[Anonymous]

I am 44, an immigrant from India. I completed my bachelors in Accounting in India in 1992, then I also did my Chartered accountancy internship and intermediate exam by then I was turning 30 and still not able to complete my final Chartered accountancy. I also did my masters in finance in 2008. Then PMP certification and so forth. In India the pass rate is 2% for chartered accountants.I used to study 12-15 hours every day yet not know what it will take to finish CA successfully.

I had by then drifted to finance IT and then my career. I have been a average achiever in life. Nothing great. The intention of my wanting to do CPA is to strengthen my career and also be able to have some degree from US. Also if I can do CPA it may give me some satisfaction of not being able to complete my CA in India way back then.

Though I am not so confident if I should take or do CPA , sometimes I feel I can and sometimes I feel it will be another waste attempt of years and years . Again my goal is not CPA as a profession but to blend IT and finance knowledge(combined anyways I have 15+ years) and if I can pass CPA then it adds value to profile.

It is hard to motivate myself for many reasons. I purchased the MCQ on Ninja site and not throwing money here and there buying books, cd and what not and then not able to do all of that.

Another worry I have is when I read 2017 major overhaul is happening to CPA courses. What does it entail.? I am not worried about it becoming more difficult because I have managed such difficult courses in past, nor I put a condition that I have to pass, yet I do not want to waste my time and resources if I am not going to get it.

I have a full time job and have two kids .

[Anonymous]

Did you say you have purchased the NINJA MCQ? If so, I would practice in those some to gauge the difficulty of the materials and use that to determine if this is the difficulty level that you want to pursue for the career goals that you wish to obtain. The pass rate for the CPA exams is much higher than the 2% that you quoted for the CA exams, but the CPA exams will have a language barrier for you deal with which is a major difficulty for international candidates on at least 2 of the 4 exams (AUD and BEC both have a large language component), so I don't know if it will be any easier for you than the CA or not.

If you haven't purchased the NINJA MCQ, you could try to find some copies of the AICPA Released Questions (searching this forum or elsewhere should find some 10-question sets for each exam) which can also give you a sample of the difficulty level.

EDIT: I had somehow missed previously that you were an immigrant from India and thought you said you were in India. Since you are in the US now, the language barrier probably won't be as harsh since you are immersed in English and thus more familiar with it, though I have known individuals on here who have been in the US for 20 years and still found AUD and BEC particularly challenging due to language issues, so I think that language will still play a factor. Also, just to clarify, you said that the CPA would be a US degree. It would be a US certification, but is not a US degree.

[ohiostategirlcpa]

The CA exam in India is in English. English is the lingua franca of India, because they have 80+ local languages.

The low pass rate (3-8%) is because there are not enough jobs for them all, so they limit how many pass each year. Even with the low pass rate there are over 11 million CAs in India. Compare that with 0.6 million CPAs in the US.

You might have more luck with the CPA exam because the grading is not as tough, but will make much more money with IT. Don't waste your time with accounting unless you really like it.

F91 A95 R90 B94
CMA since 2015
(Gleim books/PDFs, MCQs, SIMS)

[Son]

Raj, if you'd like to test drive the exam Wiley has trial period for its MCQs. That being said, being a foreigner myself with no formal education on US accounting rules I would say it seems close to impossible for someone without a degree in accounting from a local school to pass the test without reading the books and doing just the MCQs. There are many options on the market, and you may even be able to borrow older editions from a local library and supplement them with MCQs from Ninja.

AUD - passed
REG - passed
BEC - passed
FAR - passed

[Anonymous]

Lilla- yes I have purchased the Ninja MCQ. To answer some of your questions, when I bought Ninja MCQ and just started answering questions without even studying for 5 minutes , based on my knowledge and sometimes educated guess I got almost 66% right answers. Not to say that , this gives me more confidence because I know it may not be as easy.

However, my background in accounting and finance esp conceptually are very strong. I used to teach accounting at graduate and undergraduate level in India though for a year or two.

