Experiences of Immigrant Indian CAs

The Experiences of Immigrant Indian
Chartered Accountants in Canada
Analysis of Survey Results
October 5, 2010
By
Dr. Marcia Annisette
Associate Professor, Accounting Department
Schulich School of Business
Dr. V. Umashanker Trivedi
Associate Professor, Accounting Area
Schulich School of Business


Acknowledgements: The authors gratefully acknowledge the support provided by the Toronto
chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India by encouraging their members to
participate in our survey
Terms for Using Materials from this Report: Use in any research material/publication without
obtaining prior permission of the authors is strictly prohibited. All other use of any portion of
this report should be accompanied by appropriate credit to the authors.


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page Number
Executive Summary 3
Some of Our Key Findings 4
Other Important Findings in Our Study 5
Survey Results (Tables and Charts)
Demographic Information 6
Qualifications and Work Experience before Coming to Canada 7
Reasons for and Preparation Relating to Decision to Come to Canada 9
Upon Arrival in Canada 13
Canada Till Today 19
Opinion about Market for and Success of Foreign Accountants in Canada 24


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The accounting profession in Canada has continued to experience a shortage of qualified
accountants for well over a decade now. In fact, because of this shortage, the Canadian High
Commission in India gave an advertisement in 1996 in The Chartered Accountant, the official
journal of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, inviting qualified accountants to apply
for immigration to Canada. However, no data exists on how immigrant accountants fare once
they land in Canada. The answer to this question is especially important for accountants from
India since they typically constitute the vast majority of accountants who immigrated to Canada
in the recent past. Our survey of Indian CAs in Canada attempts to answer, among other
questions, the following important questions:
· Why do Indian chartered accountants decide to immigrate to Canada?
· What are the common characteristics of an immigrant Indian CA in Canada?
· How have immigrant Indian CAs fared in Canada?
· What are the factors associated with or impediments to the success of Indian CAs in
Canada?
A total of 134 immigrant Indian chartered accountants in Canada responded to our online survey
during the early part of 2010. The 134 responders did not provide their responses to all the
questions in the survey. The minimum number of responders to any question answerable by all is
115. The analysis in this report is based on the actual responses for each question and is
presented mostly in percentage form. A fuller analysis of the survey will be presented by us in
future research papers/reports.
The average age of our respondents is 45. While 10 of our respondents are female, the remaining
124 are male. More than 85% of our respondents possess an undergraduate or graduate degree.
The following important conclusions can be drawn from our survey:
· There is considerable variation in the success achieved by Indian CAs in Canada.
· The average Indian CA in Canada earns considerably higher than the average Canadian but
earns considerably less than the average Canadian CA.
· There is significant devaluation of the accounting credentials and work experience of Indian
CAs in Canada, starting at the time of their arrival in Canada and continuing till date.
· The vast majority of Indian CAs in Canada was happier with their career progress outside
Canada than they are with their career progress in Canada.
· The vast majority of Indian CAs believes that foreign born accountants are not paid the same
as Canadian born accountants for performing similar work.


SOME OF OUR KEY FINDIINGS
· While the rough annual average salary of responders in their last year of employment
prior to coming to Canada was $50,000, the rough annual average salary of responders in
their first year of employment after coming to Canada dropped to $37,500. The current
(2010) rough annual average salary of responders is $105,000. In comparison, according
to the CICA’s 2009 CA profession compensation survey, the average salary of a
Canadian Chartered Accountant is approximately $186,000 (the median being
approximately $127,000).1
· Most respondents indicate that they currently hold permanent full-time positions (86%).
Around 70% of respondents work in the for-profit sector, with more than 50% working
for multinational or national companies.
· Fully 73% of respondents feel that their first job was not appropriate considering their
qualifications and experience at the time of their arrival in Canada. Further, only 52% of
respondents feel that their current job is appropriate and sufficiently recognizes their
current qualification and experience.
· More than 90% of the respondents feel that persons with foreign credentials/designations
are not given appropriate and adequate recognition in Canada.
· More than 80% of responders feel that foreign born accounting professionals are not paid
the same as local born professionals for performing similar work.
· A better life, children’s future including their education, and better career prospects are
the most important reasons for Indian CAs to immigrate to Canada.
· An overwhelming majority of the respondents indicate that they did not acquire any
additional academic training or professional designations specifically for the purpose of
immigrating to Canada. However, more than 70 percent of responders indicate that they
obtained additional professional designations after their arrival in Canada.
· 71% of respondents indicate that it took them six or less months to secure their first
accounting job.
· More than 80% of respondents feel that obtaining Canadian credentials/designations and
Canadian work experience are important, very important or vitally important for a foreign
immigrant to succeed in Canada.





