Rhode Island - Become a CPA
Becoming a CPA in Rhode Island is similar to entering the profession in many other states. Rhode Island differs from many states in that license renewal and continuing education reporting requirements are done every three years. To get your education path started, you can start with an (AA) Associates degree with an accounting emphasis.
Education Requirements
To become a CPA in Rhode Island, you must have a bachelor’s degree and at least 150 semester hours of college credit. Your degree must come from a college or university with an accounting program accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Secretary of Education. At the undergraduate level, you must earn a minimum of 24 semester hours in accounting and 24 semester hours in business classes. The course requirements include:
Six semester hours in fundamental accounting
Six semester hours in intermediate financial accounting and reporting
Three semester hours in advanced financial accounting and reporting
Three semester hours in auditing
Three semester hours in tax accounting
Three semester hours in business law
Three semester hours in economics
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How to Sit for the CPA Exam in Rhode Island
Once you have received a bachelor’s degree and finished at least 120 semester hours of the 150 semester hours required, you may sit for the Uniform CPA Examination. Register online with CPA Examination Services (CPAES). Send documentation and fees to CPAES at:
CPA Examination Services, Rhode Island Coordinator
P.O. Box 198469, Nashville, TN
37219-8469.
The Uniform CPA Examination consists of four sections: Auditing and Attestation, Regulation, Financial Accounting and Reporting and Business Environment and Concepts. You have four hours to complete each section of the exam, for a total of 16 hours. While you can take each section of the exam on a different date, you must complete the entire exam within 18 months of completing the initial section. You must pass each section with a score of at least 75.
1. Residency requirement
To take the CPA exam in Rhode Island, you must hold state residency or have a place of business or steady employment in the state.
2. Exam scheduling
You will receive your Notification to Schedule (NTS) from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) by either email, fax or regular mail, depending on your selection in your application.
Testing centers for the Uniform CPA Examination in Rhode Island are in Warwick and Cumberland. Prometric handles exam scheduling for Rhode Island, so schedule your exam via their website. Arrive at the testing site at least half an hour before the test is scheduled to start. You will receive your exam scores in the mail.
Experience Needed
Prior to receiving your CPA license, you must complete the professional accounting experience component. This paid accounting work experience consists of at least 1,820 hours of work over the course of a year and the supervision and verification of a licensed CPA. Eligible experience includes working in private industry, public practice, education or government. The competencies you must prove vary according to the field in which you work. Here are the current requirements:
1. Education
Instructor at an accredited university or college
Teaching only upper level courses
Using independent judgment and thought on non-routing accounting matters.
Government – Federal, state or local
Auditor or accounting job on the state level
Auditor or accounting job at GS-7 level or above on the federal level
FBI – special agent accountant
Military – auditor or accountant
Auditor or accountant for other governmental agencies.
2. Public practice
Using independent thought and judgment on various accounting matters
Applying the proper technical and behavioral standards to the work.
3. Private industry
Tax return preparation
Budgeting
Tax return research
Using accounting principles
Cost accounting
Preparation and analysis of financial statements
Understanding the employer’s transaction streams and information systems
Understanding the employer’s industry and competition
Appraising the employer’s internal controls competency.
Besides these job-specific requirements, all CPAs must demonstrate certain core competencies. These include:
Documentation and work papers preparation
Preparation and analysis of financial statements
Understanding transaction systems and information systems
Understanding how economic and regulatory trends affect business
Development and analysis of critical success factors and performance measures
Knowledge and understanding of the goals and objectives of different business entities
Understanding the Rhode Island Board of Accountancy’s Code of Professional Conduct.
4. Professional ethics course
Before you can begin your practical work experience, you must pass the home study “Professional Ethics: The AICPA’s Comprehensive Course.” You must receive a score of at least 90 percent on this ethics test to start your professional experience. When you apply for your license, you must attach a copy of the completion certificate to the application.
How to Get Your License in Rhode Island
Once your educational requirements, passing of the Uniform CPA Examination and professional experience are complete, you may apply for licensing in Rhode Island. CPA licensing in this state is also known as permitting. You must send official copies of your college transcripts and other supporting documentation, proof of passing the ethics test, and verification from your supervisory CPA of your work experience, along with a 2” x 2” photo of yourself and applicable fees to the Rhode Island Board of Accountancy online. If you must mail this information, this could delay your licensure for two to three months. If you decide to go the mail route, send the package to:
Rhode Island Board of Accountancy
1511 Pontiac Avenue #68-1
Cranston, RI 02920.
1. Out-of-state CPA licenses
If you are already licensed as a CPA in another state, you may be able to practice in Rhode Island as long as your license comes from a “substantially equivalent” state, which currently includes all U.S. states and territories with the exception of the U.S. Virgin Islands. If you are a solo practitioner, you must receive a Rhode Island license. However, if your work for a practice organized as a business entity, only one member of the practice requires individual Rhode Island licensure if the other members all hold substantially equivalent licenses from other states. Keep in mind that Rhode Island firms may require state licensing by their employees.
You can apply for a reciprocal CPA certificate, which includes providing many of the requirements for standard Rhode Island licensing along with having the State Board in the state in which you are licensed send verification to the Rhode Island Board of Accountancy.
Continuing Professional Education Requirements
Rhode Island CPAs must complete 120 semester hours of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) every three years. That is the equivalent of 15 days of formal instruction over the time period, or five days annually.
