Accountants Must Read: TOP 8 FAQ on the Skills Assessment Reform — A Detailed Guide to the 1 July 2015 Changes and How to Respond

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Introduction

Yesterday CPA released major news: from 1 July 2015, the accounting skills assessment will undergo significant changes, with the eligible course list reduced from 12 subjects to 9. The moment the announcement landed, Newstarsec’s hotlines lit up. To help as many students as possible get clarity quickly, Newstarsec consultants worked through the night to compile the TOP 8 frequently asked questions. If you have any other questions, please continue to call our hotline — we are answering enquiries throughout the long weekend. Sydney: 0292645388, 0406186616, 0452504514; Melbourne: 0396293882, 0450556075, 0450950606. Melbourne WeChat: Kirk1031; Sydney WeChat: Jasper_Wu616.

What has actually changed under the new policy?

1. The accounting course range has been reduced from 12 subjects to 9. Financial Accounting and Accounting Theory have been merged, Commercial Law and Corporations Law have been merged, and Accounting Information Systems has been removed. Strictly speaking, the change is from 12 subjects to 11.

2. The number of compulsory subjects has increased from 4 to 7. Because of the course mergers, in practice the accounting compulsory subject count is now 9.

How can I check whether I am missing any subjects?

The safest method is to go straight to the official CPA website and run your subjects against the list there. The steps: Google the phrase “cpa accredited course”, then click the first result to open the page where you can match your own subjects against the official requirements.

If I find I’m short on subjects, what’s the fastest and cheapest way to fix it?

You can top up the missing subject with a short, low-cost course. Classes start on 9 June and finish before the end of July, and you can complete several top-up subjects during the same window — so roughly 7 weeks is enough to wrap up the gap. For details, contact: Sydney — Jasper_Wu616; Melbourne — Kirk1031.

If I won’t have completed the new-policy subjects by 30 June and my visa is about to expire, what should I do?

1. If your first student visa was lodged on 5 November 2011, you can still apply for the PSW visa. Note that even with a PSW visa in hand you cannot start PY straight away — you still have to top up the missing subjects, pass a pre-assessment, and only then enrol in PY, because the pre-assessment requirements track the new policy.

2. If you fall under the old 485 TR visa stream (first student visa lodged before 5 November 2011), you can begin top-up subjects immediately after graduation. If your visa won’t run long enough, you can extend on a student or visitor visa, finish the assessment subjects, then apply for the 485. A note here: a visitor visa allows up to 3 months of short-term study, and even an 8503 condition does not block a 485 application.

3. Overseas students can also come in on a visitor visa to top up subjects — for example, students who already met the requirements and were planning to head home to sit IELTS.

What about students who are already studying PY?

If you are already in PY and on a 485 visa, check straight away whether you are short any subjects. If you are, top them up as quickly as possible. PY students complete a pre-assessment beforehand, but the full assessment after PY follows the new policy — so any missing subject will block the full assessment.

Are students currently enrolled in a Professional Accounting degree definitely safe?

Not necessarily.

For example, students in USYD’s Master of Professional Accounting have a subject called Quantitative Method, which is currently an elective for the MPA cohort but becomes a compulsory subject under the new rules. Newstarsec therefore recommends every MPA student complete every CPA-recognised core subject to insulate themselves from any policy shifts.

Another example: if you are piecing together the 9 subjects across two degrees (say, a Bachelor of Commerce plus a Master of Applied Finance), double-check that you took both Commercial Law and Corporations Law. The Newstarsec migration team fielded a flood of enquiries yesterday and found that some students had only taken one of the two.

Do I still need to take Auditing?

Under the new policy, Auditing is no longer compulsory for students taking the accounting migration pathway, so it is not strictly required. We still recommend taking it, however, because if you go down the external auditing skills assessment route, Auditing is compulsory. Completing Auditing therefore opens up a second skills assessment pathway alongside accounting, which lifts your chances of being invited.

When does the new policy take effect?

Per the assessing authorities’ official websites, CA ANZ and IPA will assess applications under the old policy as long as they are received by 30 June, while CPA’s website states that any assessment completed after 30 June will be processed under the new policy. CPA’s stance is hard to defend on principle, but to avoid unnecessary trouble we recommend not lodging with CPA right now. Newstarsec offers the fastest available skills assessment service — we hand-deliver applications and can secure a skills assessment outcome in a single day.

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Newstarsec has set up a dedicated accounting skills assessment hotline. If you need help, please get in touch as soon as possible — we are answering enquiries throughout the long weekend.

Sydney phone: 0292645388, 0406186616, 0452504514

Melbourne phone: 0396293882, 0450556075, 0450950606

WeChat: Jasper_Wu616

WeChat: kirk1031