Most international CPA candidates aim for the credentials only instead of actual practicing in the United States.
This means that international students are free to pick a state with the most favorable CPA exam requirement to them.
Having said that, this flexibility could be overwhelming when there are 54 states and jurisdictions to choose from. How should you start? More specifically, which are the most popular states for international candidates?
Updated: May 2012
Popular States For CPA International Students
Here are a few of the popular states together with the reasons:
1. Colorado — Possibly No Working Experience Required
Colorado used to be one of the most attractive states for international students. Not only that the full 150 credit hour is not necessary, members of ICA (international chartered accountants) and ACCA are automatically qualified for the CPA exam.
Unfortunately, on 9th December 2009, the State Board has restricted this rule. Specifically:
- The State Board is no longer accepting Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) certificates as evidence of having met educational requirement.
- Chartered Accountant (CA) qualifications from Australia, Canada, Ireland, Mexico and New Zealand (part of the U.S. International Qualifications Appraisal Board (IQAB) MRA agreement) is accepted; but those from other jurisdiction (e.g. India) is no longer accepted.
Don’t worry — it’s not the end of the world for you CA Holders. You just need to step an extra step and get your transcripts evaluated.
- I need to double check, but I think CA is evaluated as equivalent to a 4-year accounting degree in the US, so you are qualified at least for the state of Colorado
- A typical Bcom + CA from India can give you a 90 + 39 credits i.e. more than 120 credits you need to sit for the exam. Please don’t take this as a golden rule because it really depends on which university you attend and (I heard) your grades.
- You can submit the transcripts to one of these foreign credential evaluation agencies. Colorado accepts all of them because they are members of NACES, the agencies’ national association.
Working Experience
- Colorado has a rather strict working experience requirement: it has to be supervised by an active CPA in the US or the CA in the “qualified” jurisdiction as stated above.
- But you can go through the “education in lieu of experience” rule which allows you to use 150 credit hours to “exchange” for the working experience requirement. Unlike Illinois, you can actually get the full license without any experience.
You can find the details here in the Colorado CPA Exam Requirement page.
Note: Because of this relatively “loose” rule on experience requirement, Colorado is not considered a “substantially equivalent” state at this stage.
2. California: 150 Credit Hours Not Required
California is another state that allows candidates with less than 150 semester hours to sit for the exam AND get qualified for the CPA license. For people with a typical Bachelor degree (120 semester hours), 2 years of relevant working experience is required.
Please note that While California does not require a SSN to sit for the exam, the state board requires a SSN to grant you the license. If you are not living in the US or if you are a dependent and don’t have the SSN, California will not work for you.
- You can find the details here in the California CPA Exam Requirement page.
3. New Hampshire: 120 Credit Hours Only But…
New Hampshire is yet another state that allow those with less than 150 credit hours to sit for the CPA exam.
Similar to Colorado, they have a strict working requirement: that you have to work under a direct supervision of an active CPA.
What’s different from Colorado is that they do NOT have the “education in lieu of experience” requirement. You can find the details here in the New Hampshire CPA Exam Requirement page.
Note: New Hampshire used to accept CA (India) as educational requirements but they have tightened the rules since early 2012.
4. Illinois — Loved By Those Who Just Want A CPA Certificate (Until July 2012)
Illinois is keeping its 2-tier system until July 1, 2012*, which means that until then candidates can choose to get a CPA certificate vs license to practice (please click the link to find out the difference).
Specifically Candidates who choose Illinois and have the 150 semester hours requirement fulfilled do not need any work experience to get the certificate. You can find the details here in the Illinois CPA Exam Requirement page.
* IL State Board postponed the cancellation of the CPA certificate for 2 years, from the original deadline of July 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012. While I will not speculate whether they will be another extension this year, I would advise not to count on it.
5. Other Possibilities
Maine, Massachusetts, Montana are three states that I need to look further into and determine whether they have less restrictive rules in either the educational or working experience requirements. If you know of anything please let me know via Facebook.
States (In My Opinion) That No Longer Works
Delaware
Delaware is the only state that allow Associate degree holder (equivalent to a 3-year Bachelor degree) to sit for the exam. Unfortunately for international candidates, they are going to change this exception effective August 2012. You are starting out the CPA application process I am afraid you won’t have enough time to study and pass the exam before August. You can find the details here in the Delaware CPA Exam Requirement page.
