Tennessee - Become a CPA

Earning your certified public accountant licensure is the same in Tennessee as in many other states. A combination of education, examination and keeping up with your license is all you need to start in this career.

CPA Education Requirements in Tennessee

1. Check college or university accreditation

First, you will need to confirm that the institute you’re attending, or plan to attend, is properly accredited. The Tennessee State Board of Accountancy only recognizes degrees from junior colleges, colleges, and universities that are accredited programs by the following organizations:

• • Southern Association of Colleges and Schools

  • Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools

  • New England Association of Schools and Colleges

  • North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools

  • Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges

  • Western Association of Schools and Colleges

If your educational institute is not accredited by one of the above organizations, you may still qualify for a CPA license in Tennessee if:

• • Enroll in a graduate program at an accredited institution.

  • Complete 15 semester hours of graduate classes (must include nine hours of graduate-level accounting courses, three hours of graduate-level tax courses, and not duplicate any previously courses taken).

  • Have undergraduate (foreign) transcripts evaluated by a Board-approved service such as Foreign Academic Credential Evaluators, Inc. or Global Services Associates, Inc.

  • Submit the completed evaluation of foreign transcripts to the Florida Board of Accountancy.

2. Take the right courses

CPA applicants in Tennessee must earn a baccalaureate or higher degree and complete a total of 150 semester hours of accounting and business courses. Your program must include:

• • At least 30 semester hours of accounting courses

  • A maximum of six semester hours can be from internships

  • At least 24 semester hours of general business courses in one or more of these categories:

  • Algebra, Calculus, Statistics, Probability

  • Business Communication

  • Business Law

  • Economics

  • Ethics

  • Finance

  • Management

  • Technology / Information Systems

  • Marketing

Accounting hours, excluding elementary courses, above the minimum can be substituted for the general business requirements. Additionally, at least 24 semester hours of junior, senior, or graduate level accounting courses are required.

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CPA Uniform Examination Requirements

1. Complete the education requirements

You can apply to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination prior to completing the education requirements as long as you:

• • Have a baccalaureate or higher degree from an accredited educational institute

  • Complete a minimum of 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours of junior, senior, or graduate level accounting courses. Hours attained from internships do not satisfy this requirement.

You can submit your application to sit for the examination prior to completing your degree, assuming you provide material proof that your program will be finished by the time you actually sit for the first examination. A Certificate of Enrollment and a certified transcript from your college or university will satisfy this requirement.

2. Apply to take the Uniform CPA Examination

You can apply to take the Uniform CPA Examination online. You’ll need to create a user account to proceed. Application materials include:

• • Application fee of $170.

  • Examination fees of $208.40 for each section of the exam you intend to take: Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Business Environment and Concepts (BEC), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), and Regulation (REG).

  • Official transcript(s) sent directly from your college or university to CPA Examination Services (CPAES).

  • Notarization Form, submitted by you to CPAES.

  • Photograph Form, including a 2x2 image of your head and shoulders only taken within the last three months, submitted by you to CPAES.

  • International Evaluation, sent directly from the evaluation service if you received your education outside of the United States.

  • Testing Accommodation Request form, if applicable, submitted by you to CPAES.

All supporting documentation should be submitted with your application or sent to the following address:

CPA Examination Services – TN

PO Box 198469

Nashville, TN 37219

After your materials have been received, expect it to take two to four weeks for your application to be processed.

3. Schedule your Uniform CPA Examination date

Once your Uniform CPA Examination application has been processed, you will receive a Notice to Schedule (NTS). Your NTS will indicate which sections of the examination you’re approved to take and will instruct you to schedule your exam date(s) via Prometric. Be advised that Prometric does charge exam service fees.

4. Take the Uniform CPA Examination in Tennessee

Now it’s time to take your Uniform CPA Examination. To be considered for CPA licensure in Tennessee, you must receive a score of 75% or higher on all four exam sections within an 18-month rolling period. You’ll be notified via email once your scores are available to view online.

Work Experience Requirements in Tennessee

1. Complete experience requirements

To qualify for a CPA license in Tennessee, you’re required to work professionally in an industry, government, academia, or public practice for at least a year (a minimum of 2000 hours). During this time, you must provide services or advice using accounting, attest, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, or consulting skills. Your work experience must be verified by a licensed CPA.

License Application Process

1. Verify you’ve met the requirements

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

Earn a baccalaureate degree or higher from an accredited educational institute and complete a minimum of 150 semester hours to include:

• • 30 semester hours in accounting – 24 must be either junior, senior, or graduate level courses

  • 24 semester hours in business

  • Pass the Uniform CPA Examination

  • Pass the AICPA ethics exam with a score of 90% or higher

  • One year of professional work experience

2. Apply for your CPA license

Once you’ve passed the Uniform CPA Examination and the AICPA ethics exam, the Tennessee State Board of Accountancy will be notified. At that time, they will send CPA license instructions to you. This will include a verification form for your licensed CPA employer. Additionally, you’ll need to pay an initial CPA license application fee of $100.

