Trusting someone to manage your money and to provide you with advice is important, so you don’t want to leave it to someone who is not properly qualified. You wouldn’t get your car serviced by someone who doesn’t have qualifications to fix up a car properly so why would you leave your money to someone who’s not qualified.

So what’s the difference between CA and CPA?

CA stands for Chartered Accountant and the CPA stands for Certified Practicing Accountant in Australia. The CPA in Australia is different from the CPA in America.

It’s well known in accounting circles that the CA is what accountants do as a program to get their accounting qualification. It’s another 3 years of study while working on top of a university degree and if you go into a Big 4 firm (PwC, KPMG, Ernst & Young and Deloitte), the CA is what they’d do. The CPA in Australia, as it’s known in accounting circles is an easier exam while the CPA in America (not related at all to the Australian one) is known as a very challenging program.

Before you choose an accountant, make sure they’re qualified.