The following subjects are approved by the Rhode Island Board of Accountancy for CPE credits:
Auditing and accounting
Management
Consulting services
Taxes
Specialized knowledge and applications
Regulatory ethics
Behavioral ethics
Personal development and marketing courses may make up only 24 out of the total 120 semester hours during this three-year period. Self-study courses may not make up more than 80 out of the 120 CPE semester hours, while book or article publishing cannot exceed 60 out of the 120 CPE semester hours. Moderating or lecturing counts toward CPE credit, but not for more than 60 out of the 120 CPE hours. Such lecturing or moderating grants you two CPE hours per each hour of instruction.
You should keep records of your CPE for at least four years. You must renew your CPA license every three years, and you report your CPE hours at that time. Make sure the following information is available:
Attendance dates
Course location
CPE hours claimed
Sponsoring courses and the organization
Several accounting organizations require potential CPA prospects to have a great deal of information regarding accounting, consisting of: Master's level, undergraduate degree, experience and also competence in accounting, degree or certificate and so forth. Those who think they depend on it yet can't discover a CPA task may after that believe in themselves if they need to pursue further their education and learning or otherwise. The response is clear: it depends upon what type of work you intend to go after and also if you are willing to satisfy the education demands to come to be a CPA. Those individuals that want to get a job in accounting and also accountancy as soon as possible ought to think about getting a Master's level and come to be a CPA prior to they determine to continue with school.
The training needed for every as well as every various kinds of accountancy also differs with its very own demands. In numerous establishments, such as Harvard University, CPA level is a requirement, while in others, it isn't needed. However regardless of whether or not you have this level, you will certainly have to do the training, so you will still need to finish a year of education and also operate at it if you actually wish to be a CPA.
Nonetheless, before you go after a Master's level in book-keeping, there are a few things that you need to recognize. In the end, having an education in book-keeping will certainly allow you to come to be a CPA, yet recognizing the crucial demands for accountants will give you an advantage over others that are simply trying to find out if they have what it takes to be a CPA.
Among the most important factors you require to think about when you begin your schooling is the type of organization you pick to finish your education. Each institution supplies its very own educational demands for accountants. While some offer field of expertise programs, others give general education courses for accountants and also CPA.
Some colleges provide a two-year program in service college, while others offer a four-year program. Those individuals that desire to get a Master's level in book-keeping might find it in their best interest to choose a two-year program at their institution. Considering that their education is less extensive, they will have time to learn how to compose reports, do pay-roll systems, as well as other forms of service operations they might be trained to do once they are completed their four-year level.
Although there is no certain education need for accounting, those CPA prospects that wish to proceed their education and learning needs to talk to their neighborhood universities. There are a great deal of area universities that offer an accounting program, and also it is feasible for them to move credit reports gained from their regular curriculum right into the accounting level program. Likewise, many neighborhood universities offer coursework in general service courses, accounting administration, monetary accounting, tax obligation monitoring, and bookkeeping.
Another thing you need to learn about being a CPA is the examination. All accounting organizations will need CPA test ratings before they will approve the CPA permit, and also these scores are usually only provided to those people that have graduated from a four-year college with an organisation level. You might be needed to take the exam even if you have just 2 years of accounting training.
The examination has a created element as well as a dental part, and if you can address all of them with a high level of precision, it is a great idea to go ahead as well as take the test. It is worth it to take the exam since you can start an effective occupation.
When you finish your education demands, it is constantly a great concept to begin searching for jobs instantly. There are a great deal of accounting firms and companies that hire accountants, and it is constantly an excellent suggestion to examine around as well as see what type of work are available.
Many firms and accounting firms that employ accountants for settings in accounting tasks hire accountants for entry-level positions too. Before you leave school, nevertheless, you need to always consider getting certified.
Many state boards of book-keeping require one to acquire certification, as well as licensed accountants can be really competitive. Particularly because they are most likely to be in the employing process for accountants. Simply believe the number of trainees take the CPA test every year, and they will certainly all intend to end up being CPA, or Certified public accountants, yet they never ever do.
Any person that does that feature can call themselves an accountant, even without a degree in accounting, although generally an accounting professional does have an accounting-related level. Typically, non-certified accountants do jobs such as bookkeeping, maintaining standard organisation accounts, and also taking care of straightforward tax-related issues, according to the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Accountants prepare 3 major types of economic declarations: audited, reviewed, in addition to assembled. Only a Certified Public Accountant can prepare an audited economic statement or an evaluated monetary affirmation, although any type of sort of accountant can prepare an assembled financial statement. While the majority of neighborhood business may never ever require an audited or examined monetary statement, public business need to produce audited statements.
A certified public accountant (Certified Public Accountant) is a category provided by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) to people that pass the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Evaluation and also accomplish the education and learning and experience needs. The Certified Public Accountant classification aids apply specialist criteria in the book-keeping field. Numerous other countries have accreditation's equal to the Certified Public Accountant classification, particularly, the chartered accounting specialist (CA) classification.
Different other needs for the Certified Public Accountant designation include having 2 or more years of public accountancy experience along with passing the Uniform CPA Examination given by the American Institute of Licensed Public Accountants (AICPA). Certified public accountants normally hold various placements in public along with company book-keeping, in addition to exec setups, such as the controller of chief monetary policeman (CFO).