Connecticut - Become a CPA

Becoming a Certified Public Accountant in Connecticut requires you to adhere to some stringent requirements with education, taking the exam and with continuing education to maintain your licensure. Follow our guide on becoming a CPA and we break down the requirements step by step.

How to Meet Education Requirements

1. Find an accredited university

The Connecticut State Board of Accountancy only accepts accounting degree credits from institutions that are accredited by a Council for Higher Education Accreditation Regional Accrediting Organization. It’s important that you confirm that the university you’re attending, or planning to attend, is accredited.

If you’ve received your accounting education outside of the United States, your credit information must be evaluated by a National Association of Credential Evaluation Services member organization. Pick and send your transcripts to one of the approved services.

Other important information to note when selecting an institution:

• • Online degrees are acceptable, as long as the university is accredited.

  • Pass / fail grades meet the education requirement as long as the grade is passing.

  • Credits earned from a Connecticut Community College satisfy the requirement.

  • Credits earned through the College-Level Examination Program satisfy the requirement.

  • If you have questions regarding the CPA education requirements, you can email DCP.licenseservices@ct.gov.

2. Complete your course requirements

You will want to start with obtaining your associate’s degree in Accounting, but in Connecticut CPA applicants must earn a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college. A minimum of 150 semester hours is also required and should include of the following:

• • At least 36 semester hours in accounting courses. These courses must be designated as accounting specific in your institution’s course offerings. Acceptable listings are typically notated as ACC or ACCT courses.

  • At least 30 semester hours of economics or business courses other than accounting. Course descriptions will be required in order to determine relevance to economics or business. It’s important to note that advertising, retail, and insurance courses generally do not satisfy this requirement.

  • At least 60 semester hours of general education courses. These credits can include any additional accounting, business, or economics courses beyond the above-mentioned requirements.

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How to Meet Exam Requirements

1. Complete your course requirements

Connecticut applicants who intend to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination must have a bachelor degree from a regionally accredited institution. The program must include the following:

A minimum of 46 semester hours of accounting and related subject courses. These can include, but are not limited to:

• • 24 semester hours in accounting. These courses must be designated as accounting specific and are typically notated by ACC or ACCT.

  • At least one business law course.

  • At least one economics course.

  • At least one finance course.

If you’re unsure whether you’ve taken or are taking the right courses, make sure you speak with an academic advisor. He or she will be able to help you determine your current or future eligibility.

2. Apply to take the exam

You can apply to take the Uniform CPA Examination through CPA Examination Services (CPAES). Application materials must include:

• • CPA examination fee for each section you intend to take. You can apply for as many examination sections as you want.

  • Registration fee.

  • Official transcript from each of the schools listed on your application. Please note that these transcripts must be sent directly from your institution to CPAES.

  • International education evaluation if you received your education outside of the United States. Evaluations must be sent directly from your selected service to CPAES.

  • A Testing Accommodations Request Form, if applicable.

3. Schedule your uniform CPA examination date

Applications generally take four to six weeks to process. Once your application has been approved, you will receive a Notice to Schedule (NTS) from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). Your NTS will instruct you to schedule your examination through Prometric, a technology-enabled testing and assessment provider. Testing locations include Hamden, Glastonbury, and Norwalk. Keep in mind that Prometric charges an exam service fee.

Remember that your NTS does expire. Your NTS is valid for a single testing for each section you’ve been approved to take, but it must be used within a six month period. Failing to complete your exam sections by the deadline does not entitle you to a refund and you will have to reapply for the examination.

Additional tips:

• • Check that your name is spelled accurately as soon as your NIT arrives.

  • Schedule your Uniform CPA Exam as soon as possible and always have backup dates in mind.

  • Schedule you exam at least 10 days in advance if you require and have been approved for testing accommodations.

4. Take your examination

Each of the four sections of the Uniform CPA Examination requires four hours to complete. Take the necessary steps to ensure you’re ready for testing by your exam date. Don’t forget to take your NIT with you on the day of your examination, as it’s required to enter testing centers. You’ll also need two forms of identification, one of which must contain a recent photo.

5. Wait for your results

Once you’ve completed the Uniform CPA Examination, your responses are sent to AICPA for scoring. You should receive them in the mail once your exam has been assessed.

How to Meet Experience Requirements

1. Pass the AICPA professional ethics for CPAs course

Connecticut CPA candidates must also successfully complete the AICPA Professional Ethics for CPAs self-study course. The course can be taken in paper format or online and you’ll need a score of 90% or higher to pass.

2. Complete work experience requirements

To qualify for a CPA license in Connecticut, you are required to have a minimum of two years professional experience working for a public practice, government practice, or industry. Competencies gained will vary depending on the type of work experience you choose.

Your work experience must be confirmed by a supervising CPA who has held his or her certification for at least three years using the CPA Certificate Experience Verification SBA-12 form.

