Professional Accounting courses - Accreditation
Professional accounting accreditation - Master's degree
(1) CPA Australia and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ)
Completion of the core units for the Master of Professional Accounting satisfies the requirements of both Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) and CPA Australia for accreditation under the direct program pathway. The foundation competency areas that are required to be covered by the two main professional accounting bodies in Australia are as follows:
| Competency Areas | Required Unit of Study |
|---|---|
| Accounting systems and processes | ACCT5001 Accounting Principles |
| Audit and assurance | ACCT6007 Contemporary Issues in Auditing |
| Business law | CLAW5001 Legal Environment of Business AND CLAW6002 Corporate Structures in Practice |
| Economics | BUSS5001 Firms, Markets and Business Management |
| Finance and financial management | FINC5001 Capital Markets and Corporate Finance |
| Financial accounting and rpeorting | ACCT6001 Intermediate Financial Reporting AND ACCT6010 Advanced Financial Reporting |
| Information technology | INFS5000 Accounting Information Systems |
| Management accounting | ACCT5002 Management Accounting and Decision Making |
| Quantitative methods | QBUS5002 Quantitative Methods for Accounting |
| Taxation | CLAW6026 Taxation Law and Practice |
A further competency area is Ethics which is covered across the curriculum of the program.
As accredited units are subject to review by the professional accounting bodies, students should check the CAANZ and CPA Australia websites for units accredited in the year they commenced their course. If required, the CPA/CAANZ Accreditation Liaison Officer in the Discipline of Accounting can provide further advice on professional accounting accreditation.
(2) Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
The ACCA will allow four foundation unit exam exemptions for students who have completed the Master of Professional Accounting. In addition, students who complete certain accredited units of study may be eligible for up to five further specific exam exemptions. As of 2017, the ACCA Accelerate Program provides the opportunity for high achieving students from the University of Sydney Business School Masters in Professional Accounting program to commence the professional level papers as early as the end of the first year of postgraduate studies with the exam fees waived providing they take their first exam within 12 months of graduating. Further information on the ACCA exam exemptions can be found on the Business School and ACCA website.