Michigan
Michigan used to be a state that automatically gives out NTS (your CPA exam admission ticket) to sit for the exam if you have a Chartered Accountant membership certificate.
However they have since restricted the rules and are no longer consider CA as an educational requirements. You can find the details here in the Michigan CPA Exam Requirement page.
For Your Further Reading
- Is there any chance still for B.COM or other 3-year degree holder?
- Application process of non-US CPA candidates
- CPA exam requirements by state
Got A Question?
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Dear Stephanie,
Many thanks for the nice website and do keep up the good work for all the budding CPAs.
I am just starting my quest for a CPA and am really confused as to which state to register with. I am an international candidate and do not plan to work in a public accounting firm, but would like to use the CPA credentials. I have a bachelors in Finance from the UK. I work in the Corporate Banking division of a Bank hence do not have public accounting experience, my supervisor is not a US CPA and I do not plan on changing my job anytime soon. Please help.
Hi Achilles,
Thanks for your kind words! The state board will allow Bachelor degree holder OR people without verified accounting experience to get the license, but not both. Looks like unless you pursue a master’s degree or somehow accumulate ~30 more credit hour (approx 1 year of work) you can get qualified to sit for the exam in Illinois.
For Illinois, there is no need of the social security number (basically the ID in the states) and no working experience is required in order to get the CPA certificate. It’s somewhat restrictive than the full license but should be enough for your purpose.
I know this is not the perfect answer to your question but at least you’ll know the next step. All the best! Stephanie
Hi Stephanie
First of all, i congratulate you on this great website. NASBA should look forward to your helping style and i am sure they can learn a lot.
I am a cheartered accountant from Pakistan and have not done the bachelors viz. cleared CA through its own courses.
I was informed that i could apply to MI for CPA exam, so i checked them out. However, now i have some queries and you seem to be the best person to guide me.
For MI, they(staff at MI) ensured that i can sit for CPA exams but could not really answer my question for the need of any extra studies for gaining the prerequisitew 150 credit hours. I am not sure whether my CA from Pakistan would even suffice for the 150 hrs requirement.
Secondly if i try to apply to New Hampshire, will any evaluation agency likely to consider CA from Pakistan equivalent to 150 hrs.
And lastly, is SSN required for the lincensure of both Michigan and New Hampshire.
Looking forward.
Thanks
Bilal
Hi Bilal
Stephani should be able to give you a more accurate answer. But here’s my view since I’m also a MI state candidate and am a chartered accountant from India. I am eligible to sit for the exam and am assuming that I’ll be able to satisfy the 150 hours condition since I have a BCom and MCom as well from India.
In your case, I’m afraid you may not satisfy the 150 hour requirement. I researched a lot about which agencies give a lot of credit for CA – but it looks like they’re all more or less the same. From what I read in some forums, they give about 30 – 40 credits for CA – and they might consider the different levels (i’m assuming its similar to India CA) to be the same and not award more credits for completing each level. But you could how many credits CAs got from FACS – let me know too. And either way, without a Bachelors, 150 hours may not be possible. Maybe you should consider doing some additional courses to earn credit. Am not sure about New Hampshire though. SSN is not required to sit for the exam for MI State – but licensure – hmmm, now you’re getting me worried!
Thanks
Ramya
Dear Stephanie,
Many thanks for your response.
Can I take the online CPE courses (e.g. CPACampus.com) and make up the missing 30 credit hours in that way? Will the Illinois Board recognise that?
I don’t want to leave my job and study full time. I have a CFA, but they do not count that towards the credit hours. Any help in finding a way to fulfil the 150 credit hour education requirment will be much appreciated.
Hi Achilles,
Hmmm… I don’t think the CPE courses work but you can always call them up to double check.
I wrote an article on getting extra credits for the 150 hours here. Please see if it is of any help… Cheers, Stephanie
Hi Stephanie, i’m sorry but the rules are so confusing, which state would you recommend I go through if I am a Canadian, have a bachelor of commerce degree and work in the investment industry thus don’t work in an accounting firm. Just want the designation.