!
"# $
%

OTHER IMPORTANT FINDINGS IN OUR STUDY
· On average our respondents possessed 12 years of work experience as qualified
accountants prior to their arrival in Canada. Thus, on average an Indian CA immigrating
to Canada did so in his/her mid to late thirties.
· More than 60% of the respondents worked in one or more countries other than India prior
to their arrival in Canada. Middle Eastern and African countries were the most popular
foreign countries where Indian CAs worked prior to coming to Canada.
· While 45% of respondents came to Canada during the 2001-2005 period, 27% came
during the 1996-2000 period. A further 14% came during the 2006-2010 period.
· Almost 45% of responders indicate that they had very low to low knowledge of the
market for accounting professionals in Canada prior to their arrival.
· While 128 responders indicated that they are or have been employed in Canada at some
point of time after their arrival in Canada, only six indicated that they have never been
employed in Canada.
· On arrival in Canada, Indian CAs sought and obtained help mostly from friends, head
hunters and fellow accountants from India. Only a very small minority sought and a still
further smaller minority obtained assistance from an accounting association/local chapter
of the institute.
· Approximately 61% of respondents indicated that they did not try to secure employment
prior to arrival in Canada. Of those who tried to secure employment prior to arrival in
Canada only 14 were successful in actually securing a job.
#

SURVEY RESULTS
Demographic Information:
1. Age:
Mean 45.04
Median 44.50
Minimum 28
Maximum 71
2. Gender:
Count
Female 10
Male 124
Total 134
3. Country of Birth:
Count
India 133
Singapore 1
Total 134
"

Qualifications and Work Experience before Coming to Canada:
4. All professional designations earned by the 134 respondents prior to arrival in Canada:
Count
Chartered Accountant-India 134
Cost Accountant-India 17
Company Secretary—India 14
CISA 14
Certified Public Accountant (9 clearly mentioned as from USA) 13
Chartered Accountant-Other than India 6
Certified Internal Auditor 7
Certified Management Accountant 4
Bachelor of Law 4
CGA-Canada 2
Other designations 12
Total 227
5. Did you work in any country other than India prior to your arrival in Canada?
Percentage
No 38.06
Yes 61.94
Total 100.00
&

6. Were you happy with your career outside Canada prior to your move here?
Percentage
Yes 84.33
No 15.67
Total 100.00
'

Reasons for and Preparation Relating to Decision to Come to Canada:
7. Why did you decide to come to Canada (choose all applicable alternatives)?
Percentage
For a better life 38.43
For our children's future including education 27.95
For better career prospects 22.71
Other family members were already in Canada 3.93
Many of our friends were already in Canada 3.49
Adventure 0.87
Marriage 0.87
Did not obtain green card in USA 0.87
Personal 0.44
Don't know why, still wondering! 0.44
Total 100.00


8. Did you try to secure an accounting position/employment in Canada prior to your arrival
here?
Percentage
No 60.45
Yes 39.55
Total 100.00
9. Prior to your arrival in Canada, did you obtain additional academic training (other than
professional designations) specifically for the purpose of immigrating to Canada?
Count Percentage
No 125 93.28
Yes 9 6.72
Total 134 100.00
10. Nature of the additional training obtained prior to immigration to Canada:
Count
Computer & software courses including SAP and Oracle 7
French 4
Other training through immigration agencies 1
Total 12


