Kansas - Become a CPA

The requirements for becoming a Certified Public Accountant in Kansas are rigorous, but certainly achievable for those committed to a career in the field. Educational requirements are strict, and besides passing the Uniform CPA Examination, CPA candidates must meet the practical experience needs.

Education Requirements

Kansas’ educational requirements for pursuing a CPA include obtaining a BS degree or higher from an institution of higher learning approved by the Kansas State Board of Accounting (KSBOA). You will want to start with obtaining an Associate’s in Accounting, but you will need to get a bachelor's degree to become a CPA. If you plan to pursue an undergraduate degree in accounting and later practice in Kansas, make sure the college or university you attend is approved by the KSBOA.

An applicant must complete a minimum of 150 semester hours with a focus on accounting. At least 42 of those semester hours must include general education and business courses, including:

• • Microeconomics

  • Macroeconomics

  • Upper level economics course

  • Two courses relating to business law Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

  • Algebra or higher-level mathematics

  • Finance

  • Marketing

  • Management and administration

  • Statistics and probability theory

  • Computer systems and applications

  • Production or operations research

In addition, candidates must complete a minimum of 30 semester hours in accounting theory and practice, including:

• • Intermediate or advanced accounting

  • Managerial accounting – not an introductory course

  • United State income tax course

  • Auditing

  • Accounting information systems – not an introductory course

Candidates must also complete a minimum of 11 semester hours in communication courses, which include English composition, business communications and speech. Other liberal arts courses such as poetry, theater, literature and foreign languages do not count toward this requirement.

The necessary coursework is quite specific, and while the KSBOA may waive up to six hours total consisting of three hours of course requirements in each of the three categories, the Board make it clear that a waiver “is an exception, not the rule,” and anyone seeking a waiver must present a very good reason.

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How to Sit for the CPA Exam in Kansas

Once you successfully complete the education requirements, you may sit for the Uniform CPA Exam. The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy’s (NASBA) offers an online application for CPA Exam Services. After completing the application, you must read and acknowledge the Kansas Board of Accountancy’s cheating policy form, and send it along with a 2” x 2” recent photograph of yourself to:

CPA Examination Services – Kansas Coordinator

P.O. Box 198469

Nashville, TN 37219-8469

Have your schools send their official transcripts to this address. Currently, the registration fee for the exam is $145, and the exam fee is either $185.10 or $207.15, depending on which components you are taking. You may pay online with a credit card, or pay via credit card, check or money order if sending a paper application. Checks and money orders are made payable to CPA Examination Services.

Your application requires approval. Expect this process to take between four to six weeks. Once approved, you will receive the Notice to Schedule (NTS) by the method you previously indicated, whether email, fax or regular mail. If you don’t receive the NTS within four weeks of your application approval, contact CPA Examination Services. You can schedule your exam online through the Kansas contractor, Prometric.

1. The four sections of the exam

There are four components of the Uniform CPA Exam: Financial Accounting and Reporting; Business Environment and Concepts; Regulation, and Auditing and Attestation. While you can take the exam sections at different times, you must pass all of them within an 18-month period. Each section sits for four hours, for a total of 16 test hours. It is permissible to take all four sections at one sitting.

2. Kansas examination windows

In Kansas, the Uniform CPA Exam is offered every quarter, a period known as a “window.” The exam is offered at least twice during every window, but a candidate cannot sit for the same section of the exam more than once during each window. Candidates are permitted to sit for the various exam section four times yearly.

Under some circumstances, you may sit for the exam up to 60 days prior to completion of all education requirements.

3. Exam location

The Kansas CPA examination is offered in five cities: Hays, Overland Park, Pittsburg, Wichita and Topeka. You can also take the examination in other U.S. jurisdictions and identify yourself as a Kansas candidate. If you take the exam in Guam, extra fees are involved.

4. Exam results

The results of the examination are sent to you directly by NASBA. Using your date of birth and section identification number, you can access your results online. Scores are also sent to the KSBOA, which will also notify you.

5. A two-tier state

Kansas is a two-tier state when it comes to practicing as a CPA. The first tier involves around passing the exam. Once you have done that, you receive a certificate allowing you to use “CPA” in your credentialing, but that certificate is not a practice license. There is a $25 fee for the certificate. An oath is taken by all certificate holders, and you must sign it. Before you can obtain a license, you must acquire experience.

Experience Needed

The experience tier requires 2,000 hours of performance services, completed over one to three years. You may work in private practice, government, academia or industry to obtain the necessary experience. In Kansas, your work does not require direct supervision by a CPA as it true in some jurisdictions, but you must have your performance verified by a CPA with a current license to practice. Kansas considers attest and non-attest services separately. If you plan to offer attest services, such as financial statement review, prospective financial information examination or audits, you must acquire 375 hours of attest performing experience. These 375 hours are part of the 2,000-hour requirement, not additional hours.

Once you have completed your 2,000 hours of experience, fill out the Certificate of Experience and present it to the CPA doing your verification. You must include this form when filling out your licensing application.

Licensure requirements in Kansas

Those who successfully pass the CPA exam and AICPA professional ethics course and complete the qualified experience may apply for their license, or permit, as it is referred to in Kansas. You can download the permit application from the KSBOA website and send it to the KSBOA along with your certificate of experience. Your fee depends on the year and your certificate number. If the latter is odd and the year you are applying is odd, you will pay $150. If the certificate number is odd but the year you are applying is even – or vice-versa- you will pay $75.