Thanks,
Winston
Hi Winston,
You are right it is terribly complicated and confusing! Many canadians I know go for Illinois, because they don’t require social security number nor workin experience requirement as long as you don’t mind getting only the CPA “certificate” (sounds like you don’t mind). Please click here to go to Illinois CPA exam requirements.
Hi Stephanie,
First of all, I want thank you for all the information you put on this website, it’s very useful, and easy to follow. I will be very appreciate if you could help me with some questions about the registration of the exam of CPA US.
I used to work as an accountant in AU,for more than 3 years.
1. I have Bachelor in Accounting and Master in Finance, both University are not accredited, which degree I should use to evaluate in US?
2. If I use ECE to evaluate my degree, which service I should choose?
3. I am in NJ now, and probably going move to NY, which state should I choose to submit the application? or which state you recommend other than these two states? (I actually do not want the license)
Thank you ,and Best Regards,
Jacqui
Hi Stephanie,
Hey great site. I am looking into CMA, ACCA or CPA and was about to give up on CPA until I found your site. I’m Canadian and live in Toronto. I do not hold any accounting designation but I do hold the CFA designation. My undergraduate degree was a 4 year bachelors of commerce degree. I have worked in the investment field for 8 years but in internal auditing for a Canadian bank for the last 7 months (I imagine i will internal audit for a few more years). Anyway, i would want the CPA by the time i have 2 years internal audit experience. Am i a realistic candidate for the CPA? I wouldn’t practice, i just want the fancy letters after my name. I look at the states and it seems Deleware is the place for me – am I right on that?
Bruce
Hi Stephanie,
I am looking to move to the US in a year or so, to either Illinois or Florida.
I am a UK citizen who has a 1st class BSc (Hons) degree in Biology and holds the ACA accounting qualification (since 2003). I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). I have worked for 6 years in public practice, 3 yrs in the UK and 3 in Grand Cayman where I currently live.
My aim is to get the CPA certificate (as I understand I would not get any exam exemptions) and get licensed in a State where I meet the eligibility requirements and where I can move between States in the future if necessary.
I will be writing to the individual State boards, however given my educational background, would you have any recommendations or suggestions for whether I am likely to be accepted and which State may be best.
Finally, as I have not completed any US tax courses will this hinder me in taking that exam if I complete one of the self-study courses alone. If so, can you recommend any fast-track or online courses I could take?
Your help would be greatly appreciated!
Stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
First of all, I would like to thank you for your blog, all the information is very helpful and it helps me understand more about the CPA exam. I used to only think how I can pass my CPA exam, and i never think about how to get the license.
About me, I would like to take one of the exams by the end of this year because i know there will be lots of changes in 2011 cpa exam, but after i read your blog, i am very confuse which state i should send the application to. I finished my undergrad in Accounting and Minor in computer information system in Idaho, I also have 150 credit when I finished my B.S. degree. I checked that Idaho doesn’t require 150 credit to take the exam, but i am not sure how long to get the license in this state. Moreover, I am thinking to move to TX next year, so, should I apply for TX’s cpa exam directly? I am really no idea about this right now. could you please give me some suggestion? I do want to get license. is it CO a better choice?
If i finish my all exam in ID, can i transfer to TX or other states? or I need to retake the entire exams?
I know there are so many questions from me, I really hope you can help me on this and give some suggestions.
Thanks,
DanL
Hi DanL,
Thanks for your kind note on the site! You are exactly right most people only think about passing the CPA without checking thoroughly the step in getting the license. I am glad you are the smarter ones
On your question, let me see…
If you have 150 credit hours, then no problem you are qualified to most states. Since you will likely move to TX then I’d recommend you to register for TX to save the hassle of transferring credits later (it’s doable, just another hassle you want to avoid during the already complicated cpa exam process).
For TX, please note that for the working experience, the wording is quite general but my interpretation is that candidates need to work in the public accounting field to get qualified. If you are looking to work in accounting department in corporates, then this may not work and may need to consider other states.
