CPA VS CFA : Below are some of the differences

1. Professional bodies involved : CPA is offered by the biggest accounting body in the world AICPA, whereas CFA is offered by CFA institute
2. Number of papers : There are 4 papers in CPA ( FAR, AUD, BEC,REG) ,whereas there are three levels to CFA exam ( Level 1, 2,3)
3. Exam months : CPA can be written in any month , whereas CFA exam can be written in June ( L1,2,3) and December( L1)
4. Eligibility : Graduation is must in both CPA and CFA, however post graduation is required in case of license ( to practice in US) , graduation can be waived off in CFA incase 4 years of work experience is there. He can sit for L1 exam if he is in final year of graduation, but for L2- Graduation is must
5. Duration : CPA on an average take 12 months to complete, but CFA takes on an average 2 years
6. Course fees: CPA takes an average of 4 lakhs INR , whereas CFA takes 2 -3 lakhs INR
7. Career : CPA make their career in Financial accounting and reporting, taxation, FP&A, business planning, whereas CFA make their career in Financial advisor, portfolio manager, research analyst
8. Training institutes : Currently there are many institutes who are providing both CPA and CFA training mainly Simandhar education, Wiley, Gliem and Edupristine etc.
9. Which is better : No professional qualification can compete against each other, it entirely depend on interest of the aspirant and the career they want to built in future, if your interest is towards Equity research - CFA is better but if your interest is towards Corporate finance, Business finance- CPA would be a good option , considering the way outsourcing companies are setting up in india, CPA definitely would have a slightly upper edge in case of job opportunities in india.

To know more about the courses, you may visit www.simandharcpareview.com. Simandhar education is the official partner of Becker professional education and approved Channel partner of AICPA and are assisting the students in various locations of india mainly Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Gurgaon etc

Here are the answers to a compilation of the most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to CPA. These FAQs will help you find information about the CPA exam, the exam fees, the application procedure, jurisdictions, eligibility, licensing, and other topics like NASBA’s CPA Central.
If you have any more questions regarding the exam that haven’t been covered in the FAQs, feel free to leave a comment in the comment section down below, and we will answer those too.

• What is a CPA license?
The U.S. CPA is a professional license which demonstrates that an individual has met all the educational qualifications and experience required to be referred to as a Certified Public Accountant. It is recognized by the Global Accounting Alliance (GAA) that distinguishes more than 600,000 accountants worldwide.


• Should I pursue the U.S. CPA instead of the Indian CA?
No, a U.S. CPA is a complementary license to the Indian CA and is desired by U.S. firms with operations in India.


• How much does it cost to take the U.S. CPA exam?
Application fees vary by jurisdiction. The total is approximately $850.00. Candidates testing in International locations are charged an international testing fee of $357.00 per exam section.


• Where can Indian candidates sit for the U.S. CPA exam?
U.S. CPA Exam testing will be offered at Prometric test centers in the cities of Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi.


• Are there plans to expand available testing locations in India?
As of now, there are no plans to expand beyond the eight (8) locations currently available for testing.


• Are there plans to expand beyond testing in June and September?
This has been determined. More information will be ascertained during the pilot stages. Continuation of the pilot will be announced on www.nasba.org.


• In which months will the CPA exam be conducted in India?
Indian candidates may now schedule to take any U.S. CPA exam section during the months of June and September 2020.


• Which neighboring countries’ candidates are allowed to attempt the CPA exam in India?
NASBA has announced that qualified CPA exam candidates will now be allowed to sit for the CPA exam in India. They must be Citizens or long-term residents of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, U.S. to attempt CPA exam in India.


• When can a candidate expect to receive their CPA exam scores
As per the timelines laid out in NASBA website, please check for latest updates


• Can a student who scheduled their CPA exam in the Middle-east reschedule it to India? What is the process?
Yes, candidates testing at any international testing center must pay an examination administration fee before scheduling with Prometric. To do so, please login to your NASBA CPA Candidate Account portal and select “International Administration”. The international administration process for the India region is now available.
If you have already paid for the international administration process for another test region and wish to switch to India, please send an email to [email protected] with the following information:
Name:
Jurisdiction:
Jurisdiction ID:
Exam Section:
Exam Section ID:
Current International Testing country:
New International Testing country:


• What is the process to schedule a CPA exam center for candidates yet to be qualified as eligible?
Once the candidate goes through the application and is determined eligible, then the candidate will receive a notice to set up a NASBA CPA Candidate Account, where he/ she can schedule the exam by paying an additional international testing fee of $357.00 per exam section in order to schedule the exam in India.


• Will COVID-19 pandemic affect/reschedule the CPA exam date in the month of June?
Prometric has extended closures in the U.S. and Canada through April 30, 2020. The 2020 testing window will be extended from June 10, 2020, to June 30, 2020. The testing schedule worldwide will depend on government mandates over this pandemic. Keep checking www.prometric.com/corona-virus-update for more updates.


