What is CICPA? CICPA Review

Cpa Origin

CPA is short for Certified Public Accountant. China's CPA system was established by the Beiyang government in 1918. It was interrupted for a period of time after the implementation of the comprehensive planned economy in 1956. After the reform and opening up, the CPA system was restored in 1981. After more than 30 years of recovery and development, CPA has become an indispensable symbol of high-end financial and accounting technical talents in my country.

Development History

On October 31, 1993, the Fourth Session of the Standing Committee of the Eighth National People's Congress deliberated and adopted the Certified Public Accountant Law, which came into effect on January 1, 1994. The Certified Public Accountant Law legally empowered the CICPA to organize and implement examinations, clarified the examination registration conditions and exemption conditions, and no longer implemented the assessment system, making examinations the only way to obtain the Certified Public Accountant qualification.

In 1994, the Chinese Certified Public Accountant Examination was opened to overseas, allowing residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and foreign citizens to take the examination in mainland China.

In 1999, an examination center was set up in Hong Kong.

In 1999, the Ministry of Finance promulgated and implemented the "National Unified Certified Public Accountant Examination Measures" to standardize and guide the organization and management of the Certified Public Accountant examination.

In 2007, examination centers were set up in Europe.

In 2010, an examination center was set up in Macau.

As of the end of 2014, a total of 555 citizens of Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and foreign countries have passed all subjects of the China Certified Public Accountant Examination. In addition, we have also carried out examination reciprocity research and consultation with other accounting professional organizations.

On May 19, 2005, the "Implementation Agreement on Mutual Exemption of Certain Examination Subjects for Certified Public Accountants in Mainland China and Hong Kong" was signed with the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

On January 9, 2008, we signed the "Agreement on Mutual Exemption of Some Examination Subjects" with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, realizing mutual exemption of some examination subjects.

In 2009, in order to adapt to the new requirements of economic globalization and the competence of certified public accountants, the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants formulated and issued the "CPA Examination System Reform Plan" with the approval of the CPA Examination Committee of the Ministry of Finance, which systematically proposed the guiding ideology, overall goals and main contents of the further reform of the examination system, and promoted the continuous improvement of the CPA examination.

As of December 31, 2015, there were 101,376 certified public accountants in the AICPA.

CPA Signature Authority

Certified Public Accountants have the sole right to sign, but the real signatory authority is a practicing certified public accountant, that is, a certified public accountant who has passed the CPA exam and has 2 years or more of work experience in an accounting firm. Only then will the CPA Association grant the practicing certified public accountant certification.

Business Scope

The main tasks undertaken by CPA include reviewing the accounting statements of enterprises and issuing audit reports; verifying the capital of enterprises and issuing capital verification reports; handling audit business in enterprise mergers, divisions, and liquidations and issuing relevant reports; and other audit business stipulated by laws and administrative regulations. The reports issued by them in accordance with the law in performing audit business have evidentiary effect.

course

The new CPA examination subjects are set in a “6+1” model, 6 professional subjects + 1 comprehensive subject.

Professional stage: It includes subjects such as economic law, tax law, financial cost management, accounting, auditing, corporate strategy and risk management. The purpose of the examination is to test whether the candidates have the professional knowledge and professional ethics required for practicing as a certified public accountant;

Advanced stage: Comprehensive test of intellectual skills, technical and application skills, personal skills, interpersonal and communication skills, organizational and business management skills, etc., mainly to examine whether the candidates have the ability to apply professional knowledge in the CPA practice environment, maintain a prudent professional attitude and professional ethics, and effectively solve practical problems.

Application conditions

To apply for the CPA exam, you must have a college degree or above, or have an intermediate or higher technical title in accounting or related majors. College students can only apply for the CPA exam in the year of graduation (junior year for college students, senior year for undergraduates), and they need a graduation certificate and a letter of commitment from the school.

Exam changes

my country has implemented the national unified certification examination system for accountants since 1991.

Since 1993, it has been held annually. The examination consists of a professional stage and a comprehensive stage. Initially, there were five examination subjects, namely accounting, auditing, tax law, economic law, and financial cost management.

Since 2009, a new subject "Corporate Strategy and Risk Management" has been added to the professional stage of the examination. Candidates can complete the examination within five years. Starting from the time of passing the first subject, they must pass all subjects of the National Unified Certified Public Accountant Examination within five years, otherwise the examination results passed in the first year will be invalid, and so on.

In 2012, the Examination Committee of the Ministry of Finance decided to implement computerized examination (abbreviated as computer-based examination) in the CPA examination. On April 23, 2014, the Ministry of Finance issued a ministerial order to revise the "National Unified Examination Methods for CPAs" again, focusing on the revision of the examination method, comprehensive stage examination period and other contents, establishing the computer-based examination method and canceling the comprehensive stage examination period and other regulations. The establishment of the computer-based examination method marked the realization of a major reform of the CPA examination organization and management system.

In 2014, the second on-site qualification review for graduating students was cancelled; the examination results review was changed from on-site application to online application.

In 2015, the on-site qualification review procedure for first-time applicants and recent graduates was cancelled, and a "one-stop" registration was implemented, allowing the vast majority of applicants to complete their registration through the online registration system without leaving their homes.

There are two situations in which CPA is exempted from taking the ACCA exam

Those who obtained a full-subject qualification certificate or membership certificate before the 2009 "6+1" system are exempt from taking 5 courses (F1-F4 and F6)

After the 2009 "6+1" system, those who obtained a full-subject qualification certificate or membership certificate are exempt from 9 courses (F1-F9), that is, all 9 courses in the F stage can be exempted. However, if you want to apply for an OBU degree (Oxford Brookes University degree in the UK), the three subjects F7/8/9 cannot be exempted, so you should consider whether you want to be exempted or have a degree.

CICPA and USCPA

CICPA (China CPA): As a certified public accountant, they generally engage in senior financial accounting, independent auditing, tax consulting, financial planning, etc. Certified public accountants in China are widely distributed and can be found in enterprises, government agencies, public institutions, and accounting firms.

USCPA (United States Certified Public Accountant): USCPA is issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). It is also a necessary high-end certificate in the accounting field in the United States, which is equivalent to the status of CPA in the accounting field in China. Having a USCPA will have good employment opportunities in the United States. Many Chinese in the United States will give priority to accounting, so if you want to develop, work, immigrate, and get a green card in the United States, USCPA will be of great help.