Distinguish between two career categories before comparing designations
Accounting and investment finance overlap, but their tasks differ. Accounting covers maintaining financial records and preparing financial statements, auditing, taxation and management accounting. Investment finance covers investment analysis, portfolio management, research and the structuring of financial products.
The three designations generally fit into these categories as follows. CPA (Chartered Professional Accountant) and ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) belong to accounting and its regulated professions. CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst), awarded by CFA Institute, relates to investment analysis. A single career path can combine two of them, but each designation serves a specific purpose and is assessed against its own rules.
Before comparing exams, it is therefore useful to ask what kind of working day you are looking for: preparing and verifying company figures, or evaluating investments.
Read the official CFA requirements
According to CFA Institute, earning the designation requires passing all three levels of the programme, as well as completing the practical skills modules. The organization also requires at least 4,000 hours of professional experience, accumulated over at least 36 months. This experience may come before, during or after the exams, and it must involve investment decisions or produce work that informs them.
The official page consulted does not state a degree requirement. Exam enrolment requirements are published separately. A summary from an exam preparation provider indicates that Level I accepts a bachelor's degree or, alternatively, a combination of 4,000 hours of experience or education over three consecutive years; this detail must be confirmed on the organization's website.
Candidates must also become members of CFA Institute and provide professional references. The programme's exams are offered only in English.
Read the ACCA structure
ACCA publishes a three-level structure on its website, with 13 exams in total based on a count of the published lists. The Applied Knowledge level includes 3 exams, the Applied Skills level 6 exams, and the Strategic Professional level 4 exams: two compulsory exams and two options out of four.
Students must also complete an Ethics and Professional Skills Module and demonstrate at least 36 months of relevant experience, verified by a supervisor, with 9 performance objectives. Previous qualifications may allow students to start at a more advanced level.
The page consulted links to a campaign about a future version of the qualification without providing its content. Since the qualification's format may evolve, students starting today should read the latest information on ACCA's website.
Read about the CPA pathway in Canada
In Canada, the CPA designation is awarded by provincial regulatory bodies. The Ontario example is documented: CPA Ontario describes a pathway for internationally trained accountants that requires membership in good standing with a foreign accounting body that is a member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), or a body established by law for accountants or auditors.
This pathway requires 30 months of prescribed practical experience. It involves the Professional Education Program (PEP) and the Common Final Examination (CFE). Depending on their circumstances, candidates follow either a “challenge” pathway based on a university degree and at least three years of relevant experience (or eight years without a degree), or the full PEP pathway.
The Ontario regulatory body lists an initial administration fee of $125 plus tax and an annual student fee of $725 plus tax for admission between January 1 and June 30 ($365 plus tax thereafter). The minimum processing time is 12 weeks. Quebec's rules fall under a different regulatory body.
Compare the three designations in a table
The following table presents the requirements published by each organization. It does not measure difficulty or labour market value, which these organizations do not publish, and it does not replace reading the official pages, which change from year to year.
A clarification when reading: ACCA's and CFA's 36 months are not calculated in the same way. CFA counts hours of investment-related work, whereas ACCA counts a period of experience and performance objectives validated by a supervisor. CPA, meanwhile, requires experience “prescribed” by the regulatory body, whose precise definition is published in its training documents. Comparing the durations without reading these definitions creates a false impression of equivalence.
| Designation | Main field | Published structure | Required experience |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPA (international pathway, Ontario) | Accounting, auditing, taxation | PEP and Common Final Examination (CFE) | 30 months of prescribed experience |
| CFA | Investment analysis | 3 levels and practical modules | 4,000 hours over at least 36 months |
| ACCA | Accounting, auditing, management | 13 exams and ethics module | 36 months and 9 performance objectives |
Check recognition of the designation in your target country
A professional designation has value primarily where the regulatory body recognizes it. For CPA in Ontario, the page consulted specifies that the foreign organization must be an IFAC member. It names neither ACCA nor CFA: each candidate is responsible for checking whether their designation meets the criterion. CFA is not described as an accounting body and therefore does not provide access to the CPA designation through this pathway.
In the United States, CPA designation requirements are set by each state through state boards of accountancy, and they evolve. University credit requirements vary from state to state and must be checked with the relevant board.
For ACCA, recognition varies by country and must be checked with the local regulatory body. The same caution applies to a foreign credential assessment: the Ontario regulatory body, for example, requires an assessment by WES for degree-based exemptions.
Consider language, duration and scheduling
CFA exams are offered only in English; this constraint matters for students whose language of study is not English. ACCA and CPA have their own language arrangements, published by each organization.
The actual duration depends on how quickly exams are passed, exemptions and the job held. The organizations do not publish comparable average completion times. The required experience, 30 or 36 months, means in practice being employed in an eligible position, which may depend on a work permit if you are studying abroad.
These three designations are not mutually exclusive. A professional may hold both CPA and CFA, for example. The order in which they are earned depends on the target profession and each employer's hiring requirements. Three questions can help narrow the choice:
- Is the target profession regulated (auditing, assurance on financial statements) or performance-based (portfolio management)?
- In which country will the experience be accumulated, and under what immigration status?
- Does the target employer state the designation it requires in its job postings?
What about Canada?
Canada has several provincial CPA regulatory bodies, including the Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec and CPA Ontario. Universities offer programmes whose courses may count towards the prerequisites for the Professional Education Program; the provincial regulatory body publishes the list of these prerequisites. CFA is administered by CFA Institute and involves exams that have no connection to the Canadian university system.
To explore studies that prepare students for these pathways, StudyCanada features, among others, the commerce programmes at McGill University and The University of British Columbia, the Accounting and Financial Management programme at the University of Waterloo, and the accounting programme at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa / Université d’Ottawa. The programme pages indicate admission requirements for international students and internship opportunities.