Louisiana - Become a CPA

Becoming a CPA in Louisiana has a few different requirements than many other states. While many states require a CPA candidate to major in accounting in college, in Louisiana any major is acceptable, as long as the person has taken the requisite number of business and accounting courses.

Education Requirements

CPA candidates in Louisiana must complete 150 semester hours of college and earn a bachelor’s degree with an emphasis in accounting. The State Board of CPAs of Louisiana must find the college or university acceptable, and it must be accredited by one of the national accreditation organizations.

The completed coursework must include 24 semester hours of undergraduate accounting courses, or 21 hours of such courses at the graduate level. Such courses must include:

• • Six hours of intermediate accounting (undergraduate) 3 hours (graduate)

  • Three hours cost accounting

  • Three hours auditing

  • Three hours income tax accounting

Candidates must also successfully complete three semester hours in either accounting theory, advanced financial accounting or nonprofit accounting or auditing. They must complete nine semester hours of elective accounting courses beyond the elementary level.

Candidates must also complete 24 semester hours of business courses, including three hours of commercial law, which must address the Uniform Commercial Code. While accounting or business internships do not count toward the educational requirement, up to six hours of such internships may count toward the 150 semester hour requirement.

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How to Sit for the CPA Exam in Louisiana

Once you complete the educational requirements, and have resided in Louisiana for at least four months, you may sit for the Uniform CPA Examination. Register for the exam online at CPA Examination Services. After completing the application forms, include in the packet your original college transcripts, and fee payment for the exam and application. If you attended an out-of-state school and you did not take courses meeting Louisiana requirements, you must petition the board via an Application for Course Substitution. Include course descriptions on this application. Mail the completed packet to:

CPA Examination Services – Louisiana Coordinator

P.O. Box 198469

Nashville, TN 37219-8469

Once your application is accepted, you will receive a Notice to Schedule from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) via your chosen method, either email, fax or regular post.

1. Exam scheduling

The Uniform CPA Examination is held in five Louisiana cities: Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Bossier, Lake Charles and Metairie. Visit the Prometric website and schedule your exam. Appear at the testing site on the test date at least half an hour before the exam is scheduled to begin. You will receive your scores in the mail and you can find them online 48 hours after the exam date.

Experience Needed

After passing the Uniform CPA Examination, candidates must obtain 2,000 hours or one year of practical experience before becoming eligible for licensure. All experience requires supervision by a licensed CPA. All experience must take place within four years of licensure application. Candidates may derive experience from employment in academia, government, nonprofit organizations, private industry or public practice. Experience must include at least one of the following:

• • Accounting

  • Attestation

  • Management advisory

  • Financial advisory

  • Taxation

The supervising CPA must affirm all experience in a letter written on company letterhead, which is sent aong with the license application. This letter must include:

• • Job title

  • Employment dates

  • Job description

For part-time employees, payroll information, time sheets and productivity records are required. If the candidate worked in academia, the titles of the college courses taught, and their dates must be included.

Get Your License in Louisiana

After meeting your experience and other requirements, you may apply for licensure or certification as a CPA in Louisiana. Download the Application for a Certificate for a Certified Public Accountant. Complete the application and include the supervising CPA letter on experience, your official school transcripts and the appropriate fees, with a check made payable to the State Board of CPAs of Louisiana. Mail the completed application to:

State Board of CPAs of Louisiana

601 Poydras Street

Suite 1770

New Orleans, LA 70130

The board meets four times a year, on the last business day of January, April, July and October. To consider your application, the board must receive it at least 30 days before the next scheduled meeting. Once the license is approved, the board will contact you.

1. Reciprocal licensing

CPAs holding a license in another state with similar accountancy requirements, you may apply for a reciprocal license in Louisiana. Currently, all states and U.S. territories with the exception of the Virgin Islands have equivalent requirements.

You must download the Application for a Reciprocal Certificate as a Certified Public Accountant, as well as the Authorization for Interstate Exchange of Licensure Information. Mail the latter form, along with applicable fees, to the state accountancy board holding your license. For the reciprocal certificate application, submit letters from supervising CPAs and document your qualifying experiences within the prior four years to the State Board of CPAs of Louisiana.

For sole practitioners, you must include a minimum of three letters from clients stating you have at least one year of experience in public practice accounting during the previous four years. You must also submit three character references from non-relatives who have know you more than one year. If you graduated from college after 1997, you must include college transcripts proving you meet the 150 semester-hour graduation requirement.

Include any applicable fees and send the completed packet to the State Board of CPAs of Louisiana. The board will examine your application and let you know if it is approved.

Continuing Professional Education Requirements

Louisiana CPAs must attain 120 hours of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) requirements every three years. For the first three years of licensing, CPE credits are pro-rated, so a first-year licensee requires only 80 credits until the next licensing period, and a second-year licensee requires 40 credits. The third-year licensee does not need to attain any credits that year but is subject to the 120-hour requirement once their license is renewed. At the time of renewal, all CPAs must furnish a signed statement of their CPE hours.