Continuing Education (CPE) Requirements

1. Complete education requirements

In order to maintain your CPA license in Tennessee, you must meet the state’s CPE requirements. Within each two-year period, you must complete the following:

80 CPE credits

• • A minimum of 20 hours per year is required

  • At least 40 hours must be in technical subjects

  • At least 20 hours must be in Accounting and Auditing if performing attest services

  • At least 20 hours must be in the area the court deems you an expert

  • A maximum of 20% of hours may be obtained through a magazine reading program

  • At least two hours of Board approved state specific ethics courses

CPE technical fields of study include:

• • Accounting

  • Accounting (Government)

  • Auditing

  • Auditing (Government)

  • Business Law

  • Economics

  • Finance

  • Information Technology

  • Management Services

  • Regulatory Ethics

  • Specialized Knowledge

  • Statistics

  • Taxes

CPE Non-Technical Fields of Study include

• • Behavioral Ethics

  • Business Management and Organization

  • Communications and Marketing

  • Computer Software and Applications

  • Personal Development

  • Personnel / Human Resources

  • Production

The Tennessee State Board of Accountancy randomly selects 10% of renewing CPA licenses each year for a CPE audit. If you are chosen, you must submit documentation proving CPE completion.

It's simple to see why ending up being a CPA could be a good suggestion. A person with the proper accreditation will certainly have a high-paying profession. It is likewise simple to see why many individuals have an interest in taking and also passing the CPA test.

Lots of people have an interest in becoming a CPA. However, it can be difficult to understand if the training and demands to come to be a CPA are going to be worth your time.

Accountants are needed in every market. The ability to accurately figure out financial data is needed for every sort of company.

Banks call for accountants due to the fact that they should have exact documents to monitor possessions. This implies accountants must be well-informed in tax, financial analysis, and investments.

At this time in our nation, financial institutions are still getting used to the impact of the economic crisis. As a result, accounting experts have actually been hired to supply exact data for their clients.

Companies that have their own company call for accountants as well. They require to be able to precisely track capital spending, as well as cash money books. In most cases, accountants use the APA to determine these stats.

If you want to end up being a CPA, there are a number of demands to be an accountant. Normally, all accountants need to pass the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) test.

For many, the reason they want to become a CPA is to enhance their making possibility. This is an objective that ought to be pursued. The qualification should not be the sole determining aspect on whether or not someone gets involved in a specific business.

One more important aspect is the atmosphere of the company. If a person is thinking about getting in a difficult workplace, it would certainly be smart to consider the certification greater than the kind of work.

Accountants usually work in finance, treasury, as well as accounting. As a result, the needs of the placement need to be examined.

It is necessary to note that there are some accountants that only specialize in certain specific tasks. While these individuals are important to every company, they are not required to get a CPA qualification.

Accountants are really enlightened monetary experts that prepare as well as likewise look into financial records. Depending on your rate of interests, you may locate an audit to be an eye-catching occupation. Nevertheless, in order to end up being an accountant, you will certainly require to please a variety of academic criteria along with, relying on the kind of audit you mean to do, obtain specific accreditation's.

Solutions and also individuals around the world trust accounting to maintain their services up and running. According to the UNITED STATE Bureau of Labor Data, the task expectation for accounting professionals is bright actually, the expected growth is really at a faster-than-average rate with an 11 percent boost in offered positioning anticipated in between 2014 and 2024.

We have in fact assembled a project right here highlighting the actions to become an accountant, starting with what to expect as a book-keeping major. For the majority of students, the first action to becoming an accountant starts with coursework in a college arrangement, however there are a few more activities to take in order to complete your journey.

In spite of what you mean to do in your task, you'll call for to initially gain your Bachelor's degree in Book-keeping in the preliminary action of discovering just exactly how to come to be an accountant. In your degree program, you'll take mathematics courses as well as also discover concerning tax commitment guidelines. You can additionally anticipate to take business-related training programs such as these: Financial record keeping Ethics Statistics Management Personal in addition to company tax accounting International finance Ultimately, you'll desire to refine your communication capacities, considering that they will certainly be vital to developing strong functioning links with the people and also administration groups that will certainly depend on your experience.

A bachelor's degree is the extremely primary step in preparing you to sit for the CPA examination or seek an entry-level job as an accountant. If you want to seek a broader finance occupation, you can wind up being a money major and additionally take a look at various other alternatives in the financing field. Picking an occupation course is frequently the following action to ending up being an accountant.

Accountants might take a trip from one service to an additional throughout the year to evaluate economic records as well as additionally supply unbiased assistance to clients in your location or throughout a particular location. The Bureau of Labor Information reports that the mean revenue for accounting experts in 2017 was $69,350. Those working in the finance and insurance coverage markets made the greatest possible revenues, with a mean of $71,760, while federal government accounting experts were one of the most budget-friendly paid at a mean of $65,180.