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Just doing some more analyzing (Yes sometimes I act every bit the financial person!) and seems there's 2 ways I could do this if I stay past the initial 12 month work permit. either 1. Get a firm to sponsor me for articling for the 3 year work experience requirement under NAFTA Professionals then be eligible to be a CA or 2. Be sponsored for a bookkeeping, analyst, or similar job while doing my Master's online and passing the CPA test, register with the Board of CPAs in Massachusetts (Have Googled this and it's one of the only states that will let me be a CPA with no work experience as long as I have my Master's, and they don't require me to be a resident there to get my license either) and then take the Canadian Reciprocity Exam which covers taxation, law, and ethics, after passing which I'd automatically be able to become a CA. If possible, option #1 seems more appealing, as I'd be able to focus on IFRS which is something which would carry me throughout my career, instead of stressing myself out over passing a body of exams over US GAAP, which is about to become obsolete anyway.
Don't discount US GAAP just yet. I don't think, US GAAP will go away that fast, if ever. In addition, knowing both IFRS and US GAAP can actually help with your career as a CPA / CA.
Also, don't get overexcited about career and earning opportunities as an accountant in Vancouver / BC, especially coming from outside. If accounting was that hot in BC / Canada, Canadian immigration would not eliminate it from the list of occupations in demand. Per changes in 2009 / 2010, accountants are not eligible to apply for immigration to Canada in the skilled worker category anymore.
Not trying to be cynical and so on, just saying.
Last edited by movingwiththewind; 03-25-2011 at 07:46 AM..
Ah ok, hopefully the web page I was looking at saying that accountants are included under NAFTA isn't out of date.
The most recent estimate for GAAP being completely phased out is 2014, although that date does keep getting pushed forward by those trying to make the rules.
Can the OP please clarify how upon graduating from a US university she could come over here and get a 1 year work permit. Canada indeed has a 1 year post graduate work permit but my understanding is that the program is only for foreign students who have just graduated from a Canadian university.
Getting accounting articles at one of the big Canadian CA firms is almost impossible for someone with a foreign education - unless you graduated from an Ivy League school or Oxbridge. Why would Ernst & Young hire a grad from some American state university and not one from UBC or UofT, considering that our Canadian university accounting curiculum is designed with CA/CGA/CMA designations in mind. Basically, there are a certain number of CA approved courses one needs to complete at university to meet the minimum admission requirements. Also, a lot of recruitment takes place on university campuses.
Contrary to some salary figures being thrown around on this forum, accountants do not earn that much money when you factor in the years of training they have to go through. This is especially true in Vancouver where the salaries are so miserable. To make $100k you have to be at least at the controller level and that takes a long time to attain. Someone talked about a CA billing $125 per hour. Billing and salary are two different things. You have to factor in overhead for the CA firm like rent and admin expenses. Also a billing of $125 is more on the higher end of the spectrum and not typical. I was able to get a CA to help me with taxes for a billing of $55/hr.
I hope you are moving to Canada because of political/ideological reasons and not economic ones - otherwise you will be disappointed. Ever wondered why a lot of Canadians wanna go and work in the States, and not the other way around?
Well, I never ment to make it look like it was going to be easy. I like the ols saying. " where there is a will, there's a way". If the OP wants to be an accountant and she wants to live in Van., then she can make it happen some way. I have one son who decided he wanted to be a ski bum and went and lived in Whistler before he even graduated high school. He got tired of that after a few years and moved to Vancouver where he got a job in a good hotel. After not too long he was a doorman making amazing money and head union stewart at the hotel to boot. He started back to school around that time and after quite a few years got his B.Sc. from UBC. He decides that he really was not all that interested in his major so he started law at UBC. Next year he will graduate as a lawyer and begin law practise. He also will be 35 years old with a wife and a child.
You know he could still be that ski bum in Whistler like a lot of his friends still are. He made the decision he wanted to do something different and so he did. There have been nay sayers all along the way. "You have a good job already, You'r too old, It costs too much and on and on.