11. Did you obtain additional professional designations prior to your arrival in Canada
specifically for the purpose of immigrating to Canada?
Percentage
No 88.81
Yes 11.19
Total 100.00
12. Additional designations obtained prior to immigration to Canada:
Count
CPA (USA) 8
CISA 3
CFA 2
CIA 2
CIMA, UK 1
CMA 1
Other 1
Total 18


13. During the immigration process, did any Canadian governmental or non-profit organization
either provide you with information relating to the Canadian accounting job market/job
avenues or help you in securing an accounting job?
Percentage
No 92.54
Yes 7.46
Total 100.00


Upon Arrival in Canada:
14. Period of arrival in Canada:
Percentage
Prior to the 70s 0.75
During the 70s 0.00
During the 80s 6.72
1990-1995 5.97
1996-2000 26.87
2001-2005 45.52
2006-2010 14.18
Total 100.00


15. On arrival in Canada who of the following did you approach in your search for employment
(choose all applicable)?
Percentage
Head hunter(s) 33.67
Friends 29.00
Fellow accountants from India 17.33
Government/Quasi-government agency 7.00
Accounting association/local chapter of institute 5.67
No one 7.33
Total 100.00
16. Have you been employed in Canada so far?
Count Percentage
No 6 4.48
Yes 128 95.52
Toronto 134 100.00
%

17. Annual income in the first year after arriving in Canada?
Percentage
Less than $50,000 73.02
$50,001 to $75,000 19.84
$75,001 to $100,000 5.56
$100,001 to $150,000 1.59
$150,001 to $200,000 0.00
Above $200,000 0.00
Total 100.00
Rough average annual income in first year after arriving in Canada:* $37,500
*Mid-point of each range used to calculate average.
#

18. In your opinion, were the first job(s) secured by you in Canada appropriate given your
educational and experience background at the time of your arrival in Canada?
Percentage
No 72.66
Yes 27.34
Total 100.00
"

Canada Till Today:
19. Nature of current employment:
Percentage
Accountant/Accounting/Budgets/Controller/Fin. Reporting/Tax 32.84
Bookkeeper 0.75
Banking/Capital Markets/CFO/Finance/Financial Analyst 14.93
Consultant IT 2.24
Consultant Management/Implementation/Risk 2.24
External Auditor 7.46
Financial Advice/Public Accounting/Self Employed/Tax Prep. 9.70
Internal Auditor 11.94
Management 4.48
Manager Operational Risk/Project 2.24
Not Currently Employed 5.97
None 0.75
Not Provided 4.48
Total 100.00
20. Industry Sector of Current Position:
Percentage
Banking or financial sector 27.50
Accounting services including public accounting 15.83
Manufacturing sector 13.33
Government 10.83
Service industry including payroll processing, collection agency, travel 5.83
Technology/Telecommunication/Software 5.00
Business/Management consulting 3.33
Utilities including electric generation and distribution 3.33
Construction/Real estate/Parking maintenance 3.33
Health services 1.67
Engineering/Engineering services 1.67
Marine services/Marine transportation 1.67
Other 6.67
Total 100.00
&

21. Type of current employer:
Percentage
A multi-national for-profit company 34.17
A national for-profit company 20.83
A local for-profit company 15.00
The public sector 15.00
Myself, I am self-employed 10.00
A non-governmental not-for-profit organization 1.67
Our family business 0.00
Not applicable 3.33
Total 100.00
22. Nature of current work:
Percentage
Permanent full-time 86.67
Contract full-time 6.67
Permanent part-time 3.33
Contract part-time 3.33
Total 100.00
'

23. Did you obtain additional professional designations after you arrived in Canada?
Percentage
No 29.10
Yes 70.90
Total 100.00


24. If you obtained a Canadian or North American accounting designation, did the acquisition of
such a designation significantly increase/improve your accounting knowledge as compared to
your existing accounting knowledge?
Percentage
No 69.47
Yes 30.53
Total 100.00


25. In your opinion, is your present or recently held job(s) appropriate given your present
qualification and experience and does it sufficiently recognize your present qualification &
experience?
Percentage
No 47.66
Yes 52.34
Total 100.00


