<p>I'm stuck!!! Again...</p>
<p>:confused:</p>
<p>What is the difference between 'General' Accounting and 'CPA' Accounting????</p>
<p>I have absolutely no clue but should this really be posted in the MBA forum?</p>
<p>I think you are refering to certificates. </p>
<p>I am aware that these is something along the lines of "Certified General Accountant" which is like a less rigorous CPA designed just for corporate accounting. To give you an analogy, if taking the GRE is taking the CPA, getting this would be like taking the SSAT (note: not SAT).</p>
<p>Frankly, if you are looking into business school, there is no way you would need or a certificate to be a "general" accountant</p>
<p>As far as I can determine, the CGA designation is Canadian specific. It's news to me. Never heard of it before this thread.</p>
<p>From what I've been able to Google, it seems to be similar to the US CMA (Certified Management Accountant). Education for the CMA is slightly different in emphasis than for the CPA. Many holders of the CMA also hold the CPA, but relatively few CPA holders also hold the CMA.</p>
<p>In the US, many accountants enter the profession through public accounting before making the transition to corporate accounting later in their career. As a tiny percentage of Associates make it to the Partner level, most who begin in public accounting ultimately become some sort of corporate accountant, though not necessarily "management accountants".</p>
<p>That was very helpful you guys... Thanks a lot...
If there are any more suggestions, please write down.</p>
<p>Is this in a college curriculum? I know there are some schools that have paths for general accounting vs. public accounting. But in general the CPA certificate is a test taken over several days. The CPA certificate is issued by the state (e.g. mine is from the state of GA eons ago). Each state has minimum work requirements as well. You might look at this site or your state's CPA site.</p>
<p>American</a> Institute of Certified Public Accountants</p>