Master of Professional Accounting (Professional Practice)

The professional practice MPA provides you with a unique opportunity to work in an organization and gain valuable professional experience while also gaining an MPA qualification.

The course will equip you with contemporary knowledge and skills required for professional practice as a certified practicing accountant (CPA) or chartered accountant (CA). The course will provide you with the technical and conceptual skills required in a competent accountant and will develop your ability to explore, analyze, and synthesize various accounting and related principles, methods, and techniques. You will undertake a piece of research in your capstone unit of study that incorporates accounting theory and contemporary issues.

You can choose to undertake a professional placement, applied research specialization, or choose electives that support your career objectives. For your professional practice component, CDU provides training specific to working effectively in an organization. You are then provided with a placement opportunity to work in an organization of approximately 300 hours over a period of eight to ten weeks. If you wish you may also organise your own placement with a suitable organisation. The placement occurs in the last semester of study and provides you with an opportunity to apply the knowledge you have gained during your MPA studies.

Why Study Accounting at CDU?

Enhance your career and improve upon your previous accounting studies. You'll network with industry leaders while you develop the skills and knowledge to succeed in roles across the finance and banking industry, as well as diverse roles in the public and private sectors.

• #2 Australian university for postgraduate employment outcomes (GUG 2024)
• Study electives from other areas to complement your career options or interest

Accreditation

This course is accredited by the University in accordance with the Higher Education Standards.

Professional Recognition

CPA Australia and Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ). Graduates may also be eligible for memberships in other overseas-based professional accounting bodies.

Charles Darwin University is a truly unique institution.

With our home and our heart in the Northern Territory, we embrace the inclusive, resilient, and courageous spirit of the NT in our campuses and delivery sites that reach a diverse footprint from the capital cities of Darwin, Brisbane, and Sydney to the regional hubs of Alice Springs, Palmerston, and Katherine and our remote locations in Nhulunbuy, Tennant Creek and on Country – in community, with the community.

Our multi-campus, dual-sector status, virtual and online expertise, course profile, research activities, delivery methods, and operation result from our commitment to the regions in which we operate.

The Northern Territory spans approximately one-sixth of Australia’s landmass and yet is home to just one percent of the population, of whom 30 percent are First Nations Peoples.

Due to our location, we are in an enviable position to contribute to the future opportunity of Northern Australia, and our neighbors in the Asia Pacific, through our innovative and impactful training, education, and research.

The University now has a new Strategic Plan in place, which will guide the development of our university over the next five years. It gives us a very clear road map to building a bigger, better, and stronger university, valuing and empowering our people to make a difference.

CDU believes in the transformative power of training, education, and research to change people’s lives for the better. We have a collective responsibility to make sure that our training, education, and research are not only high quality and delivered by outstanding educators and researchers but are accessible and meaningful. What we do matters to our communities.

We are a deeply connected university, working in partnership and collaboration with First Nations peoples, our communities and industries, government, and alumni to address the needs of the Northern Territory and regional, rural, and remote people nationally and globally.

We are committed to making significant contributions to the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of the NT and Northern Australia and to exporting our expertise nationally and globally.

Values and Culture

At Charles Darwin University we have a passion and a vision to use our skills and knowledge to help shape a brighter future. We intend to become outstanding achievers across all areas of our core business – teaching and learning, research, engagement, Indigenous leadership, and internationalization.

Research and Innovation

Located in the remote far north of Australia, research is central to the purpose of Charles Darwin University and closely tied to the needs of the Northern Territory and the Territory’s immediate region: Timor Leste, Eastern Indonesia, and the Arafura Sea.