Canadian Immigration and ACCA, CIMA, CFA or CMA

[Toronto_Boy]

Dear Students

I have noticed that several institutes in Pakistan are offering preparatory classes for CPA(USA) thesedays, which is a good thing. In the following post, I would mention some points to consider by students who are preparing for CPA (USA) in Pakistan.

Valid Visa and Stay in USA CPA (USA) exams are only conducted in USA. So, student at-least need valid USA visa to go there to appear in exams. There are 4 exams which all should be passed in 18 months. If a student does not pass all 4 exams within 18 months, he/she starts losing credit for already passed exam. Overall passing rate in one exam is around 40%. Passing rate of EACH exam (out of 4 exams) in FIRST attempt is quite low (I think between 8% to 12%, students can check exact rate from various sources). Passing rate of ALL 4 exams in FIRST attempt is further lower than one paper rate, thus, I assume passing rate of ALL 4 in FIRST ATTEMPT in SHORTER PERIOD THAN 18 MONTHS would be further low (I don’t know this rate). Reason to tell all of this is, a student should plan for stay in USA for the period in which he/she would pass. Flying frequently in between Pakistan and USA (in 18 months) could raise suspicions (and probably deportation) at airports where photographing and fingerprinting is MUST for Pakistanis entering on Pakistani passports.

Social Security Number (SSN) It is like our identity card number. Many States require this number to issue certificate/licence after passing all 4 exams. Simply passing 4 exams and not having certificate/licence does not matter much.

150 Credit Hour Education Requirement Rule Almost all, with exception to few, States need 150 credit hour of education to sit for CPA exam. Out of these 150 hours, there are further very specific requirements of accounting related (i.e. Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, Auditing, and Tax) and business course (like economics, finance, business law etc.). These specific requirements vary from State to State. Foreign students need to get their transcripts/degrees be evaluated by State Board of Accounting’s prescribed transcripts evaluation service. Courses taken in foreign countries (like in Pakistan) should be equivalent to US accredited institutes. Students should check specific State’s Board of Accounting requirements from where they are intending to appear for exam.

Experience Requirements for Certificate/Licence and Experience Certification by CPA Students should check whether a specific State accepts foreign experience or not. What type of experience is accepted i.e. public accounting or industry etc. Most of the States require working experience under supervision of US CPA. Moreover, requirements to sit in exams are different from Certificate/Licence requirements.

Residency Requirements Some Sates issue Certificate/Licence only to residents of that State or to out of State applicants if they are conducting business in that specific State.

Matching of State requirements with applicant's situation is an important task that should be done in advance, in order to avoid problems/obstacles later on. Student must see specific requirements on State Board of Accounting's (BOA) website for "Exam" and "Cetificate/ Licence" requirements that may or may not be same, from where student is intending to appear for exam. Due to Computer Based Testing (CBT), it is not necessary to schedule exam exactly in same State from which student is appearing as candidate. So, candidate of one State can schedule exam in any other State. It means if a student from Pakistan is appearing as let say Nebraska's candidate or any other State's candidate, he can still schedule exams in nearest exam centre of his residence, which means if you have relatives in Chicago (in Illinois State, and staying with them) and you are appearing as Nebraska's candidate, you can schedule exam in Chicago. You would get the results as Nebraska's candidate.

I hope it helps.

Regards