Which accounting certificate is more effective, China, CMA, CGA or CA?

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The professional direction of accountants The professional direction of three accounting titles in Canada can be seen from the names:

CA is the abbreviation of chartered accountant, which can be called chartered accountant in Chinese, which means government charter. This is because in Canada, accountants, like doctors and lawyers, need an accounting license to engage in the auditing business of listed companies. For a long time, only CA has the right to obtain a license in most provinces of Canada.

It has a great influence on the audit of listed companies and involves the vital interests of the majority of shareholders. Therefore, in order to audit the listed companies and sign the audit report, it is necessary for the government chartered certified public accountants to sign the audit report.

This is why a considerable number of CAs work in accounting firms, mainly engaged in auditing and tax business.

CMA is the abbreviation of Certified Management Accountant. As the name implies, the main training goal of CMA is to engage in the career of management accounting.

The main purpose of accounting is to provide financial operation data of enterprises. Anyone who has studied accounting knows that the accounting knowledge system is divided into financial accounting and management accounting according to the audience of financial information. Financial accounting is responsible for providing financial statements to the outside world (such as tax bureau, relevant government departments, board of directors and shareholders), while management accounting mainly serves the internal managers of enterprises and provides financial information needed for daily business decisions. Cost accounting (especially for manufacturing enterprises) and business strategy decision analysis are the highlights of management accounting.

Therefore, a considerable part of CMA is a business management consultant in consulting companies and accounting firms, providing management consulting services. This coincides with the development direction of MBA. In fact, CMA's strategic leadership program is a mini MBA program.

CGA is the abbreviation of Certified Public Accountant. General means general, general, general and comprehensive (not the meaning of chief accountant). Chinese is generally called certified public accountant, and the more accurate name should be "certified financial accountant", as opposed to CMA's "certified management accountant"

CGA's career direction is close to accounting in the general sense: engaged in accounting work, preparing financial statements, filing tax returns for customers, etc. The career directions of CGA and CA coincide, so the competition between the two associations is fierce.

The relationship between CA, CMA, CA and accounting license is worth explaining. CA, CMA and CGA, as the three major self-governing associations of accountants in Canada, have no strict division on the professional direction of their members. In most work units, whether enterprises, governments or accounting firms, you can find CA, CGA and CMA to do the same work together.

In Quebec and British Columbia, CGA has long enjoyed the same status as Canada. After a long and unremitting struggle, CGA in Ontario has finally obtained the right to sign the audit business with the same listing license as CA, and has also begun to train and test its members to obtain the license. However, CGA still has a long way to go to reach the same scale as CA in audit business. The main reason is that obtaining an audit license requires 650 hours of audit experience as a prerequisite, and most certified public accountants do not have such conditions due to historical reasons, except for a small number of certified public accountants working in CA firms. In addition, the CGA Band 5 exam is divided into four directions. Only those who choose the direction of public practice are eligible to apply for a license, otherwise they need to retake the tax and audit level 5 courses.

CMA still can't get a license, mainly because of the nature of CMA and the scope of the exam. But CMA is developing a new project to help CMA who wants to engage in public accounting get a license. Similarly, it is still beyond the ability of most CMA to meet the requirements of curriculum and audit experience put forward by CA Association.

Engaged in other accounting business in Canada, such as bookkeeping and tax filing. You don't need a license to operate. Because for non-listed companies, the government does not require the financial statements submitted by enterprises to be audited. Therefore, the voluntary audit of non-listed companies generally does not require a license. When the financial statements of general limited liability companies and self-employed enterprises are submitted to the tax bureau, if they are signed by CA, CGA and CMA, of course, for the tax bureau, the weight is heavier and the credibility is higher.

Career prospects and salary level. Everyone is generally concerned about the comparison of the income and career development of the three professional titles of accounting, as a major consideration in the selection. This is precisely the most controversial focus.

