CHAPTER 3
How to Get Qualified
This chapter focuses on the educational and experience requirements, the challenges faced by international candidates, and the ways to overcome the obstacles. This is an intense chapter—take the time to go through each step.
An Overview
In most countries, the professional accounting license is granted by a centralized governmental agency. In the United States, however, the CPA license is granted by the State Boards of Accountancy in 54 jurisdictions: the 50 states together with the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The State Board of Accountancy is a regulatory body that oversees the accounting profession and establishes rules in assessing the eligibility of the CPA exam and CPA licensing candidates in its state.
Because each state board has the liberty to set its own regulations, the states have different rules on the educational and experience requirements for CPAs. In general, however, most states follow the “Three Es” requirements recommended by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA):
- Education: Graduate of a four-year bachelor's degree program with 150 credit hours of study, preferably with a concentration in accounting.
- Examination: Taking and passing the Uniform CPA Examination.
- Experience: One or more years of relevant experience supervised and/or verified by an active U.S. CPA licensee.
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