26. In your opinion which of the following are the real reasons why accounting positions were
not offered to you (choose all which apply)?
Percentage
Failure to recognize my foreign qualification 43.29
Lack of Canadian experience 24.24
Overqualified 10.82
Other reason 6.06
Language issues 3.03
Not a fit for the job 3.03
Not applicable 9.52
Total 100


27. Are you happy with your career progress in Canada?
Percentage
Yes 50.75
No 49.25
Total 100.00


Opinion about Market for and Success of Foreign Accountants in Canada
28. In your opinion, are persons with foreign credentials/designations given appropriate and
adequate recognition in Canada?
Percentage
No 91.79
Yes 8.21
Total 100.00
%

29. In your opinion are foreign born accounting professionals paid the same as local born
professionals for performing similar work?
Percentage
No 82.09
Yes 17.91
Total 100.00
#

30. In your opinion, for a foreign immigrant to succeed in their career in Canada, how important
is obtaining appropriate Canadian credentials/designations?
Percentage
Not important at all 4.48
Somewhat important 16.42
Important 14.18
Very important 29.85
Vitally important 35.07
Total 100.00
"

31. In your opinion, for a foreign immigrant to succeed in their career in Canada, how important
is obtaining appropriate and adequate Canadian experience?
Percentage
Not important at all 4.48
Somewhat important 13.43
Important 21.64
Very important 29.85
Vitally important 30.60
Total 100.00

Possible interview questions

Hello Friends

I am listing below a few questions that are asked in interviews here. These are behavioral questions and it is advisable to rehearse some answers to these. They may or may not be asked, but this is a good guide to what can be expected:

GENERAL
1. What made you apply for this position>
2. Can you summarize or give examples of your leadership skills/abilities/experiences?
3. What strength(s)/weaknesses will you bring to this role?
4. What aspect of you current role do you dislike the most?
5. What aspect of you current role do you like the most?
6. Tell about a time when you found yourself in a situation where you had difficulty dealing
with a team member. How did you handle this? What was the result?
7. If your co-workers had to describe your work-ethic, what would they say?
8. What motivates you to pull yourself from you bed and come to work?
9. Describe you ideal work environment and why?

ADAPTABILITY
10. Describe a time when you altered your own behaviour to fit the situation.
11. Tell about a time when had to change your point of view or your plans to take into account
new information or changing priorities.

CLIENT FOCUS
12. Describe a situation in which you acted as an advocate within your organization for your stakeholder’s needs, where there was some organizational resistance to be overcome.
COMMUNICATION
13. Give an example of a difficult or sensitive situation that required extensive communication.
14. Tell about a time when you really had to pay attention to what someone else was saying , actively seeking to understand their message .

ORGANIZATIONAL AWARENESS
15. Describe the culture of you organization and give and example of how you work within this culture to achieve a goal.
16. Describe the things you consider and the steps you take in assessing the viability of new idea or
initiative.

PROBLEM SOLVING AND JUDGEMENT
17. Tell about a time when you had to identify the underlying causes to a problem.

RESULTS ORIENTATION
18. Tell about a time when you set and achieved a goal.
19. Describe something you have done to improve the performance of your work unit.
20. Describe something you have done to maximize or improve the use of resources beyond your own work unit to achieve improved results.

TEAMWORK
21. Describe a situation where you were successful in getting people to work together effectively.
22. Describe a situation in which you were a member (not a leader) of a team, and a conflict arose within the team. What did you do?

DEVELOPING OTHERS
23. Give an example of a time when you recognized that a member of your team had a performance difficulty/deficiency. What did you do?

IMPACT AND INFLUENCE
24. Describe a time when you went through a series of steps to influence an individual or a group on an important issue.

LEADERSHIP
25. Describe a situation where you had to ensure that you “actions spoke louder than your words” to a team.
26. Describe a situation where you inspired others to meet a common goal.

RELATIONSHIP BUILDING
27. Give me an example of a time when you deliberately attempted to build a rapport with a co-worker or customer.

SELF-MANAGEMENT
28. Describe a time when things didn’t turn out as you had planned and you had to analyze the situation to address the issue.
29. Describe a time when you were in a high pressure situation?

STRATEGIC THINKING
30. Describe a time when you used your business knowledge to understand a specific business situation.