It is generally believed that CA has higher income and career prospects than CGA and CMA, but it is also more difficult than the other two, and it takes longer to get CA. In addition to the requirements of CA on learning depth and test scores, 30 months' working experience in CA firm is a necessary condition for obtaining CA, and it is also the designated CA firm for training "CA students". Generally speaking, medium and large CAFirms are qualified to train CA students. The competition for working in such a CA firm is fierce, and only excellent accounting students have the opportunity to get such an opportunity. Although the CA Association has put forward a reform plan to enable some large companies to train CA students because of the shortage of candidates, there are very few companies that can train CA students at present, and the number of people who can obtain CA through this channel is still quite small. While ensuring the reputation of CA, it has also become a restrictive factor to limit the development of CA.

As mentioned earlier, the main business of working in CA firm is auditing and taxation, which is quite intense, but it is very important to be able to reach out to various customers for improving business level and establishing personal relationships.

Judging from the examination scope of CMA, it is generally believed that CMA is to train managers, just like MBA. But the reality is, who can engage in management as soon as they graduate? In Canadian companies, management positions are CA, CGA and CMA. Professional titles are just a stepping stone to the job market. Whether you can get promotion and career development depends on your practice.

For higher-level positions in large companies, such as CEO/CFO, vice president of finance, etc. The number of CAs is really large. The positions of middle managers such as financial manager and chief financial officer are equally divided.

CGA is popular for general accounting work. Because the course of CGA is similar to that of CA, it focuses on financial accounting and has a wide range of applications. Therefore, CGA is most favored by new immigrants, especially those from China and India. This is why the number of CGA candidates continues to rise, while the number of CA and CMA candidates is flat or decreasing year by year. As the baby boomers face retirement, CA will face a shortage of staff. CA and CMA are discussing the merger. Maybe they feel the increasing pressure of CGA. Theoretically, CMA and CA are complementary, but due to the standard differences and historical evolution of CMA and CA, it is not easy to merge.

If you feel that you are engaged in pure accounting work, such as bookkeeping, statements, auditing, taxation, etc. It's rather monotonous, but you think the accounting field is easier to find a job and has a lot of room for promotion, so CMA may be more suitable. The finance department of a general company tends to recruit CA and CGA, but it tends to recruit CMA when recruiting project accounting and cost accounting.

The salary level of accounting has a great relationship with the region, and the so-called demand determines the value. Accountants living in Edmonton, even if they have accounting titles, are not easy to find jobs, and their wages are naturally low. In Calgary, if you have 7 to 10 years of work experience, the starting salary can reach 900 to 65438+ 10,000 Canadian dollars. According to statistics, it is said that the starting salary of CA is 75,000, and it will generally exceed 654.38+ 10,000 after five years.

In economically developed countries such as Ontario and British Columbia, certified public accountants rarely fail to find jobs. CGA Grade 3 and 4 students are very popular in the job market. If you want to enter the banking and other financial industries, the signs of CGA, CMA and CA are equally effective.

Although the entrance threshold for studying CGA and CMA is low, don't think that it is easy to take CMA and CGA, which is a big mistake. Especially for new immigrants and international students who lack English ability, they should be fully prepared when deciding to take the accounting certificate. Even if many new immigrants get credit transfer, it still takes 5 to 10 years to get CGA. The main reason is that many courses cannot be passed at one time, and they need to be re-studied and re-tested. This marathon exam is also a severe test of will for China immigrants who have experienced the examination room.

Some people choose CMA because they think that only CMA can get it quickly, because CMA has an acceleration program, which allows non-accounting graduates to complete the preparatory accounting course for two years before entering the "strategic leadership program". If it is fast, it can be completed within one year, but it is very intense. If it is so fast, you can get CMA in three years.

Some people curve to save the country, first take CGA or CMA, and then take CA, so that they can directly take the UFE of CA, but they must graduate from college and have an average score of B- or above. But the actual situation is probably that when I got CGA or CMA, I was exhausted, I wanted to vomit when I saw the book, and I lost interest in continuing to get CA.

