So I’ve been thinking of qualifying as a CPA.
Yes, it’s a little out of the blue but that’s the fun thing about being on a break from work, you’ve suddenly a lot of time to think and re-consider life choices.
But why?!
There are various reasons, mid-life crisis, the looming death of the software engineering occupation due to AI advancements, an obsession with money, I find balance sheets fascinating to read, counting money is fun, and becoming a mono-wheel armoured hero is cool as hell.
But if I strip all of the reasons down, I think it’s because back in secondary school, my principal would not let me take Accounting for my GCSEs.
I don’t really want to start ranting about the Singaporean education system but basically rails have been laid and you are expected to obey. I excelled at subjects like Math, Geography and Physics, stuff that was about understanding and being able to add stuff up. Conversely, I sucked at things like Chemistry, Literature and History, stuff that required pointless memorisation. That relegated me to the Technical track whereas Accounts was in some other track that I don’t remember anymore. Things may be different now but that’s how it was during my time.
So this is really a pride issue. I’m doing this because I was prevented from doing so 30 years ago and this is my fuck you to them.
Do I actually want to be an accountant?
No, not really.
I wanted to focus my sabbatical on building Millefeuille, which being a personal finance manager, accounting and book keeping knowledge is actually helpful. Knowledge is one thing, becoming a CPA is another, and honestly, a really huge distraction. But a man can hunt two rabbits. A man may fail, but a man can try.
And if things don’t turn out well, I hear accountancy is a stable career.
How does one become a CPA in Japan?
Here comes the fun part. To become a CPA, you have to pass 5 out of the below 11 subjects and have at least 2 years work experience in a related field. If you’ve done a Masters in Accounting, you can be exempted from 1 non-mandatory subject. If you’ve done a Masters in Law, you can be exempted from 2 non-mandatory subjects.
These 2 subjects are mandatory
- 簿記論 (Bookkeeping)
- 財務諸表論 (Financial Statements)
One of these 2
- 所得税法 (Income Tax Act)
- 法人税法 (Corporation Tax Act)
Any 2 of the below
- 相続税法 (Inheritance Tax Act)
- 消費税法 (Consumption Tax Act)
- 酒税法 (Liquor Tax Act)
- 国税徴収法 (National Tax Collection Act)
- 住民税 (Residence Tax)
- 事業税 (Corporate Tax)
- 固定資産税 (Property Tax)
11 subjects in total. The first 2 are about accounting knowledge, the remaining 9 are tax related laws. Income, Corporation, Inheritance and Consumption are the big 4, each subject hugely voluminous on its own but also the most practical and applicable, ie. sought after ones. The rest are so minimal that they’re nicknamed the ‘Mini Tax Acts’ (ミニ税法).
The exams are held once a year every August and the minimum passing grade is 60 but the exams are graded on a curve. The passing rate is around 10 - 20% for each subject.
How I’m planning to take the exams
This is Japan, so the popular option is cram schools. There are quite a few of them but 2 big ones are 大原 or TAC.
The next most popular option is to take night classes for a Masters in law while working for an accountancy firm or auditor. This way you’ll only need to take 1 exam while also gaining that important 2 years work experience requirement.
I’m not doing any of that.
My main focus is Millefeuille, so instead I’ll be taking online courses from STUDYing while using the previous years’ questions issued by TAC. TAC, because I’ve used their texts when studying for the book keeping certification a few years ago and they were good.
I’ll focus my attention on the mandatory subjects first, and I’ll decide which of the Tax Acts ones to take once I’ve passed.
It’s mid March now so I have a little over 4 months to prepare 🤘