Do You Have What It Takes to Become a CPA?

A career in accounting can be rewarding professionally and financially. In U.S. News & World Report’s Best Business Jobs for 2024 report, accountants ranked 12^th  in a list of 100. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of accountants and auditors is projected to grow 4% from 2022 to 2032, about as fast as average.

With stable job prospects, many are choosing to pursue a career in accounting. Here’s the best way to pursue your dream of becoming a certified public accountant (CPA).

What Is a CPA?

A certified public accountant (CPA) is an accounting professional who has been licensed by a state’s Board of Accountancy. They have passed a rigorous exam process and met the education and experience requirements for licensure. CPAs work in business, education, health care, and for various government agencies and nonprofits.

CPAs can specialize in such areas as tax accounting, financial planning, forensic accounting, and analytics, to name a few.

Education for CPAs

Every state requires aspiring CPAs to complete 150 semester credit hours of study to become licensed, according to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). To reach the 150 hours, would-be CPAs need to complete a bachelor’s degree with an appropriate number of accounting courses and then consider graduate programs. A graduate degree is not required to become a CPA, but it may help you reach the credit hour requirement.

Many boards allow a candidate to sit for the licensure exam before they have finished the education requirement. For example, in Wisconsin, a candidate can sit for the exam if they complete the required education within 60 days, according to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, Inc. (NASBA).

You can research the requirements for your state on this AICPA-supported website or through your state’s board of accountancy. Note the earliest you can sit for the exam and schedule the exam as early as possible.

Uniform CPA Examination

To become a certified public accountant, you must first pass the Uniform CPA Examination. According to NASBA, the CPA Exam is composed of four 4-hour sections.

These three sections are required by all candidates:

• Auditing and Attestation (AUD)
• Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)
• Regulation (REG)

Candidates can then choose from the following options as their fourth 4-hour section:

• Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR)
• Information Systems and Controls (ISC)
• Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP)

Each section is composed of multiple-choice questions and task-based simulations or written communication tasks.

The AICPA publishes pass rates for all candidates quarterly. It is common for the first quarter of the year to have lower pass rates because candidates testing in the first quarter are often distracted by the demands of tax season.

You must pass all 4 sections of the exam (with a minimum score of 75 on each part) within a rolling 18-month window, or you will have to retake portions of the exam that you have previously passed. This means even if you pass one section, you may not be done with it, depending on the outcome of other sections.

To prepare for the exam, a candidate should plan to study at least 100 hours for each section. Numerous exam-prep materials can provide you with content to study based on the CPA Exam Blueprints.

Some states also require an ethics exam. It’s best to check with your desired state’s licensing board for full requirements to become a CPA.

CPA Experience

Next, aspiring CPAs should head into the workforce. By working for a public or private accounting firm or in the accounting department of any company, would-be CPAs are working toward the experience requirement for their CPA license. Some states specify that you must be working for a public accounting firm, and many states require that you be supervised by a licensed CPA, so be sure to check your state’s requirements.

The length-of-experience requirements will vary by state, but they’re typically around 2 years. For example, the New York Board of Accountancy has established experience requirements that are different if the candidate has more education. If a candidate has 120 semester hours of qualifying education, that candidate must have 2 years of acceptable experience. On the other hand, if the candidate has 150 semester hours of qualifying education, only 1 year of qualifying experience is required, according to the New York Society of CPAs.

Experience is not required to sit for the exam, but it must be completed before you can become licensed. If you want to become a CPA, you should understand the experience requirements for the state in which you seek licensure and establish a plan to fulfill those requirements. Some boards have a required period of time within which this experience must be completed.

How Many Years Does It Take to Become a CPA?

It takes about 7 years to become a CPA. If you are enrolled in college full time, it takes about 4 years to earn an undergraduate degree and about 1 additional year to gain the 30 credit hours required for licensing. You also need 1-2 years of full-time work experience.

Start Working Toward Your Career as a CPA

Becoming a CPA is hard work, but the rewards are great. Once you are a licensed CPA, you have the ability to practice in multiple states, opening up many career opportunities.

Purdue Global offers an online bachelor’s degree in accounting, an online master’s degree in accounting, and an online graduate certificate in accounting. Reach out to a student advisor to learn more about these programs and how they can help prepare you to take the CPA exam. Contact an advisor today.