Old CA vs New CA Differences

CA, otherwise known as Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand, is a body that provides support to more than 130,000 finance professionals in businesses and communities they work and live. Their post-graduate program is one method for new accountants to become certified accountants.

CA recently implemented its new post-graduate program for students who started after June 2021. Existing students under the old program can finalise their studies as it is slowly phased out.

5 Subjects (Old on Left) vs 9 Subjects (New on Right)

The old CA program had fewer subjects at longer durations. Because the subjects are shorter in the new CA program, they have spread over 4 terms a year compared to 3 trimesters a year with the old CA program.

Assuming no breaks are taken with no overloading, the timeframe to complete your studies is relatively similar (~2 years).

The required 3 years of work experience have not been changed, so you'll likely wait to become certified once completing your studies.

Changes in Assessments

The assessments in the old CA program were online quizzes and a heavily weighted exam.

The new CA program has introduced more assignments and case studies to help students develop practical skills. Some subjects do not have an examination as the final assessment.

Personal Experience

I started the new CA program in August 2021 and will document my progress as I go along.

I've completed the first 2 cores, and as it stands, my strong recommendation is to get Prep2Pass for each subject you do. It's like paying a driving instructor to sit the driving test with you (i.e. you're much more likely to pass).