English language- I know many people who are not quite aware in US as to how things are in India, many people immigrants come to US who may have been in non English schools earlier in their lives. I have been learning English since pre school days and all my education is in English. Language barrier is almost nil for me no matter which exam or which course I study in English. I may not be as good as some of you who have English as first language , but that is more to express and write than study or grasp.

OhioStatGirl- I agree somewhat, that passing in CPA is not as difficult compared to CA in India, again whether it is job or otherwise, I feel in India they purposely make it so tough, what you stated may be true because of sheer population in our country there.

Son- I have formal education in accounting, I may be out of touch but not with concepts. I can answer almost any question in accounting if it is not specific to laws but principles. So from that point of view I don't feel weaker to study, because I have bachelors and more in accounting .

I just ordered 2013 Wiley FAR focus notes and Wiley study guide of 2014. I am not sure if material being a year old or so matters in FAR? I wanted to be conservative in spending because spending does not guarantee passing anyways. Once I receive books I will go through the material. I also ordered few books from library which are general to CPA success.

[ohiostategirlcpa]

If you studied (and taught) Accounting and Finance in college, the CPA test should be doable. Go for it. The CPA certification has value.

However, for work, stick with IT because you will make much more money.

F91 A95 R90 B94
CMA since 2015
(Gleim books/PDFs, MCQs, SIMS)

[Anonymous]

Ohiostatgirl- I agree on sticking to IT, with my intent to do CPA is also same. I will always be in the field of accounting and finance with IT, that is what I have been doing for long and accumulated 2 decades of experience. Money wise yes it is ok, though only if you do consulting and not full time. I wonder how people make money in full time because before even earning we start paying taxes(sort of).

Moreover IT and finance has lot of potential, there is CISA certification that goes well with auditors, however I am now in technical(functional) space and can blend into any business finance product.

Thanks for suggestion.

[Anonymous]

@CPA_RAJ I do confess I'm not specifically familiar with the Indian education system, but did notice some signs of English being a 2nd language in your writing so thought that may be an issue for you. A friend of mine is from the Phillipines and moved here in her late teens or early 20's (I can't remember which) and is now in her 40's, but has struggled quite a bit with AUD due to the word tricks on the exam. From what you've said, though, understanding the questions shouldn't be a difficulty for you. If you're getting around 66% right on the NINJA MCQs going in without study, it sounds like you should have a pretty solid foundation for studying and passing these exams. I'd say you're in good shape.

Have you considered how to fulfill the other requirements for licensure? Sounds like you'll be fine for education, but do you have accounting experience that will qualify or have you checked to see if you'll qualify for one of the states that allow licensure without experience (like MA's non-reporting license with a Master's)?

[Anonymous]

Hello Lilla- I am not sure to be frank, that is why I posted here. I am not sure if I should do CPA as I do not intend to practice, I have accounting background and experience in IT and I wish to keep working in IT and finance. If passing CPA is not enough and I have to do more training and courses just to get license which I am not even intending to use or practice then may be I have to step back and think , whether I should even do CPA or what is the use for me. I was looking at the angle yesterday that you specified. I am not knowing what experience and how does one prove if I have got it in India? I have had almost 4-6 years of auditing experience both as Internal and Statutory auditor while working as internship in India. Other than that I don't have any other accounting experience except education.

PS: Sometimes I do feel I am not able to comprehend a statement or writing in the first go, at such times I go back and read couple of times. So not having English as first language is a drawback when it comes to read and comprehend some texts. But, this is how I feel even my kids who are US citizen and who are being raised in this country if someone asks them is English your first language the answer would be still no,because I as their parent do not speak English all the time with them. And they talk only English and cannot speak our Indian language.

Also Lilla my getting 66% was not consistent, at times I have got just 18% to some group of 5 questions. So, I do not give lot of importance to my getting 66% only once, if I cannot repeat it more than half times in average as of now.

