What Are The Requirements To Apply For The Cpa Exam?

By Author: Miles Education
Total Articles: 5
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Cracking difficult exams that could jet set your career and help it flourish exponentially is certainly no piece of cake. The CPA exam is no exception. It is an exam to become a Certified Public Accountant that opens the doors to a plethora of opportunities in your career. It is not just any accounting exam. Along with knack for numbers and ability to process them fast, it requires sheer determination, hard work, zeal and most importantly the right guidance in the journey. The study material that you choose to prepare for the exam must contain an elaborate explanation of concepts and proper practice exercises of the four core areas that you are tested on. Namely, Auditing and Attestation, Business Environment and Concepts, Financial Accounting and Reporting and Regulation.
There is not doubt in the fact that security in CPA jobs in immensely higher than regular accounting jobs at a private firm. The career goal that will take you ten years to achieve if you are working in the regular accounting job, can be fulfilled in a span of three to four years if you have a CPA pass certificate on your resume. Having this qualification tells the employers your persistence and will power since you have managed to crack the CPA and proved yourself already. It is course of hundred and fifty hours (necessary credits) that involves extensive training, making your ready for the actual exam.
Before you register for the CPA, do make sure that you fit the CPA eligibility criteria. It changes from state to state (in the US) and country to country (outside US). Most states and countries that register you for CPA require you to have a minimum of bachelor’s degree in accounting or a qualification equivalent to that. Some states even require the candidates to hold a Master’s degree either in accounting or their respective fields. So, it is very important that you read through your state’s CPA requirements before you sign up.

Also, make sure that you gain the required amount of credits while sitting for the CPA exam. One of the most common mistakes that CPA aspirants make is they confuse between the hour credits required to sit for the exam and credit hours required to obtain license. What one can do is that they can sit for the CPA exam with the eligible credit hours (120 credits) they have and take care of gaining the extra ones (30 credits) later.

One of the other CPA requirements is that you submit a college transcript with your application. The reason why this is demanded is because the board actually verifies whether you really have done the courses that you claim to have done or not.

Also, remember that every state and every jurisdiction have a different CPA eligibility and requirements list. Before you register yourself for the course, make sure that you go through the list and that you meet the requirements, or else, this investment in doing the course would be at the risk of going waste. Choose the right agency or the institute to work with, check their success rate and then make a cautious and well thought decision to sign up.