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The professional body has provided further details about its new pathway enabling students to become chartered accountants without a degree.
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CA ANZ sets the record straight on new pathway
27 September 2024
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Chartered Accountants ANZ has outlined some further details about its initiative, Pathways to the CA Program, following some misconceptions about how the new pathway for High School graduates will operate.
The professional body developed two pathways, CA Fundamentals and CA Foundations, which will make it easier for aspiring accountants to reach the CA program start line.
CA Fundamentals is a one-year course designed to set high school graduates up with key accounting and work-based skills ahead of progression to CA Foundations.
It is a new ‘earn and learn’ pathway to the CA program for high school graduates aged 18 years old and over. To be eligible, high school graduates will need to be employed with on-the-job learning forming a critical component of the course. A pilot program will commence in February 2025.
CA ANZ is also revising its CA Foundations pathway, which has been around since 2015 for candidates who have not met all the curriculum requirements of accredited degrees.
From 1 July 2025, CA Foundations will welcome those without a degree, in addition to those who have a qualification other than the traditional accounting or finance degree.
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The changes to CA Foundations pathway follow feedback received from candidates, members and employers and aim to create a more flexible, attractive and accessible pathway to the CA Program.
CA ANZ said the CA Fundamentals and CA Foundations programs are both non-award programs, designed to set candidates up for success in the CA Program and for a future career in accounting by focusing on the critical knowledge they need across core accounting disciplines.
“These programs are designed to complement on-the-job application of core competencies and have a mentoring component to ensure candidates can study concepts through formal learning components, and then learn by doing under expert supervision on-the-job,” it said.
The professional body stressed that this will be in addition to the CA Program which will remain the same, in which all candidates must complete their Graduate Diploma in Chartered Accounting, in addition to three years of mentored practical experience.
CA ANZ has also sought to provide correct some of the misconceptions about the new pathway following some of the criticism from universities.
In an opinion piece published the AFR, two professors from Deakin University said the new pathway risked undermining the ethical and technical standards of the accounting profession.
CA ANZ stressed that all candidates, regardless of how they arrive into the CA Program, will be expected to meet the very high standards set by the program, including three years of mentored practical experience under the guidance of fully qualified Chartered Accountants.
“If they don't meet this high bar, they will not pass,” it said.
“Upon completion of the CA Program candidates are awarded a post graduate degree recognised under the Australian Qualifications Framework.”
By offering pathways to the CA Program for those who do not have access to the resources required to attend university, hold degrees in non-traditional disciplines, or possess significant work experience, CA ANZ said it is taking a crucial step towards enhancing public trust in the accounting profession.
CA ANZ said the reality is that not every person has the circumstances, means and desire to go to university.
“This is about ensuring we have pathways for all people – be they employers or individuals – who are passionate about our profession,” it said.
The professional body also rejected suggestions that inclusive pathways lead to lower paid Chartered Accountants is patently untrue. To date there has been no evidence to suggest this is the case in the United Kingdom, where we have regular discussions with our membership body counterparts.
“To suggest that the new pathways is a revenue push for either CA ANZ or large employers is a cynical over-reaction considering we anticipate that less than five per cent of candidates will arrive to the CA Program via this pathway over the next five years,” it said.
The new pathway has received mixed responses since it was announced but has been welcomed by many in the accounting profession.
Smart Business Solutions founding director Shannon Smit, who often employs high school graduates within her own business while they undertake their accounting degrees, has applauded the move.
“There is so much that you can learn on the job and degrees, unfortunately, have just become so expensive now that it's a real burden for students,” said Smit.
Other accountants have said the new pathway will be important for ensuring the next pipeline of talent for the profession, with the uptake of accounting degrees by students failing to keep pace with the demand for accountants.
Research estimates that there will be a shortage of 58,000 accountants in Australia by 2033.
CA ANZ said the new pathways will nurture diversity ensuring consideration is given to the candidate’s work experience and prior education, rather than relying entirely on a narrow and declining pipeline of accounting degree graduates.
“Making our pathways more attractive is fundamental to addressing the current and predicted talent shortage,” it said.
“Our new pathways are a comprehensive response to the consistent feedback we have been receiving from members and employers.”
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