Every organization needs professionals for preparing their financial statements and maintaining it for future use. Such professionals who indulge in making financial details of an organization are known as accountants. Chartered Accountants are individuals who look into the accounts of a company and their practice is regulated by Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Certified Public Accountant is the American qualification equivalent to Chartered Accountant.

Chartered Accountant and its opportunities

Chartered Accountant can find lot of opportunities in accounting and auditing firms. Taxation departments also hire the service of Chartered Accountant to prepare the tax returns and advice the clients on the importance of taxes. They can assist the management in implementing various cost controlling methods and also find a lucrative career opportunity in the field of cost accountancy. They can also perform the secretarial work of a company. They can carry out the administration of an estate or a settlement by getting into the position of an executor or trustee. Chartered Accountants can also find any of the financial jobs given below.

• Directors (Finance)
• Finance Managers
• Financial Advisors
• Financial Controllers

Certified Public Accountant and its opportunities

As CPA is acclaimed all over the world, candidates having this qualification can find job opportunities in every part of the world. Most of the U.S and Indian companies need the service of Certified Public Accountant for auditing their financial statements. High profile companies which offer lucrative career opportunities for Certified Public Accountants are given below.

• Oracle
• GE Capital
• Ford Motors
• JP Morgan
• Pepsi
• Microsoft

They can find employment opportunities in various public accounting companies in India. They can work as Accounts Executive, Senior Audit Assistant or Finance Executive in various private companies.

Key difference between Chartered Accountant and Certified Public Accountant

Candidates can become a Chartered Accountant after qualifying the Chartered Accountant exam of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. But to practice in foreign countries like U.S.A, one should qualify the Certified Public Accountant examination conducted by American Institute. As Certified Public Accountants have the knowledge of U.S GAAP and U.S GAAS audit, most of the multinational companies prefer Certified Public Accountant than a Chartered Accountant.