Welcome to Australian Accountant Overview

This site delineates information about Accountants in Australia, who rank one of the most competitive on the globe. At any rate, accountants from the Land Down Under are not down under the bottom heap of their breed.

So lighten up, mate.  Your accountant referral just got easier.

An Age-old Balancing Act
Accountancy is a time-honored profession in human society that can be described as an art as well as a science. Accountants measure, disclose or provide assurance about financial information that helps managers and other decision makers make resource allocation decisions. Such information could mean the boon or bane of a commercial endeavor. Obtaining the right one is of primary essence.

If anything, finding the right accountant could spell a universe of difference between seeing clearly and groping blindly in the dark. With the right accountant, any business procures insight and consequent foresight into its prospects. 

The Balancing Act in the Land Down Under
In the Land Down Under, accountants are segregated into two professional bodies of recognition. First, there are those designated as CPAs or Certified Practicing Accountants (local version of US usage Certified Pubic Accountant). Chartered accountants on the other hand, comprise another society. Both designations are known to bask in great rivalry.

Either way, these designations imply reliability among its members. For referral, these accountant societies provide information for prospective hirers to decide whose services to engage. Public aaccountants often concentrate their services into distinct accounting fields. In turn, some specialize as tax accountants and auditors, among others.

A CPA is a finance, accounting and business professional primarily holding an undergraduate degree accredited by CPA Australia. As a member of this prestigious society, he or she should have completed the CPA Program, a comprehensive postgraduate professional study program. He or she should also have finished three years of supervised or mentored experience in finance, accounting or business. Also, he or she should have undertaken continuing professional development each year. A strict code of conduct is set by CPA Australia upon its members.
In order to engage in public accounting services, a member must also complete CPA Australia's Public Practice Program.
CPA Australia is the sixth of the largest accounting bodies in the world

Chartered Accountant

Accountant chartered in Australia are university graduates who passed a postgraduate program, the CA Program and subsequently completed a 3-year period of approved practical experience mentored by an Accountant Chartered Institute. For them to retain their membership in the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAA) in Australia, aspirants must complete Continuing Professional Education (CPE) of 120 hours in a triennium.