Just let me know your thoughts and I’ll see what I can do. Cheers, Stephanie
I would like to register for CPA in Taxas. But state asks for 3 hours ethics course that I don’t have…….please advise
Hi Shinu Mathew,
You can either take it at local community college or online courses (provided that they show your course in a transcript). I wrote a page on how you can make up classes for the CPA exam requirements – please if it is helpful. Cheers, Stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
Hey great site. I am looking into CMA, ACCA or CPA and was about to give up on CPA until I found your site. I’m Canadian and live in Toronto. I do not hold any accounting designation but I do hold the CFA designation. My undergraduate degree was a 4 year bachelors of commerce degree. I have worked in the investment field for 8 years but in internal auditing for a Canadian bank for the last 7 months (I imagine i will internal audit for a few more years). Anyway, i would want the CPA by the time i have 2 years internal audit experience. Am i a realistic candidate for the CPA? I wouldn’t practice, i just want the fancy letters after my name. I look at the states and it seems Deleware is the place for me – am I right on that or maybe Illinois?
Bruce
Hi Bruce,
Glad you find the site useful! Yes Illinois is popular among Canadians but if you have a 4-year bachelor degree, most likely that you will be considered having 120 credit hours. For Delaware they ask for 2 years of experience from bachelor holders, but the only thing is that they only recognize experience supervised and verified by CPA from the US. Not sure whether your bosses have that?
Otherwise, you can take some online courses to make it up to 150 credit hours, then go for Illinois. IL doesn’t require experience for CPA certs which is pretty attractive.
Either Delaware or Illinois does not require social security number (I assume you don’t have it). So that’s good.
Just let me know and see how we can start from there. Cheers, Stephanie
No, my bosses are CAs not CPAs and I do not have a SSN.
Are the CA, CPA and ACCA all about equal in value?
Hi Stephanie,
Sorry to bother again, I read all your website and other material, still very confuse. I have a 3year degree in Accounting, and a master degree in Finance, both from Australia, which one I should use to get evaluation? or should I evaluate both? I am in NJ now, and have SSN. Thank you for your help.
Hi Jacqui,
In terms of which degree you need to get evaluated — as long as the course/degree is taken outside of the US, you will have to get them evaluated. In this case both your bachelor and master’s degree needs to be evaluated. Hope it is clearer? Stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks a lot for sharing some very valuable info. I had some questions abt licensure requirements. I passed my CPA exam in May-10. Now I need to appear for the ethics exam. In the ethics exam page I have been given a choice of any 5 states. As I am a B.Com from India I fall into Delaware jurisdiction and based on information obtained I can also apply for IL as both the states dont require a SSN. Could you please suggest some other states that dont require a SSN and whose requirements I meet. I have also completed the US Federal Taxation course.
Thanks
Shishir.
Hi Shishir,
I don’t think you need to use up the five states. For example back then I only filled out one state.
So go ahead and put in IL and DE so you can have a choice. Please note that if you are to transfer the exam credits to IL you need to have met all the education requirements, i.e. 150 credit hours.
Cheers, Stephanie
Hi Stephanie
This information was great! Thank you for putting it together.
I have a few questions and was hoping you could give me your opinion.
I currently hold a BS/MBA/JD. I have 6 undergrad ACCT credits, 6 MBA ACCT credits, took 6 graduate ACCT credits during law school, and 8 credits from law school in tax (Personal Income Tax and Corp Tax).
I have not taken auditing yet, but I have enrolled in a community college to take auditing and intermediate accounting this spring.
First, do you think the tax courses I took at the law school level will count as ACCT courses?
Second, I do not plan on meeting the experience requirement. Therefore, I was debating between IL or CO. For IL, I believe I meet all the requirements for a certificate — however, should I ever want to practice in another state, can certificate holders from IL get reciprocity for the exam in a new state and practice. For example, if in 5 years I decide to go into public accounting, can I use my IL certificate to waive into another state and then only work to meet their experience requirement? If so, is there a date limit — can I do this 10 years out? 15 years out?
For CO, I do not yet meet all the ACCT requirements for the “education in lieu of experience”, which requires 45 semester ACCT credits. How long do I have to meet those requirements? Do I have to meet them (a) before I take the exam or (2) before I pass the exam or (3) within a certain time after passing the exam?
Any advice on these two states or any other states that might fit for me would be very appreciated!
Thanks
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
First of all, thanks for your kind note!
If you are able to fulfill the requirements of both IL and CO, I would prefer IL because CO is not considered a substantially equivalent state. If you are getting the CPA title for qualifications only, it’s fine but if it is something you can avoid it is just slightly better. Please note however that IL will give you only a certificate but you can always upgrade it to license status when you fulfill 1 year of accounting experience.
