CPA vs CFA

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Alladin

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Could someone who has done the CPA tell me about how hard the exams are relative to the CFA? I am assuming the accounting/financial reporting sections must be much harder than CFA L2? Are there any Quants?
Thanks alot
 
Well clearly the material isn’t the same. CPA focuses more on advanced accounting topics that would revolved around issues involved in auditing. The accounting sections of the CFA relate more to financial analysis, statement analysis, etc.
In terms of difficulty, the CPA is a snooze fest compared to the CFA.
 
The CFA exams are much harder than the CPA exams. The CPA exam has four parts: Audit & Attestation, Financial Accounting, Regulation(Tax), and Business environment and concepts. I think the Financial Accounting section of the CPA is harder than the FRA section of Level II, but overall Level II is a much tougher exam than any part of the CPA exam. I think the CPA test is similar to the CFA in that they are both very detailed and take a lot of time to prepare for, but are different in that the CPA concentrates more on how to perform detailed transactions (ie, journal entries, putting together B/S, I/S etc.) and the CFA concentrates more on how those entries affect the financial statements as a whole. I think the FRA sections of the CFA will help you with the Financial portion on the CPA exam , but you will still have to spend a decent amount of time reviewing the detailed accounting information for the CPA. Just my opinion.
 
Is it worth it? I just hear that the two credentials are in totally different areas of business. What type of jobs would one benefit from holding both designations?
 
can you guys use the search function for this, its been brought up several times before.
 
is the cfa really that hard? I hold aca (uk equivalent of cpa) and have just passed level 2 of the cfa. they are both pretty similar in terms of difficulty in my view.
 
escape-from-alcatraz Wrote:
——————————————————-
> is the cfa really that hard? I hold aca (uk
> equivalent of cpa) and have just passed level 2 of
> the cfa. they are both pretty similar in terms of
> difficulty in my view.
It’s all relative to how bright you are? If everything comes easy to you then nothing is hard. Therefore they are all the same challenge.
I have never taken another credential exam. I think you could say that because the CFA encompasses multiple topics it is harder though. You don’t study ethics for a month then take the exam and so on. You study 8-10 topics and have one chance a year. I think this adds to the challenge. Just thoughts.
 
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll assume this handle once I’m inevitably banned.
 
lxwarr30 Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Is it worth it? I just hear that the two
> credentials are in totally different areas of
> business. What type of jobs would one benefit from
> holding both designations?
Both can be good if you are in the fair value segment of business valuation.
 
the pass rates are generally higher in accounting than the cfa (approx 75 to 80%) but this does not mean they are easier. In the UK (and I’m sure in many other countries) accountancy exams are sponsored by the firms so companies will pay all fees, pay for tuition, give you time off to go to college and to revise (can be more than 2 months per year over approx 3 years). The pass rate for independent candidates (which all cfa candidates effectively are) is more in the region of 40%, i.e. in line with cfa.
 
escape-from-alcatraz Wrote:
——————————————————-
> the pass rates are generally higher in accounting
> than the cfa (approx 75 to 80%) but this does not
> mean they are easier. In the UK (and I’m sure in
> many other countries) accountancy exams are
> sponsored by the firms so companies will pay all
> fees, pay for tuition, give you time off to go to
> college and to revise (can be more than 2 months
> per year over approx 3 years). The pass rate for
> independent candidates (which all cfa candidates
> effectively are) is more in the region of 40%,
> i.e. in line with cfa.
http://www.aicpa.org/BecomeACPA/CPAExam/PsychometricsandScoring/PassingR...
 
i guess cpa must be quite hard after all since candidates actually need an accounting degree to begin with…and then still have >50% fails
 
40%s… hmm.
I really think the difficulty may just come down to being able to choose your dates to take the exam every other month and that you knock it down one topic at a time.
 
Alladin Wrote:
——————————————————-
> Could someone who has done the CPA tell me about
> how hard the exams are relative to the CFA? I am
> assuming the accounting/financial reporting
> sections must be much harder than CFA L2? Are
> there any Quants?
>
> Thanks alot
You can prepare for a CPA exam section (AUD or BEC) with like 80 hours of study time. Other sections need a bit more. Like 100-120 hours (FAR or REG).
All in all, it’s all relative. If you have a finance background the CFA exams might not be that hard. But so many non-finance people (me included) take the CFA exam that it seems a lot harder.
The CPA exam on the other hand REQUIRES an accounting background. Also, most of it is covered in your undergrad, so it feels like a comprehensive review.
Reading about a subject in a book a few times and grasping a concept (CFAI texts for example) is harder than taking a course where you read books, actually work through lots of examples (homework), and have the material continually reinforced.
Edit: I guess I think CPA is tons easier than CFA. Pass rates are crappy due to not everyone being able to afford a review course or have crummy study habits.
 
I passed the CPA last year and just passed L2. Having the CPA made it much easier to study for the Financial Analysis section but I would say CFA is much more difficult. In addition, the pressure is completely different when you have to take a 6 hour exam which you are allowed to take only once a year vs. a 2 or 3 hour exam which you can take up to 4 times a year.
The best way to think of it is that CPA is bottom up accounting vs. CFA top down financial analysis. having both will give you a different perspective because you will know more about where the financial numbers came from.
 
Golden Point Wrote:
——————————————————-
> I passed the CPA last year and just passed L2.
> Having the CPA made it much easier to study for
> the Financial Analysis section but I would say CFA
> is much more difficult. In addition, the pressure
> is completely different when you have to take a 6
> hour exam which you are allowed to take only once
> a year vs. a 2 or 3 hour exam which you can take
> up to 4 times a year.
>
> The best way to think of it is that CPA is bottom
> up accounting vs. CFA top down financial analysis.
> having both will give you a different perspective
> because you will know more about where the
> financial numbers came from.
i think the cpa must be different from the UK qualification i have. I had to sit 8 3 / 3.5 hour exams, 4 of which were in the same week and could only be taken once (some twice) per year. Certainly agree with your second paragraph
 
Thanks Golden Point! Makes lots of sense and congrats on the passes
 
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