美国注册公共会计师协会(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants),成立于1887年,原名为美国公共会计师协会(AAPA),1917年改为美国会计师协会(AIA),至1953年改为现名。它是世界上会员最多的会计师组织,在国际同行内影响比较大,但由于三方面原因目前尚未进入中国大陆:
一是中国考生必须到美国去参加考试;
二是美国各州法律不同,在某州注册的CPA到另一州执业有很多法律限制,令中国学员难以选择;
三是AICPA的全球化开发程度有限,未见对海外学员的任何鼓励和扶助政策。
为什么AICPA的会员那么多呢?哈哈,因为美国人的经济头脑!他们的会员不是考完试才能加入的,(要做ACCA会员,不但考完试,还要有三年的相关工作经验),他们是只要给钱,就能加入。不同的人收不同的费用:
(No application will be processed without payment)
Employed in business and industry as
47 President/CEO/COO$240
48 CFO/Officer-Financial/Non-accounting$240
49 Officer-Non-financial/Non-accounting$240
50 Financial/Accounting Management$140
52 Financial/Accounting Staff$140
53 Internal Auditer$140
54 Staff-Non-financial/Non-accounting$140
..............
然而是AICPA的会员,并不等于是CPA!!这只是说你As an AICPA member,you receive exclusive offers and discounts from leading manufacturers and service providers.Members who take advantage of these programs save an average of$900 per year--all because of the AICPA\'s considerable group buying power.同时还享用aicpa提供的服务,例如网站内的case study.
在美国,成为cpa完全是另一个概念,几乎意味着你的工作没有问题了,因为你可以执业,即便不是很高收入的工作。那怎样才能成为cpa呢?
To become a CPA,you need to meet the requirements of the state or jurisdiction in which you wish to practice.These requirements,which vary from state to state,are established by law and administered by the state boards of accountancy.
To qualify for certification,you must:
-complete a program of study in accounting at a college/university(the AICPA recommends at least 150 semester hours of college to study to obtain the common body of knowledge for becoming a CPA.)
-pass the Uniform CPA Examination,which is developed and graded by the AICPA;and
-have a certain amount of professional work experience in public accounting(not all states require this).
那么cpa考试又是怎么回事呢?简单的说,对于cicpa会员来说,这考试不是一项条件,但如果考过了,拿的不叫membership,而是associate membership,会费便宜一些,$100;对于cpa证书来说,这考试只是条件之一。
至于考试内容,我也把它节选了下来。cpa准备机考,以下是笔考跟机考的内容对比:
The Uniform CPA Examination will be delivered in a computer-based format beginning April 5,2004.The final paper-based version of the CPA examination will be given on November 5 and 6,2003.
The following table compares the content areas tested in each section under the current structure and under the proposed structure.The percentages refer to the amount of topical coverage within the specified section of the examination.The material differences between the structures are as follows:
Current Examination
1.Auditing 100%
2.Financial Accounting&Reporting 100%
3.Accounting&Reporting
-Taxation 60%
-Governmental and Not-for-Profit Organizations 30%
-Managerial(measurement)10%
4.Law&Professional Responsibilities
-Business Structure 20%
-All areas other than Business Structure 80%
Proposed Examination
1.Auditing&Attestation 100%
2.Financial Accounting&Reporting
-Business enterprises 80%
-Governmental entities 10%
-Not-for-profit organizations 10%
3.Regulation
-Taxation 60%
-Law&Professional Responsibilities(all areas other than Business Structure)40%
4.Business Environment&Concepts
-Business Structure 20%
-Measurement(managerial)10%
-All areas other than Business Structure and Measurement(not separately tested on current examination)70%
总的来说,成为aicpa会员、拿到cpa证书,跟成为ACCA会员、拿到acca证书是不同的概念。后者是指你成为了acca这个组织认可的专业人士,这个资格的意义在于你的雇主是否承认acca的权威性,这在全球多个国家是承认的,包括中国,承认的话工作就没问题了。而前者,成为aicpa会员,it means nothing in profession;拿到cpa证书,在美国工作是没有问题的,但强调一点:各州对于拿到这个证书所要求的学习时间、工作时间、每年的后续教育时间都不同;从一个州转去另一个州,原来的cpa是否被认可也说不准。如果你知道自己要去哪个州,就不仅仅是看www.aicpa.org,一定要看那个州的cpa网页,比如去纽约,要看http://www.nysscpa.org。
反过来,没有cpa证书能否在美国从事财会工作呢?能。cpa是可以执业的,一般的财会工作没那么高要求,看看招聘的网页,比较popular的是http://www.monster.com用accountant或accounting manager搜索职位,就知道这方面的工作要求是什么了,基本上,accountant不需要cpa,只需要Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from a four-year college or university。而accouting manager是CPA preferred,not required.很多去美国的华人读mcc,那对找工作来说是足够的。
美国是一个极其自大自恋的国家,在会计资格方面,其他国家的的证书在美国几乎都是没有意义。
ACCA免费学员服务:
>>>【ACCA学期效果评估】评估一下自己现阶段是否适合报考ACCA?
>>>【ACCA考试相关信息查询】ACCA免考政策、教材购买注意事项等,任何不懂的问题都可在这里申请查询。
>>>【ACCA免费代理注册报名】想要报考ACCA,但不清楚ACCA报名流程?点击这里申请免费代注册。
>>>【ACCA机考中心信息查询】查询一下自己所在地区周边是否设有ACCA考试中心?(支持海外地区查询)
>>>【快速上手ACCA的资料领取】做个小测试,不仅可以帮助我们了解您的困惑,更可获取一份ACCA资料!