I’ve been contemplating the CPA for a bit; out of personal interest and since I’ve been mashed into more accounting than I ever wanted. I’ve researched but still have unresolved answers and Becker/Nasba/all other accounting forums haven’t been that helpful and I really don’t want to spend $300 per state to find which one I qualify for. I am looking for CFA to CPAs not CPAs who decided finance was their thing and did the CFA. Questions: 1) I have a business undergrad, CFA and a whole bunch of other stuff not related to accounting (programming, CQF, etc…). With two ‘official’ accounting courses under my belt (cost and FSA 1), which state is the easiest to challenge the CPA exams? Does the CFA factor into accounting course requirements (obviously not tax / audit / reg)? 2) I don’t plan to do audit any time soon; is there a certification timeline which if you don’t meet requires you to retake the CPA exams? I am not looking to start a discussion of CPA vs CFA difficulty/jobs/etc… I know the exam formats and work with CPAs (they haven’t been helpful since A) they don’t have the CFA B) they did the CPA eons ago). Keys
The exam is uniform and doesn’t vary by state. Once passed you won’t have to retake.
^ What happens if a candidate passes the exams but doesn’t gain the accepted experience for years? There’s no expiration such as ‘Within X amount of time after passing the final exam, you need to be licensed…’? Thanks!
Keys Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ^ What happens if a candidate passes the exams but > doesn’t gain the accepted experience for years? > There’s no expiration such as ‘Within X amount of > time after passing the final exam, you need to be > licensed…’? > > Thanks! That one varies by state I think. I know Oregon, Florida and PA have some quirky rules, but generally most states don’t have that time frame. You should call the state board first before you commit…they should be able to tell you right off the bat.
What does this mean? I am looking for CFA to CPAs not CPAs who decided finance was their thing and did the CFA. In most states, to get your CPA designation you need at least a year of accounting/finance/consulting work + exam, and a CPA to sign you off. Looks like you are golden there, as long as a CPA is nice enough to sign you off. Contrary to common belief, it doesn’t have to be audit, it can usually be any type of work, IN MOST STATES. Check NASBA and state board for details. To get qualified to sit for the CPA, again, check your state board. Usually they require 150 hours total + 24 hours accounting. You need to check wikipedia and NASBA for information. You will find everything you need to know.
In my state you have to have a sh!tload of accounting courses (basically a MACC). No work experience necessary.
"What does this mean? I am looking for CFA to CPAs not CPAs who decided finance was their thing and did the CFA. " This just means I’m looking for someone with a similar profile rather than someone who focused on accounting in school, received a MACC, worked for a big 4 and wrote the CPA exam at the same time. I am curious how many more credits I require --> 24 hours of accounting, 150 hours of courses, etc… what is the course (single semester) to hour equivalent? Does the CFA count towards the 150 hours (i.e. a masters equivalent)? I’m in NY but have no aversion to licensing elsewhere. Thanks for the input thus far everyone!!!
CFA doesn’t count for anything. There http://www.nasba.org/862571B900737CED/0/860AA59BF0EE35CE862571B90074428C/$file/NYFT&IAweb.pdf
From a CPA… Sitting for the exam and becoming a CPA are two different things. You probably already know that anyone can sit for the CPA provided that they have an undergraduate degree, and the correct mix of business/accounting courses. Usually if you majored in accounting the curriculum covers the CPA required courses. I have a friend who majored in finance and had to take a couple of extra accounting courses after he graduated. I think most states require a total of 24 credits in accounting courses and a mix of finance/business. To become a CPA you must have work experience. As far as I know most states require between 1 and 2 years public accounting experience. Some states will let you do private. Nasba.org is your best bet for state by state requirements. I also found the forums at http://cpanet.com/cpa_forum to be very helpful. In my state you also have to have 150 credits for the license (120 to sit for the exam). It’s the same in NY. There is no time requirement for the experience, however once you pass the first exam, you must pass the other 3 parts within an 18 month window. The exam is uniform and does not vary state by state. It is administered via computer at prometric testing sites nationwide.
Markk Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > From a CPA… > > Sitting for the exam and becoming a CPA are two > different things. > To become a CPA you must have work experience. As > far as I know most states require between 1 and 2 > years public accounting experience. Some states > will let you do private. Nasba.org is your best > bet for state by state requirements. I also found > the forums at http://cpanet.com/cpa_forum to be > very helpful. In my state you also have to have > 150 credits for the license (120 to sit for the > exam). It’s the same in NY. I don’t know about most states, but most midwest ones DON’T require work experience (just pass and 150 credit hours, then you get your ‘certificate’): http://www.iacpa.org/students/150hrlaw.htm “The CPA profession recommends 150 (semester) hours of college credit to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination. The purpose of this recommendation is that candidates must have not only the accounting and business-related education the public expects, but also the broader, general education that has become a prerequisite for a CPA in today’s highly technical, complex business environment.” NY requires 2 years: Work-Experience Requirement http://www.nysscpa.org/trustedprof/1104/tp23.htm Applicants must demonstrate two years of qualifying experience in the practice of accountancy, or a satisfactory equivalent thereof as determined by the state board of accountancy. With 150 hours of education under option 2 above, the experience requirement can be reduced to one year. A minimum of 75 percent of that time must be in the areas of auditing services and financial statement preparation; at least one-half of the time must consist of auditing services alone. Full-time employment is considered to be a five-day, 35-to-40-hour week, excluding overtime. A CPA or a public accountant who supervised the applicant must attest to the candidate’s experience. Additional documentation of the student’s experience will be included with his or her file for review by the division of professional licensing services. For nonpublic auditing experience, please see the state board for public accountancy’s policy statement at http://www.op.nysed.gov/cpanonpub.htm.
for anyone who is a CPA/CA and has done all three levels of the CFA (or even 2, because L3 has very little accounting) - how much accounting did the CFA cover compared to the CPA/CA? Was it 50% of the CPA/CA curriculum? or perhaps more?
CFA didn’t cover that much accounting at all compared to the CPA. CPA is 4 sections. FAR = Financial Reporting BEC = Business environment communications REG = Tax and law AUD = Audit And only FAR contains accounting.
Regarding CPA, I would stay as far from this crap as possible. Once you get sucked into the accounting world you can’t get out, like a black hole. You will always have a job with the CPA thing, but it won’t be an interesting job. I did investment accounting 10yrs ago to get my start, but rapidly moved out and I claim total ignorance now, rule: even if you DO know something about accounting, never admit it.