CPA Australia

CPA Australia

Industry	Accounting and Finance
Founded	Melbourne [Victoria, Australia] (1886 as IIAV (1886 as IIAV))
Head Office	Melbourne, Australia
Locations	Australia, Europe, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam
Areas served	Global
President	Richard Petty
CEO	Alex Malley
Members	122,000
Member's Designations	CPA & FCPA
Website	www.cpaaustralia.com.au

CPA Australia building in Canberra.

CPA Australia is one of three professional accounting bodies in Australia, the others being the National Institute of Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia.

CPA is an acronym for Certified Practising Accountant,^[1] as opposed to United States (and other countries') usage of Certified Public Accountant. CPA Australia is one of the largest global accounting bodies, having members through Asia Pacific as well as its home base.

1 History
2 Membership
3 Skill assessment
4 Related organisations
5 Mutual recognition
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

History

The name CPA Australia dates from April 2000^[2]. Prior to that, the society had been known as the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants since July 1990. In its current form the society dates from 1952 when it was incorporated as the Australian Society of Accountants. The main predecessor bodies of the Society, with year of formation, are:

Incorporated Institute of Accountants, 1886 (changed name in 1921 to the Commonwealth Institute of Accountants)
Federal Institute of Accountants, 1894
Association of Accountants of Australia, 1910
Australian Institute of Cost Accountants, approximately 1925

In 1952, the Commonwealth Institute and Federal Institute merged to form the Society. The Association of Accountants of Australia was merged into the Society some years later, with the Australian Institute of Cost Accountants following in 1966.

Membership

CPA Program comprises of 14 education segments and a fully integrated practical experience requirement. The educational component of CPA Program has two parts: the foundation level and the professional level.

To be a CPA, candidates must hold a degree or a postgraduate award recognised by CPA Australia, have demonstrated competence in CPA Australia’s prescribed foundation level knowledge and with in a six-year period have successfully completed CPA Australia’s professional level examinations and the Practical Experience Requirement.

The foundation level represents the first eight exams (segments) of CPA Program, and each designed to assess technical knowledge gained through work experience or study to ensure candidates are ready to undertake the professional level of CPA Program. The completion of an accredited or recognised degree, such as an accounting degree, will often meet all the requirements of the Foundation level and allow candidates to commence at the professional level.

The professional level is made up of six post-graduate education segments and builds on this strong foundation with higher level analysis, judgment, decision making and reporting and focuses on areas that ensure a CPA is valued by any employer - ethics, governance, leadership and strategy.

The three year practical experience requirement, part of the professional level of CPA Program, has been designed in response to the needs of different stakeholders including employers, industry and graduates. The practical experience requirement develops candidates technical, business, personal effectiveness and leadership skills.

Candidates entry point into CPA Program will be determined by an individual assessment of prior education and experience. The completion of an accredited or recognised degree, such as an accounting degree, will often meet all the requirements of the foundation level and allow you to commence at the professional level.

Fulfilment of 120 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours per triennial (3-year period) with a minimum of 20 CPD hours in each year is required for continued membership. Members must monitor their own CPD hours and declare their compliance with the annual renewal of membership. CPA Australia also conducts random audits of members to confirm that they are meeting the CPD requirements.

Full members of CPA Australia use the designatory letters CPA, (CPA (Aust.) in Hong Kong). Senior members may become Fellows and use the letters FCPA, (FCPA (Aust.) in Hong Kong).

CPA Australia has approximately 122,000 members (CPA/FCPA/ASA).^[1] An increasing proportion of these members are from other countries or Australians located overseas.

Skill assessment

CPA Australia is gazetted by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) to assess qualification for overseas qualified accountants seeking immigration to Australia under the following Australian standard classification of occupations (ASCO) codes^[3]:

accountants (ASCO code 2211-11)
accountant, corporate treasurers (ASCO code 2213-11)
accountant, external auditors (ASCO code 2212-11)
finance managers (ASCO code 1211-11)

Related organisations

In the Australian regulatory framework, CPA Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia co-operate in an advisory role in formulating and interpreting accounting standards. Both bodies co-operate closely on professional matters, and issue joint handbooks. There was some discussion about merging the membership of both bodies, but there are no concrete plans for this move. Such a move would likely be considered controversial given the different entry requirements of each organisation.