Chartered Accountant vs. CPA

A chartered accountant is a financial professional who is able to keep financial records and offer consultation, while a CPA is a certified public accountant that is a tax specialist. Chartered accountants keep or organize financial information. Individuals and businesses employ them to assist with tax returns, financial statements, or lending agreements. Other tasks of chartered accountants include conducting payroll, managing investments and expenses, and accounting for internal finances such as transaction data.

Is becoming a CFA harder than a CPA?

Yes, it is harder to become a CFA than a CPA. One reason is the CPA requirements are the most difficult to achieve among all finance-related qualifications. To be eligible for the CPA exam, candidates must have at least a four-year bachelor's degree and, in most cases, 150 credit hours (equivalent to five years of higher education) to sit the exam. There are four exam sections: Financial Accounting & Reporting, Audit & Attestation, Regulation, and Business Environment & Concepts.

How To Become A Chartered Accountant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a chartered accountant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Stephen Moehrle Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a chartered accountant. For example, did you know that they make an average of $31.62 an hour? That's $65,776 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 81,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a chartered accountant?

Stephen Moehrle Ph.D.

Professor and Chairman of Accounting, University of Missouri - St. Louis

It was a great time to be entering the accounting industry, before the pandemic. Our students were serving in internships in huge numbers and our graduates were enjoying 100% placement, usually with multiple offers. The entry-level professionals were entering a profession marked by emerging and evolving technologies that made even the entry-level duties especially interesting. Further, our tech-comfortable young professionals were experiencing quick advancement because of their ability to employ the new technologies.

Most of the above remains true so the only open question is job availability. It would be unrealistic to say things are great. However, it seems that job prospects for accounting majors will be better than for those of virtually every other entry-level profession during difficult times. I have been speaking with firm leaders across the spectrum of firms and most do intend to be on campus in the fall recruiting season. Of course, they have a lot of time to learn more about the economy over the next few months, but we are cautiously optimistic. Again, I am confident that whatever the state of job availability for young CPAs-to-be, prospects will be better for accounting graduates than virtually any other profession.

They will be entering the profession at a fascinating moment in time. Of course, the technological advances assure this regardless of economic conditions. However, there are business disruption-related issues that will provide rich opportunities for making a difference. For example, audit staff will be working with clients to see them through these troubling times. Lamentably, I fear that these young professionals will learn more about the going concern determination than they desire to know. Tax staff will help clients to optimally use the tax loss carrybacks and carryforwards that are arising by the day. Entry level professionals in corporate accounting will get a day-to-day front row seat in business management through crisis. While lamentable times, these are times when young professionals can make a difference that saves jobs.

ScoreChartered AccountantUS Average

Salary

5.1

Avg. Salary $65,776

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.4

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.45%

Asian 18.13%

Black or African American 7.50%

Hispanic or Latino 9.80%

Unknown 3.90%

White 60.21%

Gender

female 38.96%

male 61.04%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

5.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.7

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a chartered accountant

Explore chartered accountant education requirements

Most common chartered accountant degrees

Bachelor's

71.8 %

Master's

16.6 %

Diploma

5.5 %

Start to develop specific chartered accountant skills

Skills	Percentages
Internal Audit	33.07%
Financial Statements	14.48%
Income Tax Returns	10.61%
Balance Sheet	6.17%
Audit Reports	4.58%

Complete relevant chartered accountant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New chartered accountants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a chartered accountant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real chartered accountant resumes.

Research chartered accountant duties and responsibilities

Manage the review, enhancement, and creation of department policy and procedure documentation require for Sarbanes-Oxley auditing and compliance.
Provision of professional and timely taxation advice and services to clients.
Monitor deposits and withdrawals of revenue and expenses, review payroll, and ensure accurate processing and timely bank reconciliations.
Monitor bond and covenant requirements, providing tax return and audit information to external contacts.

Prepare your chartered accountant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your chartered accountant resume.

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Choose from 10+ customizable chartered accountant resume templates

Build a professional chartered accountant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your chartered accountant resume.