• Will Prometric waive rescheduling fees?
Prometric will waive all rescheduling fees at this time. NASBA has extended all Notices to Schedule (NTS) expiring between April 1- June30, 2020, until September 30, 2020.


• What are the various email addresses for getting updates/ information about testing, score release, and continuous testing of the CPA exam?
For more updates/information: Testing in India: [email protected]
Score release: [email protected]
Continuous testing: [email protected]
For more information:
Testing in India: www.nasba.org/cpaexam-india
Score release: www.aicpa.org/becomeacpa/cpaexam/psychometricandscoring/test-window-score-release.html
Continuous testing (NASBA): www.nasba.org/exams/continuous-testing
Scheduling (Prometric): www.prometric.com/test-takers/search/cpa



• Is there any forum for CPA exam candidates?
Join CPA exam candidate forum: www.facebook.com/groups/cpaexamforum/
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CPA USA exam can be very tricky, however there are lot of things if used can be helpful to tackle the exam , On basis of request from students Enrolled from Simandhar education in Hyderabad,Delhi,Gurgaon , Mumbai and Bangalore, I have collated some important chapters in each section of CPA USA exam which would help you to understand how the exam is being prepared, please note before the exam you will need to study completely all the four sections , this article is just a last minute revision which you guys need to do before sitting for the AICPA exam

1. Financial Accounting and Reporting ( FAR) : Students have faced lot of troubles in Not for profit and Governmental accounting , remember in exam they always ask questions which you have trouble in and thus it becomes important for you all to focus on these areas. F8, F9, F10 are the trickiest chapters which need a very good practice. Journal entries are the most important part of FAR and exams have repeatedly tested a lot on Journal entries on chapters relating to Consolidation, Bonds and Leases. Bonds is always a favorite topic of examiner in SIMs. Conceptual understanding of subject is a must and try to practice lot of SIMs in FAR, Becker material and videos are the most helpful , but it need to be complimented with solid understanding of the subject, Mock test prepared by Becker and Simandhar education shall be very helpful. Don’t forget to leave some of the easiest chapters like BRS and some toughest concept like cash to accrual questions!!!
2. Regulation ( REG) : Exam is very lengthy and time management is very important, students have faced lot of troubles in R4,R5,R6 which majorly deals with Corporate taxation , Partnership and basis related questions with respect to property and S corporation are very important, we also recommend students to prepare charts with respect to basis related concepts , though we are also providing the students tables with respect to such concepts, it’s always recommended students to prepare their own hand written notes on all the last three chapters of REG in taxation part. Asset distribution treatment and Ethics questions are heavily tested in exam. Conceptual understanding of subject is indispensable and try to practice lot of SIMs, Skills based questions from Becker and Simandhar education notes. Prepare handwritten notes on Business law, chapters like Bankruptcy act and Surety are some of the important chapters which need special attention, try to practice lot of MCQs in law and could be the game changer in exam as questions from business law are normally straight forward and require memory skills to answer it rightly.
3. Business Environment and Concepts (BEC): Considered to be the easier among all the four sections, BEC exam is testing more on IT control and Corporate governance, Costing is one of the area which need to be focused on and scoring area is Economics and is heavily tested topic too and IT chapter though is little uninteresting but is the most tested area as examiners have done some research that students tend to always ignore IT and that’s the reason they have been testing more in BEC, Variance analysis questions also need to be practiced more.
   1. Record: During the lecture, use the note-taking column to record the lecture using telegraphic sentences.
   2. Questions: As soon after class as possible, formulate questions based on the notes in the right-hand column. Writing questions helps to clarify meanings, reveal relationships, establish continuity, and strengthen memory. Also, the writing of questions sets up a perfect stage for exam-studying later.
   3. Recite: Cover the note-taking column with a sheet of paper. Then, looking at the questions or cue-words in the question and cue column only, say aloud, in your own words, the answers to the questions, facts, or ideas indicated by the cue-words.
   4. Reflect: Reflect on the material by asking yourself questions, for example: “What’s the significance of these facts? What principle are they based on?How can I apply them? How do they fit in with what I already know?What’s beyond them?
   5. Review: Spend at least ten minutes every week reviewing all your previous notes. If you do, you’ll retain a great deal for current use, as well as, for the exam.
4. Auditing ( AUD ) : Considered to be the toughest section among all the four sections, students complain on MCQs a lot in audit as most of the MCQs choices indicate same answer and thus they face the issue in answering it correctly, the section need to be studied as if you’re an auditor auditing a company ,so what all procedures you would take in reducing the risk, in recent years audit have more to a risk based audit and thus audit assertions play a very crucial role, before starting studying for Audit- get your knowledge on audit assertions properly. The only section where Authoritative literature ( Open book system) can play a crucial role in cracking SIMs, Some of the SIMs are related to FAR too, focus more on SIMs in audit and they could be very tough as lot of the SIMs require Judgement, Important Chapters are Audit reports, Sampling and Risk, evidence , various type of risk and their understanding is the core to get through. Common sense is the most important thing required to pass AUD as there are lot of generic questions, so remember when you study audit- THINK LIKE AN AUDITOR AND STUDY.

