Pennsylvania - Become a CPA

It can be overwhelming to sort out all of the steps you’ll need to take before you’re eligible for your CPA license. Here’s a guide to what can expect in the process of becoming a licensed CPA in Pennsylvania.

Complete Your Education Requirements

To get started on your education path, you can start with a accelerated associate accounting program. Before you’re eligible to sit for the Uniform CPA Exam, the Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy requires that you complete a bachelor’s degree and at least 150 semester hours of college credit.

Your credit hours must include the following:

• • 24 semester hours in the field of accounting, including:

  • Three semester hours in general accounting; Three semester hours in business law, finance, taxation, or auditing

  • The remaining 18 hours may be comprised of any combination of business law, finance, taxation, and/or auditing.

According to the Board, acceptable finance courses may not contain the words “money” or “banking”.

Correspondence, CLEP, and/or online courses may qualify if credits are received from an accredited institution.

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Taking the Uniform CPA Exam

After you have received your Bachelor of Science degree online or on-campus (Preferably a BAcc or BAcy) and completing at least 120 semester hours of the required 150, you will be eligible to sit for the Uniform CPA Exam. Here’s what you’ll need to do.

• • Submit an application to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) CPA Examination Services (CPAES). You can apply online, or download the application packet from NASBA’s website.

  • Along with your completed application, you’ll need to make sure that CPAES receives the following:

  • Official transcripts mailed from directly from your school to: CPA Examination Services, Pennsylvania Coordinator, PO Box 198469, Nashville, TN 37219-8469 (electronic transcripts may be emailed to etranscript@nasba.org)

  • Exam application fee, either mailed with your paper application or paid online by credit card

Candidates with disabilities requiring testing accommodations should also submit an ADA Accommodation Form along with the application packet.

• • You should expect to receive your Notice to Schedule (NTS) in the mail within four weeks of sending in your application. You must schedule your exam date within six months of getting your NTS. Your NTS is only valid for one exam date once scheduled.

  • Schedule your testing date on the Prometrics website. You’ll be able to choose to take your exam in one of the following Pennsylvania testing locations:

  • Allentown

  • Clarks Summit

  • Conshohocken

  • Harrisburg

  • Lancaster

  • Monroeville

  • Philadelphia

  • Pittsburgh

Be sure to arrive at your chosen location on time and prepared to take your Uniform CPA Exam.

• • You can expect to receive scoring results in the mail once your test has been scored.

Work Requirements Prior to Licensing

Once you’ve passed your Uniform CPA Exam, you’ll be able to start accruing the work experience needed to get your Pennsylvania CPA license.

Before you’re eligible to apply for your license, you must complete one year (1600 hours) of relevant work experience. This may take place in a private industry or government setting, and must be verified by a current licensed CPA.

Experience that does not count toward your work requirements include the following:

• • Self employment

  • Experience gained as a partner in a partnership

  • Work supervised by an unlicensed CPA

  • Work performed at a different firm outside the supervision of your verifying CPA

Your work experience should provide you with a suitable working knowledge of these concentrations (at minimum):

• • Attestation

  • Auditing financial statements

  • Financial projections, analyses and forecasts

  • Operational and compliance audits

  • Internal auditing

  • Management advisory services

  • Preparing financial statements

  • Preparing income and non-profit tax returns

  • Tax research

Once you’ve completed your required experience hours, you’ll need to complete the top portion of the Verification of Employment form. Give the form to your verifying CPA to complete, along with a stamped envelope addressed to: Pennsylvania State Board of Accountancy, P.O. Box 2649, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649.

Your verifying CPA must meet the following requirements to be considered qualified as a valid source of attestation:

• • Must have held a valid license for the duration of the candidate’s employment

  • Must have either employed the candidate or worked with the candidate during employment

  • Must have personally witnessed the candidate’s work for evaluation purposes

  • Must correctly fill out the Verification of Employment form (along with documentation of experience hours worked by the candidate), sign and date, and submit to the Board

After completing your work requirements, you’ll be ready to apply for your licensure.

