Everything you need to know about the MRA between ICAI and CPA Australia

Hi, I am Anita Pareek,  CPA Australia and a Chartered Accountant from India.

In 2011, I qualified as a CA, started my career as a Credit Analyst, and by 2016 decided to immigrate to Australia! 

In 2017, even before getting our PR, my husband and I joined as a CPA Associate members and advanced to CPA status in late 2018. (Yes, the MRA between ICAI and CPA Australia was a blessing!)

Fortunately, our PR came through, and we quit our well-settled jobs and immigrated to Australia.

By the end of May 2018, we landed in Melbourne and immediately started using job search engines to apply for jobs (I didn’t approach any recruiters).

This may sound like a miracle, but by mid-June 2018 (within just two weeks of landing) I had my first job offer letter for a full-time position as a Credit Analyst at Eclipx Group, a prominent fleet leasing company based in Australia. Woohoo!

Trust me I was not referred to the job by any friend or contact, I got it based on my credentials, and the CPA designation added a lot of weight to my resumé and my professional profile.

(Needless to say, I did a lot of groundwork like improving my LinkedIn profile, perfecting my resumé, and having a local degree like CPA Australia got me noticed!)

Could I get a job without a CPA designation? It would have been an enormous struggle and I don’t think that I would have achieved what I had got without CPA Australia’s designation.

My career progressed really well after getting my first job in Melbourne. Luckily, my job profile was similar to what I was doing in India and I had the opportunity to work with an ASX-listed entity and great colleagues. Thus, the transition from India to Australia was smooth.

In 12 months’ time, I was approached by recruiters, who shortlisted my profile and offered me an opportunity in Viva Energy, as a Senior Group Credit Analyst as they were specifically looking for a credit analyst who is also a CPA!

So, the fact that I held a CPA degree, helped me in getting this opportunity. 

I now manage an offshore credit division based in the Philippines and also oversee the overall credit requirement for the aviation, resources, and transport division for corporates. Also, I wanted to expand my experience beyond Banking and this role gave me that change.