For more information on Simandhar Education centres in Delhi, Gurgaon Bangalore, Mumbai and Hyderabad- Visit www.simandhareducation.com and get in touch with us at 7780273388 for more details on our summary notes and Becker product.

Simandhar Education had an opportunity to deliver session on future of finance for biggest company in market capitalisation on Dalal street Reliance Industries Limited and Reliance Jio Infocom Limited
The session was delivered by our Co founder Sripal Jain (CA, CPA) and our tech partner Prashant Surana Jain. The session was attended by entire Finance team of reliance ( above 400 participants) and the interactive session went on for three hours which included the participation from finance leadership team too.
We would also like to thank RAJNEESH JAIN for the initiative on the technologies like Blockchain , AI ,IOT and how are they are impacting future of finance and accounting.

Simandhar CPA / CMA Review hosted a workshop on CPA, CMA USA, blockchain, Financial modeling at Amazon Bangalore office , the event was well attended by many enthusiastic aspirants.
The session was taken by Mr. Sripal Jain (CA, CPA) with a comprehensive coverage on future of finance and how technology is playing a crucial role in management accounting and Financial accounting.

We kickstart our #CMAUSA batch with full house, the class was taken by Karan Nathwani (CA, IIM - Indore, CISA, #CFA level 2), we are glad to have strong faculties base who are from IIMs, CPAs, Rank holders in #CA, and #CMA which is a very big part of any institute. For more visit Simandhar Education or Contact Us: +91-7780273388 Think #CPA, #CMA, Think #Simandhar.

CA or CPA- It shall not be which is better, it shall be which is useful to my career and how relevant it is, passion is something which drives the qualification.

• Pattern : CPA is 50% MCQ based and 50% case law oriented, whereas CA is more subjective in nature
• Exam : There is freedom to write any month any day CPA exam, however CA exams are conducted only twice in a year, currently in 2021- even thrice it was done including Jan 2021 attempt.
• Papers : CPA is single level exam with only 4 papers, CA is three levels with more than 16 papers.
• Passing % : Pass percentage of CA is 5–10%, however CPA have very good pass percentage ranging from 50–60%
• Quality of content : CA course is very much in depth and awesome in it's quality but lacks the specialisation needed, but CPA is specialist in financial reporting and taxation and covers the core area which an accountant need to be focussed on, most of the US courses aim towards specialisation like CFA, CMA, CFP , CIA etc, though CPA doesn't good in depth for other subjects but concepts like IFRS , US GAAP and taxation still go in detail
• Study material quality : The content in CPA keeps getting updated and focus more on future updates and Becker professional education is the biggest course providers who provide the CPA materials ( AICPA only gives blueprint of materials, but don't provide study material) in very friendly manner, also the classes of CPA are conducted only on weekends making it easier to pass the 4 exams, Currently many institute provide CPA coaching but evaluation and live classes are provided only by very few institutes in India thus making it CPA lil rigorous and confusing on the other hand CA exams tend to ask questions from previous years and the futuristic approach is still not met in CA exams.
• Exemptions : There is no exemptions for CAs to write the CPA exam, they would need to write all the four papers as ICAI doesn't have MOU with AICPAOverall, I would say in terms of difficulty CA is definitely a very tough course than CPA, one need to not worry much passing the CPA exam provided you attend classes ( only on weekends) and you could complete in 7–8 months whereas CA takes minimum of 4–5 years to pass

You cannot compare any professional qualifications, it all depends on ones interest, if your interest is Accounting, Audit and Taxation- Go for CPA and if your interest is analysis, Decision making- then go for CMA.

Simandhar education does provide both the certifications and whenever we have students seeking suc queries, we tell them to take decision based on their interest rather debating on which is better or popular, both takes you to controllership/ CFO

The answer is definitely yes, lot of the folks are having also a clarification whether distance Bcom is considered for CPA, the answer is yes again . US CPA exam follows credit system and the scores of your Bcom are converted into credits and thereby giving you 90 credits to sit for the CPA exam, however we strongly recommend folks to pursue distance Mcom too in order to meet the balance credits for getting the license ( Certificate to practice ) as license typically requires 150 credits and MCOM shall give you the balance credits.

Feel free to reach me or visit us on LinkedIn with Simandhar Education and we can assist you on meeting the evaluation criteria with our centres in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai , Delhi, gurgaon etc