Admission conditions and credit conversion Obtaining CGA, CMA and CA usually requires a university degree, but entering the CGA exam does not require a university degree, and you can enter through a diploma from a two-year college. In this way, you can kill two birds with one stone by specializing in your degree while completing CGA. CGA has several partner universities (Laurentian, SAIT) that offer CGA-recognized degrees. Generally speaking, it is easier to get conversion credits through college courses than to take CGA exams directly. Domestic degrees can be recognized, and several courses can be transferred to other subjects. For example, CGA CGA's website says that if you enroll from an accounting university, you are expected to be exempted from the four-level course. If you enter from a two-year college diploma, you are expected to skip the course of 1 to 3 and start the exam from Level 4. This is the selling point of CGA. The actual situation may be different, because CGA will consider factors such as scores when evaluating credit transfer. Of course, it is easier to get high marks in universities or colleges than in CGA, because CGA requires scores above 65, and the general pass rate is around 60.

CGA requires Canadian permanent residents or citizenship to apply for the exam, CMA and CA do not. Because CA needs three years of working experience in CA firm and CGA needs three years of working experience in Canadian accounting (two years in junior high school, senior accounting 1 year), international students generally choose CMA, probably because CMA can be completed quickly. Note that CMA requires students to have cost accounting experience in manufacturing enterprises, and the experience of accounting firms such as CGA and CAFirms may not be recognized. Please check with CMA Association first.

Another reason why most people in China choose CGA is that CGA is more international than CMA and CA. He entered China ten years ago and trained 400 CGA students through efficient cooperation with China. If CGA from China immigrates to Canada, it needs to register with CGA Association in the province where it is located. CGA students from China immigrate to Canada, and their credits can be transferred, but there is a time limit. They can only transfer from July to September, and they can't take the exam before transferring. In addition, in China, you must pass more than 4 CGA courses to be exempt from evaluation.

How much money do you need to invest besides a few years? Take CGA as an example. If you enter from the undergraduate course, you have already arrived at 1 1 course, and there are still 10 courses to attend. Suppose the average success rate is 60%, the cost of each course is 700 dollars, and the total tuition fee is about 1 10,000 yuan. CA investment is higher. Please note that these tuition fees are tax-free.

It's not all right to take an accounting certificate. In order to maintain your membership, you must pay the membership fee every year. The annual CA is as high as $ 1200. In addition, you need to spend money to attend various lectures every year to accumulate CPD scores. CGA must accumulate at least 50 CPD every year, which is also a small expense and requires time investment. For certified public accountants who open their own offices, they also need to register with the association to pay fees, pay professional insurance and other fees.

To sum up, CA is good, but it has long cycle, high cost and high risk. It is a waste of time and money if you can't find the work experience requirements of CA firm. CGA is easy to get started, but it is difficult to take the exam, and it is even more difficult to get a license. CMA is faster, but its disadvantages are the same as MBA, and it may not be suitable for Chinese seeking development in North America.

At present, there is a strong demand for accounting work in Canada, so it is not difficult to find an accounting job. Because most enterprises have realized computerization, junior accounting positions in Canada, such as AP, AR, payroll and other data entry positions, do not need too high titles, and people with accounting background can be competent after appropriate internship training. This position is still afraid to hire a certified public accountant, for fear of being overqualified and unstable. Moreover, senior and middle-level accounting positions are not qualified by people who have just obtained certificates. Moreover, regardless of CA, CGA or CMA, work experience is a prerequisite. Therefore, accounting graduates from universities or colleges still suggest working first and then studying. And with luck, many units can also reimburse part of the research tuition.

In the future, Chinese, especially mainland immigrants, will become the effective force of Canadian certified public accountants. In 2007, there were 985 CGAs in Ontario, of which nearly half of the Toronto Association with the largest number was Chinese. Among the 22 CGA winners in 2007, 9 were from China. On the one hand, it shows that the Chinese exam is fierce, on the other hand, it also shows that the number of people who choose the profession of accountant in mainstream society is decreasing. Apart from the living space for Chinese, China's economic development needs a large number of accountants with international certification, which is also a driving factor for China students and immigrants to choose to apply for accounting certificates.

I hope my answer can help you solve the problem. If you are satisfied, please adopt it as the best answer.

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