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CPA vs CA – Which is better? Which designation will help my career? When deciding your choice of profession in accountancy, you may be in a dilemma to choose between CPA or CA.
The key question that arises is whether CPA benefit my career path or CA? There is no clear winner because both qualifications will help to grow your technical skills, accountancy skills and business management skills. Also, CPA and CA holders tend to be equally spread across commercial and public accounting – so each qualification provides maximum flexibility to work across industry.
Please note we are only comparing CPA membership of AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) and CA membership of ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India).
I understand that the choice between CPA and CA is a big career decision and hence, to help you take an informed decision, I prepared an infographics which will give you a clear picture of differentiation.
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CPA vs CA – Eligibility Criteria
CPA
- If you wish to appear for Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination, you need to clear Bachelors in Commerce (B.Com) with a first class or you need to have a Bachelors in Commerce and also a Post-Graduation Degree.
- And if you have Indian CA’s designation with B.Com than also you can appear for CPA examinations. Also, checkout Careers after B.com
CA
- If you want to appear for Indian CA Examination you need to appear for Common Proficiency Test (CPT) after appearing in Senior Secondary Examination (recognized by the Central Government of India).
- CPT Examination are held in June & December every year, so the first step you need to do is you need to register for Common Proficiency Test 60 days prior to the test i.e. on or before 1st April & 1st October.
CPA vs CA – Examination Syllabus
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CA and CPA Career Opportunities
CPA
CPA designation will open to a doors of wide varied options. After getting your CPA certification you can work under various accounting fields such as International Accounting, Internal & External Auditing, Consulting Services, Forensic Accounting, Assurance services, Taxation & Financial Planning etc. With its global recognition, you will find the best place to work anywhere in many countries. See the list of Top Accounting firms
CA
Similarly, CA Designation will also provide you many options in the specialized areas of Accounting such as Auditing, Taxation, Corporate Finance, Corporate Laws. After getting your CA Certification you can either work in the existing top firms of Accountancy or you can start your own independent professional practice.
CPA vs CA – Salary Comparison
CPA
The average salary earned by the CPA Professionals (in India) is found to INR 7,68,552 per year. Most people move on to other jobs if they have more than 10 years’ experience in this field.
CA
A Chartered Accountant (in India) earns a salary of INR 6,08,976 per year on an average. Skills that are associated with high pay for this job are Evaluation and Management Auditing, Budget Management, Financial Analysis, Strategic Accounts, and Financial Advisor. People in this job generally don’t have more than 10 years’ experience. Experience strongly influences income for this job.
Source: payscale
From the above mentioned graphs you can observe that the salary fetched by both the professionals doesn’t have much difference. So this shows that both the qualification stays at par and now the choice is all yours that which one you want to pursue.
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Conclusion
Both designation has its own pros and cons, it is not an easy task to opt between CPA & CA as both have a successful career. If you are interested in working abroad or in a multinational company, then you should opt for CPA. Alternatively, if you want to start your own audit practice in India, opt for CA. Additionally, CA exam is less costly as compared to the the CPA examination.
So which one are you taking?
Sir, m bcom from correspondance than i did m.s.in accounting from icfai university. Pls let me know m i eligible for cpa
Hi Raj, it is best to ask the CPA Institute. You can contact them here
Thank you so much sir it has enlightened me a lot .
thanks Abi! 🙂
hello sir
I had completed my CA-IPCC exams..am I elogible for doing CPA.
I also completed my bcom
Hi Rakesh,
I think if you are CA+B.com, you can give this exam readily. However, if you have not yet completed CA fully, then you will also require a minimum of one year experience in Finance and accounting to appear for CPA exam.
thanks,
Dheeraj
hi
i am a b.com( prof) graduate in 2014 now i am planning for cpa . is there any problem to have gap of two year?
Hi Harinder,
I don’t think there is any problem if you give the exam after a gap of two years.
All the best,
Dheeraj
hi sir,
your article is amazing,but i am unable to clear my ca exams for past 3 years.besides i completed my b.com and doing a job in MNC.now i am interested to take take cpa and after finishing that can i work in india or also i can practise in indian firms.
hi Rohith,
if you wish to work for MNC firms with office in India, then CPA can help you alot.
Thanks,
Dheeraj
Thank you very much Dheeraj Sir for such a informative guidance on CA vs CPA. Will you please guide me on route to banking career via ICICI PO training by Manipal academy Bangalore. Is this route of training worthy as a career option or should I try Bank PO exams route for banking career?
Thanks again …..
Hi Suresh,
I haven’t heard of ICICI PO training much. Given their brand name, it should be a good place to start. Please do your due diligence before you take the same.
Best of Luck,
Dheeraj
if i do both ca and cpa will i get any benefit in job,salary?
Hi Chinmay,
I have seen that many CAs working for MNCs opt for CPA. Maybe this is due to international opportunities presented to them in the process. Additionally, higher roles in Finance (CFO etc) may require you to have globally recognized accounting certification.
