CPA Examination (Taiwan)台灣會計師

Overview

The Taiwan CPA examination is the Higher Professional and Technical Examination for certified public accountants. It is the national route to a CPA certificate in Taiwan. The examination rules are set under the Professional and Technical Personnel Examination Act, and the exam is held once a year. It is a written exam.

Who can apply

Citizens of the Republic of China can sit the exam if they meet one of these conditions. Foreign nationals who meet the first or second condition may also sit it.

• You graduated, with a diploma, from a public or registered private college or university (or a foreign institution recognised by the Ministry of Education) in a department related to accounting, accounting technology, accounting and statistics, accounting information, accounting and tax, taxation or public finance.

• You graduated from any other department of such an institution and completed coursework in at least seven of the listed accounting, auditing, tax, law, finance, economics, statistics, information and management subjects. These must total at least 20 credits, with each subject counted for at most three credits. The coursework must include Intermediate Accounting, Cost or Management Accounting, and Auditing.

• You passed the equivalent category of the Higher Qualification Examination.

People who are barred from practising under the Certified Public Accountant Act, or who are otherwise barred from national examinations, cannot sit the exam.

Exam pattern

The exam has one general subject and six professional subjects.

Marking and results

The exam uses a subject-by-subject pass system. A subject is passed with a score of 60 or more. For Chinese, a score at or above the average of that sitting's test-takers also counts as a pass, with the average calculated to two decimal places.

A passed subject score is kept for three years from the date results are announced, and each subject is counted separately. If you retake a subject within that period, the latest score is the one that counts.

Exemptions

Some candidates can apply for exemption from certain subjects, provided they qualify before registration opens and submit proof when registering.

• Candidates who meet the education requirement and have worked at least three years in an accounting or auditing post at the recommended-appointment grade or above, or who have taught the relevant accounting subjects at a college or university for the required period, are exempt from Chinese and Intermediate Accounting. The teaching requirement is three years as a lecturer, two years as an assistant or associate professor, or one year as a professor.

• Candidates who hold a foreign accountant certificate equivalent to the Taiwan CPA and have at least one year of experience assisting with audit sign-off work at an accounting firm are exempt from Chinese, Intermediate Accounting, Advanced Accounting, and Cost Accounting and Management Accounting.

Applications for exemption are reviewed by the Ministry of Examination, which issues an exemption certificate when approved.

After the exam

Candidates who pass all subjects receive an examination pass certificate issued through the Examination Yuan. The Ministry of Examination also notifies the Financial Supervisory Commission.

Preparation tips

• Plan around the subject-by-subject system: you can pass subjects over several years, but each passed score lapses after three years.

• Cover both essay and multiple-choice formats, since all professional subjects mix the two.

• Check each year's official announcement from the Ministry of Examination for the exam dates, registration window and fees, as these are not fixed in the rules.