Getting Your Pennsylvania CPA License

Before submitting your application, double check to ensure you’ve finished all of the Board’s licensure requirements. Here’s a checklist of all the steps you should have completed:

• • Obtained a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university

  • Completed 150 semester hours with 24 hours in accounting

  • Passed the Uniform CPA Exam

  • Completed one full year (1600 hours) of verified work experience

  • Obtained verification of your employment from a licensed CPA, who should have submitted the Verification of Employment form

If you’ve finished all the steps, you should be eligible for CPA licensure.

Download the Certified Public Accountant Certification Application packet from the Board’s website. This is Pennsylvania’s equivalent of licensing, and you’ll achieve both when your application is accepted.

Keeping Your CPA Certification Valid

To make sure you’re caught up to speed on current rules and regulations, you’ll need to complete a Continuing Professional Education (CPE) requirement of 80 hours every two years. This includes a minimum requirement of 20 CPE hours each year, as well as the following specifications:

• • 16 hours in accounting and attestation

  • Four hours in professional ethics

  • Eight hours in tax topics

Qualifying CPE programs may focus on these subjects:

• • Advisory and consulting services

  • Accounting

  • Auditing services

  • Professional development

  • Management

  • Taxation and tax services

One course credit hour is equal to 50 minutes of CPE time.

You’ll need to maintain documentation of CPE hours earned, including certification of completion, dates of hours earned, transcripts (if taking credit courses), and/or course materials.

You may also consider joining an organization of CPAs to stay in the loop about goings-on in the world of accounting. The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) is a nationwide option that provides great networking opportunities. Locally, the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs and/or the Pennsylvania Society of Public Accountants might be worthwhile groups to join.

If you are serious about making your dreams of becoming a CPA a reality, there are a few things you should know. It is important to understand that the CPA exam is not a simple job that you can breeze through. In order to get to the next level, you need to take the exam.

The CPA exam is the most difficult part of becoming a CPA with a finance degree. While the CPA exam is in no way easy, it will not be a cake walk either. CPA job requirements follow.

Let's start with some of the CPA exam structure and how it affects your CPA job requirements. There are three components to the CPA exam. While many find this confusing, there are certain elements that will help you study for the exam.

The first part of the exam is the "audit questions" section. These questions will consist of a series of questions that assess your understanding of accounting and financial subjects.

The second part of the exam is called the written portion and will be concerned with checking your knowledge of accounting and the financial accounts. Topics will include statements of income, statements of assets, and statements of liabilities.

The third part of the exam is the oral portion and is the section in which you will take a written test on financial statements. During this portion, you will be asked questions that will involve your accounting and financial skills. Again, there will be lots of topics to cover here.

It is important to remember that the CPA exam does not guarantee your future. If you have not taken the exam before, you should still be prepared. One of the biggest concerns among CPA students is knowing what their CPA job requirements are.

This can make the difference between going through the CPA licensing exam or passing the exam without it. However, this is something that a finance degree student should not worry about. You can still get an accounting or CPA license, even if you have never taken the exam.

Now, the other thing you should know about your CPA exam is the money management section. Here, you will be given questions regarding accounting practices. Again, this is a problem area that will help you learn how to manage money.

Of course, no matter what you study and what you focus on, you will still have to become a CPA with a finance degree. The idea is to become a certified public accountant so that you can help consumers with taxes.

Fortunately, the CPA exam is relatively easy to complete. In fact, once you have completed the exams, you will be able to sit for the exam and take it. This is a great skill to have as it can help you if you decide to take a job in the accounting field.

How to get your CPA is something that many people consider to be important, especially if they have decided to become a CPA. A finance degree is a great help in any career and will lead to great earnings and a better lifestyle.

When you have gotten your CPA certificate to practice, you will certainly need to take continuing specialist education and learning courses each year to keep your permit. To equal brand-new advancements in service and innovation, a bulk of states need 150 debt hours of education at a recognized college or college as a requirement to CPA accreditation.

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