Accounting Qualification Pays!! CPAs get ready.

Regulations and market pressure in the new normal have recently exploded the responsibilities of audit committees at corporates and MNCs which has resulted in skyrocketing demand for certified accounting professionals like CPAs. Nevertheless, the expansion of roles in audit committees at corporates has forced company leaders to hunt for expert accounting professionals with certifications more than those without credentials. To oversee financial management, reporting, and audit & assurance, you need a cutting-edge certification that validates your critical and competitive skills to navigate competitive pressures in leading MNCs and Big 4 while fueling your career progression. A recent report by Deloitte suggests that over 96% of employees agreed that responsibilities have increased in financial reporting and internal control, 53% in cybersecurity, 48% in data privacy and 48% for ethics and compliance, 47% for third party risk, and 42% for enterprise risk management.

Let’s dive into some critical responsibilities that press the audit committee in US companies and corporates to stay ahead of the curve in delivering accounting services, quality, and standards.

• The annual and quarterly review, management decisions, and financial analysis and publication through press releases.
• Setting standards for receiving and investigating complaints from whistleblowers.
• Reviewing related party transactions.
• Overseeing regulatory and legal compliance to ensure that the management manages and assesses financial risk efficiently.
• Another demanding factor is ensuring the companies adhere to ethical codes and standards.
• Ensuring internal audits produce accurate reports to the audit committee.
• To maintain audit independence by changing the cycle of the external auditors every 5 years.
• Build self-evaluations of audit committee members and their compliance with the standards and code delineated in the corporate charter.
• Overseeing the transfer of financial information through adapting novel cybersecurity measures.

One of the smart ways audit committees try to overcome the limited supply of auditing and financial professionals in the accounting world is by promising high remuneration packages. Certified Public Accountants have the privilege of becoming members of the audit committee, but very few serve on the audit committee. A potential challenge is low remuneration, besides those without a CPA license and serving under the general accounting category. A survey was conducted across 10 major industries to analyze the compensation of CPAs, Non-CPAs, and others. The conclusion of the experts revealed that at the end of the financial crisis of 2008, the representation of CPAs increased by 4.5% in the auditing committee. This trend was mostly due to increased obligations and responsibilities in the auditing committee.

Research conducted by experts found that compensation to CPAs depends majorly on license besides other critical variables besides audit committee member’s status, service in other departments/committees, the size of the company/entity, performance profile, and board characteristics. The compensation is said to be high for accounting members with a CPA license irrespective of the high status they hold in the audit committee. However, on the other hand, CPAs do not receive higher stock compensation than non-CPAs but the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) recommended a higher equity compensation to CPAs — usually regarded as the paragon of accounting expertise. Another critical revolution that NACD hopes to bring is a compensation structure change in the audit committee to entice more accountants with CPA licenses. Corporates, management, and stakeholders in order to have effective governance need to compensate CPA holders as they possess unrivaled expertise to guide accounting and financial organizations in an era of digital risk and governance.

Understanding the career prospects in Big 4 and top MNCs and other financial and accounting bodies, finance graduates need to opt for the best CPA Review course in India. Joining a CPA course and getting informed by industry practitioners can help you build trending accounting competency of reviewing financial reports, analysis, and decision-making to mentoring companies to comply with regulations and ethical standards in a perilous digital-driven business environment.

Miles Education is India’s best CPA training institute for finance & accounting professionals. Since its inception in 2010, the mission has been to create an ecosystem of CPAs and CMAs for F&A in India. Since its inception, Miles Education has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of F&A students and working professionals by preparing them for the future and enabling their career progression through the US Cpa/CMA qualification.

Miles Education is India's #1 CPA, CMA & CFA with presence across India, Middle East & US. Miles Education up-skills students & professionals to be future-ready with a career progression in Accounting & Finance.