What is a CPA?

A CPA is a certified public accountant and licensing is issued by each individual state or jurisdiction. Each state or jurisdiction has a separate licensing board that determines and governs specific requirements but in general, CPA exam requirements include:

• A Bachelor's Degree-this is the first and most important CPA exam requirement
• Completion of a minimum number of credit hours in business and accounting

How do I become a CPA?

The two most important goals to focus on in your quest to become a CPA are passing the Uniform CPA Exam and meeting licensing requirements. The Uniform CPA Exam is developed by the AICPA with significant input and assistance by NASBA and state boards of accountancy. It is designed to assess the knowledge and skills entry-level CPAs need to practice public accountancy. Passing the CPA Exam is only one step in meeting the licensing requirements that must be completed. The steps are referred to as the “Three Es” (Education, Examination and Experience), and completion of the three steps is required for licensure as a CPA in the U.S. The successful completion of the Uniform CPA Exam is a requirement in all 55 jurisdictions; but the Education and Experience requirements may vary for each state or jurisdiction. Many jurisdictions also require an additional exam in ethics in order to obtain a license (sometimes referred to as the fourth “E”). The CPA license is the only license for accounting professionals and is issued by state boards of accountancy in the 55 jurisdictions (there is not a national CPA license). To review the testing requirements and other helpful information for your State or jurisdiction, you can go to this link, provided by NASBA.

What are the four parts of the Exam?

The CPA Exam is a 14-hour, computer-based test comprised of four sections:

• Auditing and Attestation (AUD)
• Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)
• Regulation (REG)
• Business Environment and Concepts (BEC)

What are the CPA Exam dates?

Each calendar year has four "testing windows" in which a person can sit for their CPA Exam. For the first two months of each quarter, a person can sit for any or all sections of the examination in any order. The third month in each quarter is a "blackout" month in which no exams may be scheduled. Candidates must pass these these four sections over a period of 18 months so it is important to plan a schedule for when you want to take each part of the CPA Exam to ensure that you don't lose credit for any exam sections by going over the 18 month rolling window. You cannot take the same section of an exam more than once during any testing window. For example, if you sit for FAR in January, you could also sit for AUD, but you would not be able to retake FAR until April.

How to I keep my license?

CPA Continuing Professional Education (CPE) is required to maintain your license and the requirements vary for each state. Continuing education for CPA professionals can be done online in almost every state, allowing you to keep your license current while saving you time and money. The continuing professional education requirements in California are as follows: no CPE is required during the first year of licensure. If the license was issued in an even-numbered year, 40 hours of CPE are required to renew the license the following year. Eight of the 40 hours must be in auditing and accounting subjects. After the first renewal period, the CPE requirement is 80 hours every two years. A minimum of 20 hours must be earned in each year. Sixteen of the 80 hours must be obtained in auditing and accounting subjects. The following State Boards no longer maintain a formal CPE Sponsor program. Instead, they have defined the requirements for acceptable CPE courses and Platinum Professional Services courses meet these standards. Platinum Professional Services offers a formal program of self study, provides interactive self study CPE courses, and issues certificates of completion for all courses as proof that you completed a course. All Platinum Professional Services self study courses meet the requirements for Interactive Self Study defined by the NASBA / AICPA standards for self study CPE programs, which is why our CPE courses can be used in the following states.