Cheers, Stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
I like to take CPA exams in 2011 and want to be a full member. I need your assistance to pick the right state for me. Please find below my qualifications and experiences and advice which state would be best for me and how can I get registered with them for the exams.
Academic qualifications:
1. CPA Australia qualified (2008);
2. MBA (2 years program) from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada (2001-2002);
3. Master of Commerce in Accounting (1 year program) from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh (1997-1998);
4. Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting (3 year honors program) from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh (1993-1996);
Professional Experience:
1. Partner in a small CPA firm (2008-Present);
2. Senior Accountant in a Chartered Accountant firm (2003-2008);
3. Management Trainee (1999-2000)
Please note that I am living in Australia and do not have SSN. I like to get Australian CA down the tract under the MRA between US CPA and Australian CA. Should you require further information please feel free to ask me. I will really appreciate your help and comment in this matter.
With kindest regards,
Tarek Rana
Hi Tarek Rana,
Thanks for your note! If you are a CPA in Australia, you are likely able to get qualified to IBEX which is a simplified version of CPA/CA from IQAB countries (i.e. countries with reciprocal agreement with US on accounting).
I didn’t go through that so can’t tell you the personal experience, but I believe it is something you can explore. Just come back if you have further question as I can find someone else to answer your questions on IBEX if I am not able to do that. Cheers, Stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
Now I’m working for a public accounting firm in Egypt & I have been working now for 2 years, but actually not under the supervision of a CPA licensee, so is there any state that will accept working for a public accounting firm regardless to the CPA licensee matter?
Thanks
Ahmed
Hi Ahmed,
Maybe you can explore state such as Illinois which doesn’t require working experience? This will only give you a CPA certificate but for most international candidates this is good enough. Cheers, Stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
I am highly impressed by your clear and useful information .
I have ACCA (UK) and Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Addis Ababa University. It is fours years program. I have worked for for profit and non profit organisations in accounting department for more than 17 years and would like to got CPA. I don’t plan to move the US now but may consider for future when opportunity comes. Would you please help me to fulfil my interest to be come CPA? 1) What should do to start the process? 2) Where should I send my credentials? Which credentials should I send? 3) Which State would best you think may fit? 4) Will they considere the ACCA qualification towards CPA or may give exemption? Would you please kindly send the response to my e-mail address? Thanks for help.
Bedru
Hi Bedru,
Thanks for your note! May I ask that you start with visiting this page for international CPA candidate first? It should cover your questions regarding where to start and credential evaluation. You can ask me further questions over there.
Cheers, Stephane
Hi Stephanie,
You suggested that I consider Illinois on your post dated 08.26.10. I just want to mention what I have discovered also for the benefit of other CPA candidates. You need to have 150 hours of education at the time of taking the exam. Since I have already taken the exam, Illinois is not an option for me anymore. To be honest I don’t know what option I have at this stage with 120 hours, no public accounting experience, and no SSN. It would be a shame if cannot get those three letters after having studied for months and having passed the exam. Let me know if you see a way out.
Cheers
Ozgur
Hi Ozgur,
Thanks a lot for taking the time to let us know. Sorry that IL doesn’t work out…
I forgot our conversation but technically Delaware should work with <120 hours and no SSN, but of course the hurdle is the working experience. If we have discussed DE before then I am afraid I also run out of ideas. You might want to check with Leslie Ann at CPAexcel (their international sales division I think) who has been helpful to some of my readers before. Just let her know that you are referred by Stephanie @ ipassthecpaexam.com.
Hope things can work out for you! Stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
Thank you Stephanie for your response, you are such a great person & I really appreciate your effort.
But I wanna know two things, what if I worked for an international Public accounting firm such as the Big 4 or BDO or Crowe Howarth as I am looking forward to moving to BDO soon here in Egypt, will the years of experience in such an international firm count for the experience needed for the CPA?
Second I wanna know how to calculate the credit hours, as I am graduated from Cairo university & got a 4-year bachelor degree in Accounting, with 8 semesters with 5 classes(subjects) each semester with 3 hrs for each subject per week for 12 weeks. And if the hours not met will a pre-masters in Cairo university be enough to reach the credit hours needed knowing that the pre-masters lasts for 1 year. Also wanna know the states that needs a working experience verified only & not supervised by a CPA.
