Management Accountant experience - but with MBA

[Meltingpot_Pete]

Hi all,

It's great to see everyone share so much information on this forum. Thanks.

I've worked as a management accountant in full time roles for the past 10 years,  all in top companies in their field. All my experience has been post MBA.

I got an Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting (CIMA) in November 2014. I've got all my roles based on being qualified by experience. I'm a bit concerned about the assessment from CPA though.

Will they consider my experience prior to the CIMA diploma in 2014. If I'm not mistaken, they consider all experience but can someone confirm? My entire application hinges on this.

In terms of points, my breakdown is

I can also get 5 additional points for Partner Skills but right now it doesn't seem required. Might have to do it if CPA deduct my points for experience. I've already done my PTE and received top scores in each module.

 

Thanks

Pete

 

 

 

[Guest The Pom Queen]

@Alan Collett would be the best person to advise, he is a Migration Agent and an accountant 

[Meltingpot_Pete]

1 hour ago, Meltingpot_Pete said:

Hi all,

It's great to see everyone share so much information on this forum. Thanks.

I've worked as a management accountant in full time roles for the past 10 years,  all in top companies in their field. All my experience has been post MBA.

I got an Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting (CIMA) in November 2014. I've got all my roles based on being qualified by experience. I'm a bit concerned about the assessment from CPA though.

Will they consider my experience prior to the CIMA diploma in 2014. If I'm not mistaken, they consider all experience but can someone confirm? My entire application hinges on this.

In terms of points, my breakdown is

I can also get 5 additional points for Partner Skills but right now it doesn't seem required. Might have to do it if CPA deduct my points for experience. I've already done my PTE and received top scores in each module.

 

Thanks

Pete

 

 

 

Just to add to this, I did my bachelors in finance and MBA too covering all subjects mandated by CPA for the management accountant occupation.

[lothar]

Are you a full CIMA member, or do you only have the advanced diploma? If you are not a full member then the advanced diploma will not mean much.

What was your degree in?

Generally, They will start there and see if it is comparable to an Aus degree, they will then check that you cover each of the areas required.

Your work experience will count from the point where they are satisfied that your degree is Aus comparable and you have covered the required fields.

Non accounting degrees usually fall short on the Financial Accounting, Accounting Theory and sometimes business law subjects. They could then use your CIMA subjects to fill in those gaps but your experience will only count from the point you passed those subjects.

If your degree is comparable and you meet all the subject requirements in your degree your experience will count from the minute you completed your degree and the CIMA will be ignored.

Hope that makes sense, if not let me know.

 

[Meltingpot_Pete]

Hi Lother,

Thanks for sharing your views. I'm not fully qualified, hopefully will be so in June 2018. However, I have covered all topics deemed compulsory by CPA in my Bachelors in Finance.

• Accounting Systems and Processes
• Financial Accounting and Reporting 
• Management Accounting 
• Finance and Financial Management
• Business Law 
• Economics
• Quantitative Methods

I've covered most of these subjects in my MBA in Finance as well, so I've covered them twice.

All my experience is post MBA. If I've understood your message correctly as long as I've covered the topics above in my formal education and claiming points for experience gained after that  it should be OK, right?

Also, I spoke to CPA (London office) earlier today and they said I need to get my migration assessment (qualifications) first and then skills assessment (work experience). I thought both were done together and the terms were use interchangeably. Can you please clarify ?

Thanks

 

 

 

 

[lothar]

Yes, if the accounting body you submit your degree and syllabus to deems that your degree and/or MBA syllabus are comparable to an Aus degree and cover the required areas for Management Accounting then your work experience will count from that point.

On your second question, when you submit your degree to the assessment body you can select an option to do a work experience assessment as well. But as you mentioned they will only assess the work experience once they deem your qualifications are sufficient.

Bear in mind that there are three bodies you can submit it to: CPA, ICAA and IPA.

I submitted my wifes to both the CPA and ICAA just for good measure. 

Both CPA and ICAA have very good pages on their websites showing exactly what is needed to be submitted to them for a skills and skilled employment assessment. I think the syllabus part is critical in convincing them you covered the areas. My wife was fortunate enough to do an accounting degree so we were able to get positive assessments from both CPA and ICAA but we spent about a month collecting and formatting the documents to be perfect before I sent them off.

