performers are either ACCA, ICAEW, ICAA or MICPA.

I know many CPA (Aust) holders and sad to say they are not up to mark.

Look at top partners in accounting firms. Look at corporate chiefs in Malaysia. Let me know if any of them are CPA (Aust).

I think its based on personal experience. I know a ACCA grad and MICPA grad that failed the IQ exam when applying to the bank I work in. Imagine that. Every pool of students have good apples and bad apples. Its not fair to generalise them in that way because you paint the whole bucket black with a few rotten ones.

The CFO in the bank I work in is a CPA grad, so is the COO. One is Malaysian, the other is an expat from Australia.

2 out of the 13 Tax partners in the professional firm I previously worked in are CPA grads, and are mentors for the CPA program. A fair number of the directors and senior managers are too. They happen to be graduates from Australia and Monash Malaysia grads.

My direct boss, the head of my organisation's group tax unit, is also a CPA grad.

Audit partners I can't really say because I don't work with them extensively, but I know two whom I know are CPA grads. They also happen to be MICPA grads as well because you need MICPA for an audit licence in Malaysia.

Me, I'm neither. I never finished my ACCA and I don't have a professional qualification beyond my degree from local uni and MIA, and yet I draw a five figure salary and count these people as my peers and mentors. I also earn more than most managers who are ACCA, MICPA, ICAEW or CPA grads in the Big 4. So take it from me when I tell you the professional paper is not an indication of your earning power.

=======

You don't need a professional paper if you want to do anything in Malaysia, but having it will help. In most cases, no one cares about where you got your paper as long as you have a paper. So what if you got yours the easy route? ACCA and MICPA students laugh at you because your paper was "easy"? Then you can "laugh" at them for doing things the hard way. Because at the end of the day, once you are hired, they are all on par.

Even if you have MICPA, you think you can work outside Malaysia? Singapore and Australia don't even recognise MICPA. Do you still think MICPA is a "good professional paper"? Better than CPA Australia that is recognised in HK, S'pore and Australia in addition to Malaysia?

Choose the qualification that helps you finish fastest, applicable to your job and is recognised where you want to work. If you are an Aussie grad, CPA is the sensible choice. If you are UK grad, then ACCA or ICEAW is the better choice. Malaysian grad would usually opt for MICPA (but if you are not in audit, take ACCA, easier to pass than MICPA i.m.h.o). Don't be bother about what people say about your qualification because employers will look beyond your paper and judge your experience as well. If you are a fresh grad, then your paper is just the benchmark to get you in, nothing more. And if you are a fresh grad applying for the Big 4, high chance you don't even have a professional paper, and they will pay for whichever you want to take depending on which you complete faster.

So if the Big 4 are not fussy about your professional qualification (audit being the exception in Malaysia), why should you? Take the one that gets you where you want to go, regardless of what other people tell you. The people talking down to you here won't be hiring you anyway.

You want learning and experience? Get a job and pay attention to what you do. The on-the-job experience will teach you far more than anything a textbook can.

And to the joker than laughed at CPA grads using textbooks / reference books when discussing with superiors, obviously you've not worked in a professional firm before. Unless you happen to be a "walking IFRS" everyone refers to standards and books when working. Even if you are a "walking IFRS" your boss will still want you to prove where what you say you know is written. It's called "exercising due care in your professional capacity."

Sure, MICPA is tough. But would you like to slog for years and still not pass by virtue of a quota system?
ACCA? not that hard. I did all but the last stage, it was almost identical to my university degree.

========

Like I said, I'm not here to pick a fight. But I do believe that there is a lot of bias here against CPA grads just because their exams is MCQ based. And having been in this industry for the last decade, I feel compelled to speak up on their behalf. Sure there are crappy CPA students, but there are a fair share of crappy ACCA, MICPA and ICAEW grads too. Knowing your stuff in the exams is very different from working. I don't think its right to talk down another person's qualification unless you work with them directly. Even then, the individual is the problem, not the qualification.

If you are an accounting student considering which qualification to take, and you want to be sure just call up the Big 4 HR and pose a general question to them, you will have your answer.

This post has been edited by CKJMark: Sep 28 2010, 10:55 PM

True. If you have already taken the degree, what can u do? Regret over it? Dang, just get another professional designation. It's never too late. It really doesn't matter what degree u have, because it's down to he individual itself on whether he or she would be successful. Stressing too much on academic excellence is not really the way my dear people... ACCA or whatever accounting degree ain't that hard anyway, and everyone had the ability to pass all of them, so there's no clear distinction on whether or threshold that separates the good and the excellent. Unless of course u're planning to take the actuarial science exam, now u're really different from the rest if u have more exams passes. But then again, whether u'll perform on the job although u have multiple exams passes, is a whole new question.

This post has been edited by Def: Sep 29 2010, 10:59 AM

This argument is very petty

Let me try to close this once and for all

1) Education is like a bus ticket. Be it UPSR,PMR,SPM,STPM,Degree,CPA,ACCA,ICAEW,MIA,etc . It only gets you to the place you want to be next. Once you get there, you're on your own. I can safely say, a lot of people laugh at ACCA/ICAEW qualified people too because they aren't that smart either. Its always down to a good blend between book smart and street smart. Ticket rule - remember that

2) CPA is definitely easier than ACCA/ICAEW due to its MCQ nature. But should not be considered as a laughing stock. It is credible in other countries - means their bodies are strong enough to boost the publicity, or its credibility.