Best regards,
Ahmed
Dear Stephanie,
Thanks for your note. I really appreciate your comment on my situation. Did you mean IQEX for me? I have done some research as you suggested and hope that US CPA could allow me for IQEX but so far what I have gathered is that, you are absolutely right and there is a reciprocal agreement between US CPA and CPA Australi. But it seems to me that there is a little catch. The catch is only for Australian CPAs with overseas Bachelor degrees. What I have read is that, US CPA require both Australian CPA and a Bachelor degree from an Australian University. Althoguh I have qualified as a CPA whithin Australia I got my Bachelor degree in Accounting from Bangladesh and Master degree from Canada. My question to you is, am I eligible for IQEX? I will be indebted If you or someone else could help me in this matter and let me know whether I could go for IQEX and in which state.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
With thanks and kindest regards,
Tarek
Hi Tarek,
You are most welcome!
Oh yes I didn’t read your comment thoroughly enough – my apologies! You are right if you get a degree outside of the IQEX country (sorry did I mistype that) you can’t get qualified. Don’t worry just stick with the Uniform CPA exam. Shouldn’t be a big deal for you given you vast experience.
Given you have a bachelor + MBA you will likely be evaluated to have 150 or more credit hours, which will get you qualified to most states. I can’t say for sure though because it depends on how the evaluators look at your bachelor degree in particular given it is a 3-year program. Please go to this page on foreign credential evaluation for the next step.
In terms of the experience, have you been supervised by CPA US or CPA/CA from Australia? If so, it should work then.
In any case I would recommend that you try Illinois because (1) the state board doesn’t require SSN; (2) you can get a CPA cert with experience; (3) if you want to get the full license (which I understand is your goal), you only need to have 1 year of relevant experience, which you have if the experience is verifiable.
So another point to check if whether Illinois state board allow CPA/CA from AUstralia to verify your experience. If you can quickly check if it works then I think the plan should work. Please let me know. Cheers, Stephanie
Hi Ahmed,
You are most welcome — I am just trying to help whenever I can!
On big 4 etc experience, unfortunately the CPA (US) licensing procedure is very American-centric in a way that they will only recognize verification from “their guys” (i.e. CPA licensee) rather than the company the candidates are working in, no matter how big/important that firm is.
But you can certainly explore the state that only recognize verification without supervision. There are a few of them but I think Indiana is the only that makes sense to international candidates.
As for the semester hour calculation, looks like the system in Eqypt is very similar to that of the US. So your degree will likely be evaluated as a full 4-year degree, i.e. 120 semester hours. This will give you a few choices but if you can somewhere take extra credits to get to 150 hours you have a much better position to pick the state that works the best for you.
Hope it helps! Stephanie
Hi Stephanie,
I have a Bachelor degree in law from Australia. Is that possible for me to sit for the CPA exam in Delaware or any other States that don’t require the 150 credit hours requirement?
Thanks.
Best regards,
Sinyih
Hi Stephanie,
Thank you for your website. I am one of your readers who also have problems on where to go after passing all four exams or almost all of them, in my case. I applied in CBA and currently passed 3 sections and waiting for the result of the last one. I expect to get the results before the end of this year.
I am a CPA license in the Philippines; has 2 years audit experience in a big 4 firm in the Philippines ten years ago; worked in general accounting in private companies in the Philippines, Europe and presently in the Cayman Islands, none of which are supervised by a US CPA. I don’t have an SSN and maybe the experience that CBA requires. When you have a moment, can you please tell me what is the best fit for me to transform my examination credits to a CPA license?
Regards,
Mel Suico
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks for all your effort in helping us to get information on CPA. My name is Mathew and I am currently residing and working in Bahrain in the Middle East. I am a CA + Bcom from India. I heard that bahrain will be a centre in 2011.
My questions are -
1.) Can I write the CPA exam in Bahrain in 2011 when the centre opens here.
2.) Which state will be suitable for me (considering that I am planning to move to canada and work in a company there in Accounts dept.
3.) which evaluation agency will be suitable ?
Please help me as I am getting confused by all the info.