 

[Meltingpot_Pete]

Thanks Lother. I've got most of my paperwork in order, reference letters, pay slips, P60, transcripts, syllabus etc. The only problem is none of my previous employers have provided a detailed list of my responsibilities. They have a standard format and refuse to deviate from it. In this case, would a self declaration of all my responsibilities in each of my role be required?

Sorry with the barrage of questions. I want to make sure I do it right the first time and get in queue before July.

Thanks

 

 

[lothar]

Hey, I won't be too much help here, fortunately my wife has been with the same company for 10 years so she was able to get a detailed letter of all her responsibilities from each of her previous managers.

I seem to recall that during my research I came across a case where they couldn't get letters from previous managers. In this case you can submit: "Statutory Declaration/Affidavit - This will only be accepted for job description/task list;" (this was taken from ICAA website)

 

 

[Meltingpot_Pete]

No worries. Thanks for all the info and all the best with your application.

[smmammmen]

hello

Would it be possible for you to share CV/ work experience format and work reference letter format from the employer?

I am totally confused about it and having a tough time explaining my previous employer.

[lothar]

Hi,

The work experience format depends on the assessment body you use. They have the format on their webpages:

Here is the ICAA one:

https://www.charteredaccountantsanz.com/about-us/what-we-do/migration-assessment/skilled-employment-assessment

[smmammmen]

Thank You. that was really helpful. Would it be possible to have samples  of the reference letter from the employer too.

 

[Angjol]

hi@lothar .. when i called cpa to confirm about the degree requirement prior to work experience they told me that without a doubt they only look at the experience we gained and thw duties we used to have in the position. they said as long as the degree is comparable to an australian bachelors they dont bother about the subjects that were covered in that degree. so that means they dont see if all the units were covered before we started working as a management acc or a taxation acc etc ..

[wrussell]

If you are relying on  a degree to pass the skills assessment, step 1 assesses whether it is comparable to an Australian degree. If it is step 2 assesses the content. If it is not, there is no step 2.

[Meltingpot_Pete]

On 17/05/2018 at 17:31, smmammmen said:

Thank You. that was really helpful. Would it be possible to have samples  of the reference letter from the employer too.

2

This is a very standard format, most companies use the same. Make sure it clearly mentions your start and end date, role, part-time or full-time role, no. of hours worked per week, gross salary and your title. HR will rarely provide a list of responsibilities but your hiring manager could help with this. Use the job description for your role and any additional tasks that you perform but aren't listed in the job spec. HR should be able to provide the job spec. Hope this helps.

I managed to get this done in only 2 out of the 5 companies I have worked for. For the other 3,  prepared a statutory declaration with my responsibilities listed.

Hope this helps

[Meltingpot_Pete]

On 23/05/2018 at 18:31, Angjol said:

hi@lothar .. when i called cpa to confirm about the degree requirement prior to work experience they told me that without a doubt they only look at the experience we gained and thw duties we used to have in the position. they said as long as the degree is comparable to an australian bachelors they dont bother about the subjects that were covered in that degree. so that means they dont see if all the units were covered before we started working as a management acc or a taxation acc etc ..

Hi Angjol,

From what I've understood talking to CPA reps and also from their website (and the other accounting bodies) they have clearly listed the subjects that you should have covered in your degree. I think even if the degree is Aus equivalent if you haven't covered the mandatory subjects they will mention this in your evaluation and you will not get the green light until then. 

I'm in the midst of this process so some more experienced folks can confirm if I'm right.

[Angjol]

Hi Angjol,
From what I've understood talking to CPA reps and also from their website (and the other accounting bodies) they have clearly listed the subjects that you should have covered in your degree. I think even if the degree is Aus equivalent if you haven't covered the mandatory subjects they will mention this in your evaluation and you will not get the green light until then. 
I'm in the midst of this process so some more experienced folks can confirm if I'm right.

Hi@Meltingpot_Pete,

I think you are right. After rrading this thread i did my own research and found out that 7 out of 9 units should be completed regardless of the name of the degree. It can be BBA MBA or Bachelor in accounting but the units should definitely be covered..[emoji106]