Thanks,
Dheeraj
Can we study cpa living in India? Are the subjects in CA and CPA are same? Are there any multi national companies in India who are hiring CA A’S?
Hi Rehaman,
You can definitely study for CPA exam in India. however, you can take the exam in Dubai. Please checkout https://www.aicpa.org/PRESS/PRESSRELEASES/2014/Pages/Citizens-of-India-Now-Able-to-Sit-for-US-CPA-Exam-in-Middle-East.aspx
CA and CPA differ with respect to the accounting norms. CA covers Indian GAAP, while CPA mostly covers IFRS and US GAAP. There are many multinational companies that hire CPAs and likewise Big accounting firms in India with global operations also hire CPAs.
Thanks,
Dheeraj
Thanks for your articles, they are great to read and understand. 🙂
but i have a doubt in this..
-Is cpa possible from india?
-Cpa institutes in india?
-Where should i write the exam?
Hi Mohammad,
There are lot of advantages of doing CPA in India. you can get hired in big 4 consulting firms with global accounting work and in addition to this many MNCs prefer CPA with knoweldge of US GAAP and IFRS. The only issue is that you cannot take the exams in India. You may checkout more details on this here. https://www.aicpa.org/PRESS/PRESSRELEASES/2014/Pages/Citizens-of-India-Now-Able-to-Sit-for-US-CPA-Exam-in-Middle-East.aspx
Thanks,
Dheeraj
Thank You sir for such a great explanation.
Please help me also providing a detailed note regarding admission procedure and coaching facility India.
Hi Gopal, Thanks. Honestly, I am not much sure of the best coaching institutes available in India.
thanks,
Dheeraj
Dear sir,
I have completed my graduation in B.Sc.but for CPA B.Com requires.so what should I Do?
Please advise me.
Hi Anand,
I am not sure if you can sit for the CPA exam as it requires a minimum level of accounting profiency. However, please write to AICPA to answer your queries regarding the same.
Thanks,
Dheeraj
Thank you Sir for bringing the comparison between CPA & CA. Sir, I have one question I am confused whether studying Indian GAAP is more beneficial or US GAAP & IFRS?
Hi Siddharth,
It depends on what you want to do in the future. If you are look at becoming CA, then obviously you should focus on Indian GAAP. Also, IFRS and Indian GAAP have lot of similarities.
For CPAs, US GAAP & IFRS makes more sense.
Thanks,
Dheeraj
Hello Dheeraj Sir,
Your articles are always amazing… This article on CPA v.s CA is quite interesting. Seriously you impart the knowledge so well in an article its beyond appreciation. Thank you so much Sir for guiding us with your amazing articles…
Thanks William 🙂
Dear Dhiraj,
Very excellent & knowledgeable info. Keep posting such articles on your site .This will be useful.
Regards,
shrikant
Thakns Shirkant 🙂
Hello Sir, Thank you for the excellent comparison between CPA v/s CA, your writing style is really good. I just had a question sir that to appear for CPA examination you have to visit USA. Is it true or we can give it from India as well?
Hi Riddi,
There was a recent update from AICPA on this. I dont think the exam can be given in India. However, you can appear for this in Dubai – do checkout – https://www.aicpa.org/PRESS/PRESSRELEASES/2014/Pages/Citizens-of-India-Now-Able-to-Sit-for-US-CPA-Exam-in-Middle-East.aspx
Thanks,
Dheeraj
Thank you Sir for coming up with such an amazing article. I keep reading your blogs and truly they are very interesting. Seriously your articles are always of great help to learn the financial stuffs at such an ease. Good Job Sir…..
thank you David!
Awesome article on CPA v/s CA, thank you Sir for coming up with such an enlightening articles. I was confused between choosing CPA or CA designation. But this article has actually helped me to be in a better position and take a wise decision. Thanks once again.
Thanks Kritika 🙂
The article is very informative. I wanted to know to your opinion if CPA is more difficult to clear than CA?
Hi Shreyansh, in general CA is considered to be difficult due to low passing percentages.
Thanks,
Dheeraj
Thank you Sir for helping me to know the difference between CPA and CA, I always love your articles they are really helpful and informative and it helps me to take better decisions. Keep doing the great work!!!!
Thanks Richard 🙂
Really informative article on CPA v/s CA, thank you Sir for covering the most aspects about CPA v/s CA. I am just confused Sir if I pursued for CPA and after gaining few years of experience outside India, will I be able to fetch a better job in India with my CPA designation?
Hi Maria,
I don’t foresee that as a problem. You should be able to get an exciting role with your CPA designation i companies that have multi-national presence.
Thanks,
Dheeraj
Thanks for the comparison. This has been actually been a dilemma for me in the past few months. Have heard and read a lot of comments and conversations on this debate. But I found this pretty in depth and answered quite a few questions I had in mind. I think I would pursue CA 🙂
thanks Anushka!