Difference Between CPA and CFA

Money matters to everybody, but keeping a track of it is not easy.

It can be something as simple as keeping track of our day to day expenses to something more difficult and cumbersome as filing taxes for a corporate and looking after its finances.

One of the best ways to go about it is to find someone who can do it on professional lines for you. It will cost more obviously than doing it yourself but the ease with which it will provide you is also going to be unbelievable.

CPAs and CFAs are generally available for these purposes. The names of both qualifications are quite similar but the functionality and the route to the qualification is certainly much different. While the CPAs are more towards maintaining accounts and helping people out with taxes, the CFAs are more interested in the larger financial endeavours and are involved in analysis of extremely complicated types.

Instructions

  • 1

    CPA

    Certified Public Accountants or CPAs are mostly found in the US, the birthplace of the qualification. The qualification teaches you a lot about the accounting and the related matters. Once you have become a CPA, you can start a job or your own business if you feel like it.

    The process to becoming a CPA is to first have the prerequisites required for the qualification. Afterwards, you are needed to pass a four part single exam which is tough but if you prepare well, you should not have too much trouble.

    The pays are quite good and if you have your practice, you can get a lot of clientele. The busiest time of the year is the tax season where people come in flocks to get their taxes prepared.

    Image Courtesy: centraltexascpa.com

  • 2

    CFA

    Chartered Financial Analysts have a tough job at hand. They are expected to come up with solutions to cumbersome financial problems and are entrusted with financial policy making in the corporate sector.

    The route to becoming a CFA is not easy and once you meet the prerequisites, you need to take three individual exams. These exams are quite tough but once you are able to become a CFA, you can find a job with relative ease and also get a salary better than most jobs.

    The extra effort that is needed to become a CFA is most certainly worth making. It is accepted the world over and there is a great demand for CFAs in corporate sectors of all the countries.

    Image Courtesy: communiqueiitkgp.in

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