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CPA, CMA, or CIA Pick Your Designation Wisely

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Rahil Kumar
CPA, CMA, or CIA Pick Your Designation Wisely

Three of the highest credential professional designations in the accounting and financial industry are certified public accountant (CPA), Chartered Market Analyst (CMA), and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA). Each designation has a core career focus and points to its professional path.

 

Given below is the detailed information of each designation, what they are? What careers they typically lead to? And are they worth it?

 

Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

CPAs are the person who not only prepares tax returns, but also they can do much more as well including handling accounting needs, hedge funds, and many more. A CPA license is required to perform jobs including independent auditing, which also is known as public accounting.

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • A CPA might supervise all the accounting needs of a public company or a hedge fund.
  • A CPA license is not necessarily required to prepare tax returns. State laws dictate the qualifications that are required.

 

CPA Requirements

Necessities vary by state, but mostly it requires a bachelor's degree (graduation) with 120 semester hours as a requirement for taking the US CPA exam.

To earn the US CPA designation, aspirants must pass all four sections of the CPA exam, gain appropriate work experience, expertise, and meet some supplementary educational requirements. The supplementary educational requirements usually consist of 24 to 30 semester hours in accounting and finance, earned throughout graduation or bachelor's degree in business.

Several states require a minimum of one or two years of accounting or auditing or finance experience. And some states require as many as 150 semester hours to obtain the US CPA.

Many aspirants choose to pursue a master's degree in accounting to fulfill their educational requirements for US CPA.

 

The US CPA Exam

The US CPA exam is the highest bar in its own right. The CPA Exams are administrated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) - the governing body of CPAs in the United States of America.

The 14-hour exam consists of four sections which include:

  1. Auditing and Attestation
  2. Financial Accounting and Reporting
  3. Regulation
  4. Business Environment and Concepts

 

Chartered Market Analyst (CMA)

What Is Chartered Market Analyst?

Chartered Market Analyst (CMA) one of the certificates awarded by the Global Academy of Finance and Management (GAFM), heretofore the American Academy of Financial Management (AAFM).

 

Understanding Chartered Market Analyst (CMA) in detail

In extension to holding a relevant graduation degree or bachelor’s degree and a minimum of four years of qualified professional experience and expertise, CMA aspirants must pass of series of challenging exams. According to the recent survey and studies, historically, 32% of aspirants who take the CMA exams require four attempts to pass.

 

Testing in this respect leads to three, six-hour exams. The first focuses on fundamental financial and accounting concepts and can only be taken in June or December. The second focuses or explores analysis skills, knowledge, expertise, and accounting procedures, and the third one attacks decision-making and portfolio administration skills.

Moreover, these three taps into ethics as well. The final two exams are only given in June, so if aspirants fail either, they will have to wait for an entire year for another chance.

 

Certified Internal Auditor (CIA)

A Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) is also one of the certifications offered to accountants who conduct internal audits whose designation is conferred by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and is the only such professional credential that is accepted worldwide.

CIA aspirants usually work in the auditing department of government companies, financial institutions, or organizations. Their work is to review financial records to look for deficiencies in internal controls.

 

To keep up with the latest news on the CPA Course Fees in India, follow us via social media by clicking on the social media icons above and visit our website (www.kcglobed.com) frequently for important updates about CPA Course Fees in India.

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