Thanks,
Mathew
I am doing bachelors in management from the university of Kent England. Can I sit for the CPA examinations in Colorado. I am Pakistani.
Hi Stephanie,
I have a four year degree in Business Economics from the Netherlands and am a CMA. I have almost two years work experience in auditing and eight years in accounting and controlling.
Which US states in your opinion would be most suitable for me to obtain the CPA; secondly what are the benefits of now being able to sit for the CPA exam in selected countries outside the US; thirdly does it make any senses to do ACCA first?
Best regards,
Robin
Netherlands
Hi Stephanie,
I am a CA from india. Also, a CIA from IIA, USA and I hold 3 year Bcom from Mumbay university. I would like to give CPA exams (need CPA not for practicing). Could you please advise me which is the appropriate foreign credential evaluation agency I should submit my certificates and also which state I should apply for CPA exams. Your reply is highly appreciated Thank you very much
dear
stephanie
i want to be CPA holder and work in USA as a chartered accountant, i am fresh for this course, i need to step without any confusion.please send me in formation on my mail address judicial_contract@yahoo.com
Hi Stephanie,
I have done B.Com (full 3 years degree course) from Nagpur University (India) and have done my CA in 2000. I have worked in Uganda as internal auditor for 3 years and since then I have been practicing in India. When I was in Uganda, I also had taken membership (under reciprocity agreement) from CPA-Uganda. My experience in my practice in India is of 7 years and 3 years of employment experience in Uganda.
I am shifting to US in february 2011 in Georgia State as my wife lives there. Please let me know, whether I am eligible to write CPA exams there.
Thanks and regards
Parvez Khimani
Hi Stephanie,
I am a CA from India and I have also done Masters in Accounting from Ohio but I did specialization in Information Systems. I cleared CPA exam from Michigan board just now. Now I don’t know where to apply for CPA license.
I am currently working in a CPA firm but no audit/tax experience. I have accounting experience of 2 years. I have not taken any taxation course in US.
Please let me know which state I can apply for license.
Also, I don’t have any plan for practise in near future, so does it really matter to have the license or I can apply for better jobs based on CPA exams cleared? Thanks for your help!!
I have come to know that AICPA is conducting exams in Middle East from 2011 which will be really very fruitful for candidates like me.
I am also prospective candidate of CPA. I would be thankful to you if you could tell me whether am I eligible or not for taking CPA exams. My particulars are as follows:
1. Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) from The Institute of Internal Auditors-USA
2. CA Intermediate from The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan.
3. Bachelors Degree in Arts from The University of the Punjab.
4. 4 Years External Audit Experience with EY. Almost 3 years experience in Internal Audit.
I would be thankful for advice.
I hold bachelors degree (BCOM Computers) 3 yrs degree from osmania university ,India .now iam a H4 visa holder residing in Texas .pls let me know the process to sit for cpa exam
Hi Stephanie,
I am a 20 yr experienced technology manager graduated from Indian Institute of Technology, India in electrical engineering. The B.Tech(Honors) program did have macro and micro economics as part of the curriculum but no accounting subjects.
I want to get my CPA. What will be my starting point? Looked into local community colleges and they offer basic accounting credit courses. But taking them one by one would take 5-6 years for me to get 150 semester credits. Could you pls guide me how to complete the process within a years duration – I can give 20-25 hours additional per week keeping my day job.
Could you guide if these expectation are realistic?
Regards
Anshu
Hi I was wondering how I can ask my question here…
Hi Stephanie, Hope you are doing fine. Its really a very good work done by you in helping and solving queries of students.
I have done a 3 years B.Com degree in India and worked in MNC for more than 4 years too. Please let me know which state would suit my education best for CPA.
Thanks & Regards
Atul Bhasker
Hi Stephanie,
I’m an MSc Finance graduate. I already have my 150 business hours but only a few hours of accounting, and I’m trying to get the remaining accounting hours through enrolling for some online classes. Do you know if online accounting hours are CPA acceptable? If yes, what states and what is the maximum of online hours they’ll accept.
Dear Stephani,
Firstly i would like to appreciate the work you are doing !
I wanted to ask that I am have passed my ACCA ( Association of Certified Chartered Accountacts) exams. I don’t have any bachelors degree which is required for CPA. What can i do ?
Thank you.
