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CPA Australia is one of three professional accounting societies in Australia, the others being the National Institute of Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
CPA is an acronym for Certified Practising Accountant, 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.
History
The name CPA Australia dates from April 2000. 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 are, 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
Full membership requires academic qualifications from an accredited university, of at least undergraduate degree level with an accounting major, completion of a three years of supervised experience, and completion of six CPA Program segments (subjects) supervised by the organisation. Further qualifications are necessary to practice as a practising accountant, or to offer financial planning services.
Fulfillment of 120 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours per triennium (3-year period) with attainment of a minimum of 20 CPD hours is required for continued membership.
Full members of CPA Australia use the designatory letters CPA. Senior members may become Fellows and use the letters FCPA.
There is a subsidiary tier of membership, Associate level, with the designatory letters ASA. However membership at this level requires only a Bachelors degree in accounting, with no further examination. Although CPA Australia often includes such members in its published membership totals, membership at this level is not considered to be a full qualification in accounting. In most other accounting bodies the equivalent membership is student status.
CPA Australia has approximately 70,000 qualified members (CPA/FCPA), and 100,000 members in total (including ASA level).
Skill Assessment
CPA Australia is a designated skill assessment body for accountants seeking to migrate to Australia, in common with ICAA and the NIA. This is done under contract to the Australian National Office of Overseas Skill Recognition (NOOSR).
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.
The organisation has links with many similar bodies throughout the British Commonwealth and the United States, which means some mutual recognition of certifications.
See also
External links
"CPA Australia"