Continuing Education Requirements for Kansas

Permit renewal is required every two years, with expiration date of July 1. Those with odd-numbered permits must renew theirs in odd-numbered years, and the same holds true for even-numbered permits in even-numbered years. When a CPA receives his or her initial permit, they are given a number of continuing education hours they must complete before their first renewal.

Renewal requires 80 hours of Continued Professional Education (CPE) within those two years, which includes two hours of CPA ethics. Those ethics hours must consist of courses on professional standards; SEC oversight; competence; licenses and renewals; independence; confidential client information; acts discreditable; advertising and solicitation; integrity and objectivity; commissions; contingent fees; conflicts of interest; malpractice; record retention; full disclosure; professional conduct; risk management and corporate ethics.

If you earn a maximum of 20 CPE hours beyond the 80 hours required for the renewal, you may carry them over toward your next CPE hours requirement. The additional hours do not count toward fulfillment of the ethics component.

1. Special Kansas CPA considerations

If you are a licensed CPA in another state, and those requirements are basically equivalent to those of Kansas, but you don’t have a primary place of business in Kansas, you may become a permit holder. If you want to practice public accounting in Kansas, but your license is from another state, you must pay a $250 licensing fee and ask your state’s licensing board to give your information via the Authorization for Exchange of Licensure Information.

Those with an equivalent degree in accounting from Mexico, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand or Hong Kong may take the International Qualification Examination (IQEX) and then apply for a Kansas certificate and permit. For those with accounting degrees from any other countries, fulfillment of the Kansas education, examination and experience qualifications is necessary.

A need for an accountant, or Certified public accountants, indicates that you have to meet certain requirements. Nevertheless, some of these demands can alter any time, and accountants ought to know any type of modifications as they relate to their occupation.

Accountants have certain hours of job. This implies that the hours are defined, and accounts need meeting specific hrs. Numerous accountants are additionally called for to research, which boosts their hours of research and commonly includes evening courses.

There is a requirement to be accustomed to modifications in accounting and to be able to adapt to new software packages. While accounts might not constantly learn about each adjustment, they do need to be able to handle and use the brand-new programs as they are being presented. It is great to discover the present programs being utilized so that you can adjust to future adjustments.

Accounts have to comprehend the distinction between occupational and also non-work relevant expenses. There is a difference in between administrative expenditures and also overhead. Management expenses are charged to a company when it accomplishes management features. The very same can be stated for business expenses.

There is a requirement to be well-informed in the legislations of tax obligation as well as in the legislations of the state in which a company is located. Most states require accounts to be certified prior to they get CPA accreditation. You have to recognize the differences between the various tax laws. The best method to find out about these laws is to enroll on the topic, or to end up being accredited in your state.

Accountants should have the ability to understand financial declarations and also bookkeeping. An accountant must have the ability to prepare financial declarations. Accounts should be able to understand how to determine the financial statement equilibriums. An accountant should be able to provide the financial statements of an organization. Accountants must assess risk. This means that an accountant has to be able to recognize risk. He or she should be able to evaluate risk in order to reveal the precision of the monetary statements.

Accountants must recognize the legal system and also has to comprehend the distinction in between lawful and non-legal procedures. They have to have the ability to comprehend the difference in between the lawful and also non-legal costs related to the completion of an accounting account. They must be able to understand exactly how the audit process works. She or he ought to be able to explain just how the audit functions and interpret its outcomes.

Accountants have to know about agreements. They must understand the lawful terms made use of in the deal. They should likewise understand just how to make exact price quotes of the worth of an agreement.

Accounts need to be well-informed concerning the Internal Revenue Service. Some things might appear to be fair, however they are not. Accounts need to know all the taxes that are imposed on the business. They need to know the penalties for failing to pay tax on schedule.

Accountants have to be capable of writing up letters of reference for candidates. Candidates for this profession should be educated in monetary management as well as in the techniques of accounting. If they are not, they will discover it hard to be worked with as a CPA. They must recognize things that need to be included in these letters.

Coming to be a CPA can be really tough, especially if you do not know what you are getting involved in. If you are interested in becoming a CPA, it is suggested that you get in touch with the accounting organizations for details concerning coming to be a CPA.

An accountant is a specialist that implements bookkeeping features such as audits or economic statement evaluation. This is additionally called account examination. Accounting experts can either be utilized with an audit company or a large company with an indoor accounting division, or they can develop a specific technique. Accounting professionals are provided accreditations by across the country expert associations after satisfying state-specific demands, although non-qualified individuals can still work under numerous other accounting specialists or separately.

The sort of training background and likewise category that a person has will absolutely establish his/her specialist responsibilities. Accounting professionals have bachelor's levels as well as might need to get a certification, which can take up to a year to obtain relying on the kind of qualification being sought as well as likewise the state in which those requirements need to be satisfied.

Qualified public accounts have a legal responsibility to be honest along with to avoid oversight in their jobs. Certified public accountants have real impact over their customers, and their judgments and also job can impact not merely a certain yet a whole firm, including its staff members, its board along with its sponsors. Accounting professionals could be held accountable for paying without insurance losses to lending institutions and plutocrats when it concerns a misstatement, oversight or fraud.