Of the 120 hours, two hours of professional ethics are required. Personal development cannot count for more than 30 CPE hours. A program hour is at least 50 minutes to qualify as one CPE hour. For those working in attestation, a minimum of 24 CPE hours must include that subject.

Approved formats for CPE credits include:

• • Credited college or university courses, with one semester hour equal to 15 CPE hours

  • Non-credited college or university courses, with one semester hour equivalent to one CPE hour

  • Self-study programs

  • Formal group programs

  • Approved correspondence courses

  • In-house educational programs

  • National and state CPA chapter technical meetings

  • Completion of exams for certified financial planner, certified management accountant or certified information systems auditor. This credit may not account for more than half of CPE credits. The credits are awarded at five time the length of each exam.

CPE credits are available for those serving as lecturers, speakers or teachers, but cannot make up more than half of CPE credits. Writing books or articles or CPE programs cannot make up more than 25 percent of CPE credits.

It is important to maintain CPE records for at least five years. This information includes:

• • Course sponsor

  • Course location

  • Certificate of completion or attendance

  • Dates attended

  • Course title and content description

  • CPE hours claimed

  • Transcripts for college or university courses

  • Publication evidence for articles and books

CPA Job Demands for your very first task can vary depending on your prospective company. Each state and/or city government company has their own certain requirements for a CPA.

Some states may need a minimum of a 2 year degree or some minimal job experience as a CPA before you can look for a job. Others have demands that are extra comprehensive. If you can, connect with the state licensing board and also find out what your private state's requirements are before using.

So what do you need to end up being a CPA? These work need a broad series of skills and also experience including accounting, bookkeeping, tax, accounting, business administration, and also general monitoring knowledge. Various other areas that are very important consist of interpersonal skills and communication skills, along with the ability to function as part of a team.

One of one of the most important parts of coming to be a CPA is to acquire ample training. There are several training programs available in several places. If you have not had any type of official training in this field, you might be amazed at just how easy it is to make yourself a far better as well as more certified CPA.

Taking CPA programs can be testing sometimes, especially when it concerns discovering the right training courses for you. Nevertheless, you must definitely choose courses that educate you every little thing that you need to recognize to get approved for this type of task. Any kind of training courses that you register in must be authorized by the state or local government agencies where you plan to function.

To become a CPA, you will need to find an excellent college that offers an excellent program and good tuition. Make certain the program is recognized by a variety of organizations to ensure that you will not lose your time and money on something that will certainly not get you where you want to go. You also want to ensure the course curriculum consists of subjects like financial accounting, taxation, budgeting, advertising and marketing, as well as study.

As soon as you've found a program, now it's time to enlist. Make sure that you get into a school that fits your timetable to make sure that you will certainly have the opportunity to take the courses and also obtain your training. Do not hurry right into a decision if you're not sure that you wish to most likely go to college. Find out every little thing you can about the program prior to you choose.

Make sure that you are aware of every one of the institution demands prior to you submit an application. If you do not meet the minimum needs, after that you might be incapable to seek your program. You need to additionally consider your capacity to remain to pay your tuition.

You will locate that there are a variety of various financial aids offered for pupils that are aiming to get in the college to be a CPA. These funds can be applied toward tuition and also help with books as well as other requirements. Other financing can be utilized for institution products, modern technology, and computer system tools.

The majority of students who are interested in ending up being a CPA go through formal education at their chosen college or university. There are certain programs that supply training in detailed locations like accounting or taxes. However, this does not always ensure success and will depend upon the degree of discovering that is required for the program.

Along with formal education, there are lots of CPA accreditation programs readily available. These qualification programs offer a detailed course to ending up being a CPA. Sometimes, the programs can be finished online as well as permit students to take them from the convenience of their very own residence.

If you truly want to become a CPA, then ensure that you do your research as well as do the research prior to you enlist in any kind of program. Additionally, make use of the various funding chances that are offered. You can conserve a lot of cash by getting your training online and also by acquiring financing for your program.

You comprehend billings have been sent out to each of your clients, yet have any of them been paid? Accountant can trace who has really paid (and likewise that hasn't) so you recognize specifically how much money you have on hand and if you need to send late notices. Taxes are made complex and also with, they might get back at more difficult for little business.

How healthy and also balanced is your organisation? Simply how much cash money should you stock? An accounting specialist will certainly develop all the records you need to make the suitable financial decisions for your service. It's creative to have experienced guidance from an accountant throughout the life of your regional service, whether you're simply in the planning stages, or you're up until now in you presently have staff members.

Accounting professional obligations can be found in all shapes and measurements, nonetheless there are three differences you need to keep in mind: Accountants are not all accounting experts, however accountants can be accountants. Accountants manage a variety of activities for your organisation, from price payments to as soon as a week records. While bookkeepers are skilled at dealing with a lot of financial responsibilities, they're not called for to hold licenses that permit them to represent you to the Internal Revenue Service or prepare your tax commitments.