It hasn't been easy for him. It's been a struggle the whole way through. These struggles in life build character. So, I say to the OP, If you want to be an accountant in B.C. you can do it. If you want to become rich, well you can do it. If you want just a run of the mill job, well that's OK too.
I'm sure of one thing, If you go to Vancouver your life will take you to places you never dreamed it would. Your path will be a far different path than if you went somewhere else. You will never know what that path is going to be until you get on it.
No doubt that having a degree which specifically addresses the requirements for being a CA would make the transition easier. Although my degree where I got it was the only way I could afford to go back to university; I'm going to be 30 next year and did all of this on my own without support from family. So I haven't slept much for the last 3 years. Although 90% of my grades were As, so I would imagine that that would reflect well!
Making lucrative money isn't so important to me. What worries me is that as a country, we've taken such a backwards slide in the last 15 years especially, and it doesn't show any signs of getting better to the point where I feel comfortable raising any future children here. We've definitely been hit harder by the recession, and it's an awful sign of the attitudes many here hold if bigots like Rand Paul can get elected, among other reasons, I don't feel like inviting people to this thread who are up for turning it into a political debate. So the reasons are definitely more political than they are economic, although the economic side definitely doesn't look shabby either! I would have left when Bush was in power, but I didn't have a degree at that time, so had to get that first.
Lucknow, I respect your optimism. However, we can not ignore the reality of life in Canada for a foreign trained professional.
I am the son of a foreign trained professional and I speak not only from my family's personal experiences but from the collective immigrant experience. Imagine being told that you can not be hired because you do not have "Canadian Experience".
Wherever there is a will there is a way. The question is whether the pay off is worth it. My family came from the 3rd world were salaries for a university educated professional were $200 a month. For my family making $1500 at Walmart was not too bad - save for the fact that the job is mind numbing and does not exploit your education/intellect. Coming from a brutal dictatorship made the little freedoms we have in North America heaven on earth. Eventually, after over a decade, my family could finally enjoy professional employment. A lot of our compatriots have not been so lucky and are still working low wage jobs.
The OP can take the same gamble my family took when they moved to Canada. The million dollar question is whether such a sacrifice makes sense for someone coming from a 1st world nation. She must embrace the reality of having less than a 2% chance of being accepted into a Canadian CA articles program. I hope she doesnt mind slaving towards the CGA route (at least CGAs take anyone and everyone) and end up earning $45k working as an accountant in Vancouver, where she will never be able to afford a house. At least in a lot of US cities such a salary can buy you a middle class lifestyle e.g. a decent house and car. Just don't want her wishing someone had given her the other side of the story when her classmates are now CPAs and buying that $200k house with a double lock up garage and she has to shell out $300k for a condo in a Vancouver suburb like Coquitlam.
If SassyKitten really wants to come to Canada then at least she should chose a more affordable Canadian city with a real economy. Why not go to Toronto or Calgary? I hear some of the prairie cities like Saskatchewan are not doing that bad.
And some advice worth considering:
Instead of hoping a Canadian company will sponsor you, why dont you apply independently, as a skilled professional, for Canadian Permanent Residence. Our equivalent of a Green Card. That way your only worry will be to just job search once you get to Canada and not have to worry about papers. The process can take about two years and in the meantime you could be earning valuable work experience in the states and also earning your CPA. Once you have a CPA and work experience it will be a lot easier to get a job in Canada and instead of competing with Canadian students for an articling space you will now be focusing on converting your CPA designation to the CA. I also suggest that you try and get as much audit experience as you can while in the states since auditing is quite an important aspect of the Canadian CA designation.
Last edited by DannyCrane; 03-26-2011 at 07:23 PM..
Fair enough, research about if it's possible to be hired to arcticle for a firm with a US Bachelor's is something I'm actively looking into with no answers just yet. I am still considering if it's a good idea for me to hold off on the move untill I have my CPA license. The way is works for the most part, although each state is different, is that applicants have to pass all 4 parts of the exam and have 1 year worth of work experience.
