In the same way that graduates at major Australian law firms tend to receive a salary increase soon after their admission as a lawyer, most staffers at major accounting firms who complete the CA receive some form of recognition from their employer.
Looking at the Chartered Accountant program, it is easy to see why:
The GradDipCA consists of the following 5 modules:
- Taxation (TAX)
- Audit and Assurance (AAA)
- Management Accounting and Analysis (MAA)
- Financial Accounting and Reporting (FIN)
- Ethics and Business Application (EBA).
The first 4 modules are technical modules and can be taken in any order, one module at a time.
The final module, Ethics and Business Application (EBA) consolidates the learning from the 4 technical modules. You may only enrol into the EBA module upon successful completion of all of the technical modules.
After completing 5 difficult modules over a couple of years, most accounting firm staffers can at least look forward to a bit of paycheck upside. That is, unless you work in the Financial Services section of Assurance at Ernst & Young.
We received the following (very welcome) intel from an anonymous EY spy last week:
Hello FS
First time contributor, long time reader. I work at EY in audit/assurance. EBA results recently came out. EY assurance has a policy of giving a $2,000 bonus or one weeks annual leave to candidates that complete the CA program. Unfortunately, the Financial Services (FS) section of assurance do not receive this bonus, despite being a part of assurance. EY previously created a stand alone ”Financial Services Office” (one stop shop for assurance, tax, TAS and risk service lines with a financial services focus), which the FS partners took to mean they weren’t part of assurance and hence did not have to pay the bonus to newly qualified CA’s. Upward feedback to managers/partners has resulted in excuses such as firm policy per EY Sydney or that there is no CA bonus per EY policy. Staff have printed off the policy from the intranet and will meet with the managers. Another example of the partnership screwing over its staff.
Does your firm pay a bonus when you’re admitted/finish your CA? Or does partnership just screw you?
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When I worked for PwC and I finished the CA I was told that salary is completely related to performance and the fact you had finished your CA doesn’t mean anything as all staff had to do their CA in the Assurance practice. I have since left public practice for commerce where they reward qualified staff much more.
Wow. E&Y is a crap place to work. Who would have thought it. As far as I can tell, EY has two sorts of employees: those who have a job offer to go somewhere else and those who are still looking for one.
newly minted CA’s at EY get a pen. isn’t about perfomrance as all assurance get the bonus irrespective, except if they are in financials services (which si part of assurance)
lol.. all firms are like that.. mine too.
At my firm, people used to get $1000 increases for each CA module they passed. This stopped during GFC and never came back.
CA firms are hypocrites. We get told bull shit crap like:
1. Your salary/promotions depends on performance NOT passing CA.
Fine so when I ask, how about I defer my CA then (because they refuse to approve leave for exams). I then get told – We want you to do your CA ASAP as if not, it will impede on your promotion chances.
Isn’t this contradicting what they say in point 1 above? The firms are such hypocrites. They just say whatever that benefits them. I am planning to quit too. I am so sick of these people AND also of the CA Institute (just full of people who bullshit so much about ethics and crap but don’t preach it).
From my experience, lawyers get a payrise when they are admitted. The firm can, however, charge them out at a higher rate so it makes sense.
Is an accountant with a CA charged our at more per hour? If so, a payrise or bonus should be paid.
Interested to know if the accounting firms pay for the CA course, or give workers time off to study?
Finally, what’s the point of teaching accountants ethics? Surely it’s like teaching a parrot to juggle?
Nasty Cyril – Your comment reads as if you are in fact a a lawyer. Odd then, that you are comfortable commenting on accountant’s ethics (or the perceived lack thereof).
A juggling parrot would be pretty sweet, to be fair.
To aspiring graduates – I would strongly recommend avoiding the place. They are as stingy as it comes and feel threatened by talent.
Nasty Cyril – yes, CA’s get charged out at higher rates; yes, most CA firms pay bonuses or given payrises on completion (maybe not Big4 it seems?), and yes, most CA firms pay for the study & give extra time off for study (again, maybe not Big4 it seems). And finally, I’d love to see a parrot juggle !
We work at Deloitte. We do not get ANY additional renumeration for completion of our degree.
eh.. the firm pays for your CA + Study leave…
Damn generation X and Ys are a bunch of gimme gimmes.
Most large ca firms, firm pays for ca modules and u get 3 days study leave but come on…. We work tons of ot and our pay is crap… Why do we get given study leave cuz otherwise we have no time to study as we are always Ot.
Lol and yes lawyers are just as if not more unethical!!!
Only because the generations ahead of us are a bunch of takie takies
“After completing 5 difficult modules…”
FirmSpy Author, is that meant to be a joke? Everyone, please LIFT!