Hi Stephanie,
I am thoroughly confused with which state I should be choosing for the CPA examination and would greatly appreciate your guidance.I am currently residing in NC and I am B.Com(Mumbai University) and CA Inter from India so my question is from which state would I qualify for the CPA examination without having to do anything extra like federal taxation course etc. I do have a SSN but I am not a resident of US.Also which state have good licensing requirements. I highly appreciate your time and efforts in starting this website which is so helpful to so many of the aspiring CPA’s .
Thank you,
Rash.
Hi Stepahanie,
I have done BSc (Agril), Msc (Agril) and PhD (Agrnomy) and likely to get MBA in Finance soon. I am a CISA, CIA and CFE, all from USA. I am working as an External auditor in India for the last 20 years. I want to do CPA to obtain the qualification. Can you suggest whether I will be able get the required 150 business hours of credit and which State Board can I try?
Thank you
Sadu
I have heard of CLEP program – do you know if I can study all 36 hours and give CLEP exam to get the requisite eligibility?
Hello Stephenie
I have my MBA with Accounting and Finance majors and my bachelor in engineering. I will qualify for the 150 credits but the issue is accounting credits.
Which state should I go for? I have my CISA certification and work as an IT auditor. (Experience of more than 8 years)
Hi Stephanie,
Thank you for your support in advance.
I have passed CPA exam(Maine) in 2002 but I didn’t apply for a licence as I didn’t have work expeirnce at that time.
I moved to Vancouver, Canada in 2004 and now I have three years of work experience in public practice under the supervison of a Certified General Accountant in BC, not a licensed CPA nor a Chartered Accountant.
I contacted a person in Maine board of accountancy and she confirmed only work experience under the supervision of a licensed CPA or a Chartered Accountant in Canada is eligible.
Is there any way I could try to get licensed in Maine or other states?
Regards,
Sara
Dear Stephanie,
This is Tarek again from Australia. I have assessed my qualification from Josef Silny & Associates for Colorado. I have got 162 credit hours in total but 3 credit hours only in Audit. I can do the exams but for licence CO requires 6 credit hours in Auditing. Could you please suggest a way out for this? If I have to take another course in Audit which one is available online from Australia? Please advise. I look forward to hearing from you soon. With thanks and kindest regards – Tarek
Hi Stephanie,
This is Vinay Bhoopalam from Bangalore- India. I am a qualified MBA (Finance) from Bangalore university and Bachelor in Business Management(Finance) from Mysore university. I am sure that both of these should get me 150 credits and I will also get my transcripts evaluated by WES probably upon getting the transcripts from my respective universities. Hence I need your help to suggest me a state. I am not looking at practicing CPA in the US, A CPA certificate/Credential will be fine with me. I guess choosing a state is most important even before sending the transcripts to WES.. Looking forward for your reply.
Warm Regards,
Vinay
Thanks for the information.
But i wanaa double check . I have 2 years of work experince with big 4 in auditing other than BCOM (h) . So where should i get myself register for the CPA . As i will be appearing outside US.
Thanks for the relevant information
I have an CA degree from india and BCom (h). Post qualification experiance from one of big 4 in audting . I will be appering for the exam out of US . which state i should register myself .
Hi Stephanie,
I am a CA from india. Also, a CIA from IIA, USA and I hold 3 year Bcom from Indian university. I would like to give CPA exams (need CPA not for practicing). Could you please advise me which state I should apply for CPA exams. Your reply is highly appreciated
Thank you very much
Hari
Hi Stephanie
Through the above posts, you have already helped me on clarifying many things but still want to take a chance to get your opinion on my situation;
I am doing CA from Pakistan but somehow stuck in one paper to qualify as CA. I am holding 2-years Bachelors in Arts (B.A) and 3-years Bachelors in Law (LLB). I have 8 years of experience with one of Big4 Audit firms.
I am very much desperate to go for CPA. Could you please suggest any state where I can give a try or any other way out to sit for CPA.
Hi Stephanie
I’m writing u because I would like to get your advise related to my application in Illinois.
After almost a year, they finally acepted my credentials… so now I have to apply to take the exam.
I don’t live in Illinois, I live in another state, so could u let me know what are the next steps for sitting on April?
Please!!!!!!
Thanx!
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