You would be hard pressed to find any accountant that does not, at one point or another, want to become a CPA. It is certainly not difficult to understand why. More likely than not, you had to work hard to get your degree in accounting. If you were lucky, you found a great job in accounting right out of college and have now progressed far enough in your career to want something more. Like many professional licenses, certified public accountants must also demonstrate expertise in a wide range of topics. This versatility allows CPAs to serve their clients.
How to Become a CPA
To become a CPA, the first thing you need to do is to understand all of the basic requirements. Most CPAs will actually start out as accounting or finance students in college. Even those individuals that have already entered the workforce generally hold degrees in one of these two fields of study. What is important to note is that there are varying CPA requirements by state that a candidate should fully consider.
CPA Requirements by State
In order to sit for the CPA exam, each state has a set of criteria that must be completed. As an example, some states require 150 hours of college education while others may only require 120 hours. Furthermore, many states require a specific number of education hours in accounting and other business classes. When I sat for the exam, I had to have 36 hours of accounting classes and 36 additional hours of related business classes.
After you have completed all of the state specific educational requirements you may then apply to sit for the CPA exam. If you pass any section of the exam, you can easily transfer that credit to another state if you elect to practice elsewhere. Stated somewhat differently, it is perfectly alright to take, and pass, then CPA exam in one state and then apply for your license in another state.
Similar to the varying educational CPA requirements by state, each state has different work experience requirements for candidates to become a CPA. Some states want you to have at least one full year of public accounting experience before they will issue you a license. Others states require two years of actual work experience. This ensures that the individual has the proper amount, and quality, of accountant training prior to starting to work on client files without being directly supervised by a CPA with a number of years of experience.
One thing that you need to keep in mind is that you must be licensed in the state where you live and practice. Fortunately, states offer reciprocal licenses so that certified accounts can travel to nearby states without having to obtain a second CPA license.