How to Apply for Your Connecticut CPA License

1. Verify you meet the requirements

In order to apply for a CPA license, you must meet the following requirements:

• • A bachelor degree

  • Successful completion of 150 semester hours

  • Score of at least 75% within an 18 month rolling period on all four parts of the Uniform CPA Examination

  • Passing score of 90% or higher on the AICPA Professional Ethics for CPAs course

  • College transcripts

  • Two years of professional work experience, verified by a licensed CPA

2. Submit the initial CPA certification application

You can apply for your initial CPA license by downloading the application and sending it to the State of Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Board of Accountancy via mail. A check made payable to the “Treasurer, State of CT” totaling $150 to $300, depending on the type of credentials you’re applying for, is also required.

• • Initial CPA Certification

  • Reciprocal CPA Certification

  • Initial CPA Certification & Registration

  • Reciprocal CPA Certification & Registration

  • Initial CPA Certification & License

  • Reciprocal CPA Certification & License

How to Meet Continuing Education Requirements (CPE)

1. Complete CPE requirements

In order to maintain your CPA license in Connecticut, you need to meet CPE requirements. If, however, you hold a certificate or a registered certificate but not a license, CPEs aren’t required. Each year, you must complete the following:

• • 40 CPE credits, including 16 hours in attest or compilation services.

  • Report your CPE hours to the Connecticut State Board of Accountancy when you renew your license.

  • Keep all CPE records for at least three years.

Obtaining a job in accounting is just one of one of the most amazing options available today. It can be a profession that you have actually dreamed concerning for years or it can be one that you have simply discovered. It all relies on what you are looking for in a job and also what you want to do.

If you intend to get a job and also want to return to the institution to earn a college level, you can. There are now many institutions that use level programs in accountancy. All you need to do is get approved to one of them and afterwards it will be a matter of gaining credit ratings to obtain you via university.

Obviously if you want to start quickly you can get going right now. You can take on the internet courses to get your degree. Or you can obtain a college degree in a general company and also obtain a job after you finish.

Obviously there are other options that you may intend to consider. You can become a state-licensed accountant. This is likewise one of the selections for individuals who want to be a CPA.

How is a Certified Public Accountant various from a state-licensed accountant? Well, a Certified Public Accountant must be accredited as a CPA in order to do the type of job that they do. They are accountable for tax obligation preparation, audit and also bookkeeping.

Currently the Certified Public Accountant also has a various collection of responsibilities. It is their work to help ensure that the federal government gathers taxes and that money is well spent. It is their job to ensure that corporations pay their fair share of taxes to ensure that everybody victories.

In order to be a Certified Public Accountant, an individual requires to earn a bachelor's level in bookkeeping and also be accredited. Then they need to learn this location for about 4 years. After this, they need to get a particular variety of credit history hrs in order to be a CPA.

One of the very best aspects of this career is that it can be your first job. There are a great deal of individuals that don't have any previous experience when they go into this area. They do not recognize anyone who did, as well as they are trying to burglarize the labor force. They intend to function and make an excellent wage and then some and proceed with their life.

So just how can you get involved in this area as a Certified Public Accountant? There are numerous ways to go about this as well as various schools that provide training courses in this career. You can select to study online or in person, along with taking classes at one of the institutions of higher learning that use the degree programs.

You also have the alternative of getting your level from the net. Nevertheless, you have to be careful. Some schools provide approved on the internet programs but after that only supply training courses that are authorized by the recognizing body for the states.

If you have gotten into this area as a Certified Public Accountant and also intend to remain to be one, there are a lot more steps to take. You will require to remain to complete credits as well as you will certainly require to pass an examination in order to earn a permit. After that you will need to maintain your permit present to keep your license legitimate.

Being a Certified Public Accountant is a terrific occupation. You can locate work almost everywhere from at the local store to the federal government to huge firms. See to it that you investigate every one of the various career alternatives before you jump into this occupation.

CPAs are several points. They are key financial law enforcement agents for Ton of money 500 business and experts to small neighborhood organisations. They assist public bookkeeping companies, both small and likewise big. They are well-respected essential organisation professionals along with decision-makers. They work as specialists on various problems, including tax obligations as well as accounting. A CPA, or State-licensed Accountant, is a trusted monetary consultant that assists individuals, companies, as well as other organizations plan and also reach their financial purposes.

The Certified Public Accountant credential is exceptionally referred to. To a possible business it suggests high honest standards in addition to quantifiable experience, education, and likewise skills. Certified public accountants work mainly in public accounting, solution as well as likewise industry (firm accounting), federal government, not-for-profit, and education and learning.

It's a very hard specialist track, but the motivation is that Cpas are considered among one of the most relied on advisors in business. In addition to completing organisation as well as bookkeeping programs in college as well as passing a complete across the country test, CPAs proceed to maintain as well as likewise upgrade their capabilities as an element of their dedication to a really dynamic occupation.