Although one way I have looked into doing this if I decide to start first with a US CPA and convert it into a Canadian CA is to register in Massachusetts, as that state doesn't require work experience for applicants who have a Master's degree, which I can obtain via distance learning, as well as not requiring applicants to be a resident of that state. For the exam, I'd have to basically cross the border for the weekend, the closest testing location to Vancouver is in North Seattle. Jobwise while I'm in the process of passing my exams, I would try to find some work doing managerial accounting, as that is one area that both I'm interested in and that works on the same system worldwide, although if I can't find a job there then I'm happy with some simple bookkeeping work.
Anyway, I'm still in the decision-making/planning process, but I'm definitely in a hurry to leave this area as soon as I can. I'm a single female living in a semi-rural area of the US Bible Belt, who is both not religious and extremely liberal, so socially I feel a bit isolated here. And I'm 30 in February next year, so my life is getting away from me a bit. So if I seem a bit impatient, the idea of being stuck in Georgia for another week let alone another 2 or so years scares me.
A perfect recipe for disaster. Trying to make such major life altering decisions from an emotional stand point. Do not ever rush such decisions - you need to do all the research you can before making that leap otherwise it will just be straight from the frying pan and into the fire.
To do the CPA to CA conversion you need work experience. I think it is something like 30 months. Also, the CPA can not be earned while residing in Canada (as per the CICA conversion rules). You have to earn it while residing in the states. So that plan of crossing over to take exams in Seattle while working in Canada is not feasible.
Managerial accounting is a whole other animal and I do not see the connection with a CA and how such experience can help you in your quest for CA designation. In that case you might be better off pursuing the CMA designation. For that you will need to do you homework regarding CMA employment opportunities.
Earning a living as a bookkeeper in Canada's most expensive city is not exactly that glamorous. We have too many bookkeepers for the size of our small Vancouver economy and wages in the $12-$15/hr range are very common. Besides, how does one get a work visa as bookkeeper?
I understand right wing Georgia might not be your ideal place. However, the US also offers a whole bunch of leftie friendly liberal cities like around the bay area, seattle or even Portland. Such places offer better economies than Vancouver and are way cheaper than Vancouver (save for San Francisco). Portland is probably way more liberal than Vancouver. BTW, The bible belt offers sthe lowest cost of living in North America. You will definitely feel that difference when you move up to Vancouver. Be prepared to pay way more for everything. That galon of milk you pay $2.50 at the supermarket will now jump up to $4.00 in Vancouver. In fact, I would say you should prepare to pay a 40% premium on all goods and services once you are in Vancouver. To add insult to injury Vancouver salaries are amongst the lowest in Canada. Its a good place if you are running your own business.
Nothing wrong with moving to Vancouver. Just want you to make a well informed decision
Did you have a weblink for that information? I've Googled the hell out of that one, and I didn't see anything regarding required work experience to convert a CPA to a CA. What I did see is that I would need to take an exam on Canadian tax, laws, and ethics, and that it's only offered in October. In addition, I know it is possible for internationally trained accountants who want the CPA designation for the sake of their CV to take the exam, so I figured it would be the same for me.
I do want to head more into the managerial end of the field and focus on consulting, but then what my professors keep saying is still get the CPA(assuming I'm staying put in the US) designation regardless for the sake of credibility.
My 5 year career plan has been very hard to chart, I'm definitely far from being a cookie-cutter accounting grad!
Just wondering, have you visited Vancouver before? It might be pretty, but is a losing option financially. Like others have said, you'll make less money and pay much more for housing vs. other cities in Canada. You could make twice the money and pay half as much for a house in Calgary.
Big decision, but only move if you really, really want to live in Vancouver. Be prepared to be borderline starving for a few years. I read a recent article that says people need to make over $18/hour just to survive in the Vancouver metro - that's just the basics. Forget spending money on movies or trips or new yoga mats...
good luck
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