[ohiostategirlcpa]

Check the CMA certification. It does not require experience under a CPA, so your existing experience will likely suffice.

Don't worry about your English. You speak Indian English, which seems to be English with Indian syntax. Many Chinese speak English with Chinese syntax, etc. It is good enough.

F91 A95 R90 B94
CMA since 2015
(Gleim books/PDFs, MCQs, SIMS)

[Anonymous]

Ohiostategirl- that was Indeed a good pointer and suggestion. I am going to look at CMA site and certification, if it gives the profile a lift and credentials are well recognized in industry then it may be a way for me to go than CPA. Getting an experience of 1 -2 years under CPA is also ok if it is part time. But is that all that is required after one pass the CPA exam?

[ohiostategirlcpa]

For the CPA cert, you have to check with your state board: each state has different requirements, and the requirements for sitting for the exam are often different from the requirements for certification (often 150 units).

Also check the CIA certification for auditors.

F91 A95 R90 B94
CMA since 2015
(Gleim books/PDFs, MCQs, SIMS)

[Anonymous]

@CPA_RAJ The requirements for the CPA experience requirement vary from state-to-state, but the only one which doesn't require any experience (to my knowledge) is Massachusetts which has a non-reporting license; however, it requires a Master's: https://www.mass.gov/ocabr/licensee/dpl-boards/pa/faqs.html#c02 I don't know what further requirements there are on the Master's to know if your current Master's would count or not – you could contact the Mass Board to clarify. If your current Master's would count, then all you'd need to do to get licensed in Mass would be to verify that you meet their educational requirements and to pass the exams.

All other states require a year of experience. For the other states, specific requirements vary, but all require it to be in accounting (some define accounting more loosely than others) and require it to be signed off on by either a supervisor or a CPA (who is active at the time of signing and the time of the experience) or a CPA who is a supervisor – again, which version of requirement varies by state. Some require the experience to be obtained after you have completed the education requirements, others allow the experience to be completed at any time. So, if you applied to one of the states that requires the experience to be in accounting and be signed off on by a supervisor, but didn't require the supervisor to be a US CPA and didn't require that the experience be within the last 10 years, then experience from 15 years ago in India could fulfill that requirement if you were still in touch with one of your supervisors from India (I saw a discussion recently about Virgina that may indicate Virginia would be one such country, but I'm not 100% sure).

Bottom line is, I think there may be options for you for the CPA designation, but it's definitely worth digging into the options before taking the exams to make sure it wouldn't require a job change or an additional Master's in order to get licensed. As long as you're not doing public accounting (taxes or auditing), you can be licensed in a state different from where you work and still put “CPA” on your resume or on your business cards for your IT work etc.

The CMA is another option, but when I looked into it, it was going to be more expensive to maintain (renewal costs were higher than my state's CPA renewal fees, and I think it require more CPE, too), and the CMA isn't nearly as well-known as the CPA. The CMA may be more well-known internationally, but definitely not more well-known in the USA. Any time someone has to look up your credential, it's not as worth-while, and that's the main benefit of the CPA – people won't have to look it up to know what it is when you apply. So, if you won't be able to qualify for the CPA without getting an accounting job and without getting an additional Master's, but if you would qualify for the CMA, then the CMA might be worth considering, but if you would qualify for either then I think the CPA is more valuable. I originally planned to get the CMA before the CPA, and then planned to get both, but have now decided that since I've met the requirements for the CPA, it's really more valuable for me than the CMA.

Edited to add: This was the discussion about Virginia: https://www.another71.com/cpa-exam-forum/topic/who-can-sign-off-the-experience-verification-form-for-va I looked up their experience forms the day I saw this thread, and it doesn't require a CPA sign off. The form doesn't specifically discuss the international aspect that I recall, and none of the posters in the thread were internationals, but since I'd looked at the thread before, a Virginia CPA had posted confirming that s/he had been licensed with sign-off by a non-CPA supervisor, so VA truly does not require a CPA sign-off.

[Author]

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