3) Anyone who took CPA, shouldn't be mocked upon, they in fact, probably are smart. took the easier way up to gain entry into MIA. ACCA/ICAEW people also enter into MIA, to practice Accounting in Malaysia, also depends on MIA. Bring an ACCA qualified person to Australia, people will still prefer CPA over ACCA. See where your career is headed, then take the RIGHT choice to reach your career goal.

Key - taking the right steps in life. If one day someone tells you, you can choose a new XYZ paper, to get into MIA, and XYZ is REALLY easy to get in, and CHEAP of course, but MIA recognizes it. Means what? its good to some level, and it still gets you into MIA.

Look at the bigger picture. Lets not get shallow guys and girls

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Added on September 29, 2010, 11:18 amDisagree

There are smart people in CPA too
The number is high due to a whole lot of students taking ACCA - compare the number of ACCA campus and CPA students
Put 10,000 students in ACCA, bound to get more strong people in quantum
Do your analysis in % per 1000, then you get the right conclusion - unless ACCA/ICAEW/ICAA/MICPA teaches you otherwise!
Again-experience,street smart prevails over book smart here.

How many people flop ICAEW? yes its a more prestigious paper, for people who can afford it.

Most of us take CPA/ACCA is due to the restrictions by the Big 4 audit. who says If u are aus grad, u go CPA, if u are UK grad, go ACCA, unless you appear (on special cases). Not all appeals go through mind you.

The argument maybe - SURE, ACCA people smarter, cheaper way to success, compare to cost of DEGREE + CPA.

Consider this, people who study ACCA have already known what they want to do since young, where-else, people who opt for degree, didnt really see themselves during that time at the age of 18. They probably just wanted to go for an accounting degree, and then if they work in public accounting firm, then good, partial sponsorship with 3 years bond. If they want to do other things, their accounting degree is still relevant and works very well in many commercial firms.



This post has been edited by jamesleong: Sep 29 2010, 11:18 AM

@ Def

I know the requirements, standard and preferences despite not having a professional qualification because its my job and role to know. It was my role as faculty student rep in Uni, and it was my role in my previous firm to be familiar with the various requirements and pros/cons of each of the qualifications.

You obviously have somethign against CPA so you can continue to say what you like. I'm done. Jamesleong sums it up nicely.

Maybe their relatives/friends/themselves are a victim of CPA, or they lost the competition to a CPA. I sense the deep grudge they have towards them.

Hey guys. Please respect all the professional bodies la. I always think ACCA grad and CPA grad are equals.

ACCA grads no doubt are strong in technical knowledge but their main weakness of ACCA grads are they are either poor in english like me and/or poor in presentation like me. ACCA is the most affodable qualification after Form 5 as some of us would need to work and take ACCA as our part time studies. They are ACCA grads who pass by memorising the whole book.

CPA grads are strong in presentation more socialise ppl due to the fact they were once an uni students. In university, you are required to do assignments, do presentations and take on exam for each subjects. They are already trained in those soft skills and are in a better position when they come out to corporate world in terms of explanation and presenting themselves.

It doesn't really matters if CPA is really that easy as technical knowledge can be gain through working experience. And ACCA grads will not be technically sound if they do not join medium/big accounting firms.

Oh ya, I am an ACCA grad ya. After Form 5, I study my CAT+ACCA part time. My english was so lousy and not very good also today. Presentation at least I get to improve from my MBA course.

CPA-ian don't look down on yourselves, you guys are as good. Just put more effort in gaining the technical knowledge.

ACCA-ian we should never look down on others. ACCA is getting easier to pass as well.

Well guys, fyi I m a CPA (Aus) member since 2008 & I don't hold any grudge against my own prof body, CPA & I also don't have any favouriticism for other bodies like ACCA, ICAEW, MICPA, ICAA etc. At the moment I am happily employed as a Senior in the Assurance div at one of the Big 4.

I passed my CPA program 'blind folded' & without raising a single sweat. I obtained 4 distinctions & 2 credits with minimal study. You can bring as many study materials as you want into the exam hall. Passing CPA is as easy as passing the PMR exam. Is it what we call a professional exam?? I don't think so. If CPA is regarded as a prof exam, then PMR should also be given the prof exam status.

Guys, wake up....I am just telling the truth but unfortunately most of you all refuse to accept the truth & let yourself to live in the state of denial.

As member of CPA, I have to be stern & stand firm in regards to the entire Program so that some drastic measures can be taken to rectify the whole situation. The quality of the CPA qualification is diving faster than before like waterfall.

@Def, why not bring it up in any of the CPA event for all the members, maybe members dinner or conference? Why not just write to CPA HQ and tell them about your concern. It is quite pointless to just tell it publicly as nothing can be improved besides destroying CPA's image.

can i be chartered accountant in malaysia with CPA? can i sign documents ? who cares dude as long as i can sign.

yes you can... CPA is accepted by MIA ma...