Michigan CPA Exam Requirements

Michigan CPA exam requirements

Michigan’s educational requirement is relatively simple especially for existing Chartered Accountant holders, but the State Board requires specific experience obtained from an audit to get certification. This might be difficult if you are not working (or plan to work) in a CPA firm or a governmental agency.

Michigan CPA Exam Requirements

1. Education Requirements To Sit For The Exam:

  • Bachelor degree or above
  • 150 semester units from an accredited university or educational institution
  • Undergrad degree:
    • Accounting courses: 24 semester units
    • Business courses: 24 semester units

Special note to Indian Chartered Accountants:

Michigan allows CA holders to get  automatically qualified to sit for the CPA Exam (see the last paragraph here). All you need is to submit a notarized copy with the seal, certificate number and the date, together with the CPA exam application.

Please note that Michigan no longer gives prerequisite to Indian CA holders. In fact, I heard that they will most likely NOT recognize your credentials from your chartered accountant qualification. If you are a BCOM + CA only (i.e. without a masters’ degree) I personally don’t think you can get qualified. Please check with Michigan State Board for details and latest interpretation of the rules.

2. Additional Requirements To Get CPA License:

Education:

  • Same as the exam requirements

Work Experience:

  • 1 year (2,000 hours) of work experience, supervised and verified by an active CPA licensee
  • Experience obtained in 1 financial audit from in a CPA firm or governmental agency, under supervision of a CPA licensee

Ethics Qualification:

3. Residency & Age Requirements:

  • US citizenship not required
  • Michigan residency not required
  • Minimum age: none

4. Fees:

  • First-timers: $823 (4 CPA exam fees) + $147 (initial application fee, depending on the number of sections) = $970
  • Repeaters: exam fees + $63-117 repeat application fees
  • License fee: $100 per year

5. Other Useful Information:

6. Contact:

Michigan Board of Accountancy
Dept. of Labor & Economic Growth
P.O. Box 30018
Lansing, MI 48909-7518

  • Email: cpaes-mi@nasba.org, bcslic@michigan.gov
  • Phone: 517-241-9249
  • Fax: 517-373-2162

Can’t Get Qualified In Michigan?

Don’t give up, as you may well be qualified to register through other states and sit for the same CPA exam. With the recent Substantial Equivalency (CPA reciprocity) rule CPAs from most states can practice across the country.

Your Next Step

Now that you have begun the process of applying for the CPA exam, it’s time to compare the CPA Exam review courses. The earlier you start, the better you can get prepared and pass the exam. You can also drop me a note on Facebook here if you have specific questions regarding CPA exam requirements. Good luck!

* 1 semester = 1.5 quarters
** Photograph courtesy of neonman

If you enjoy reading this article...
Please consider signing up to my mini-course, the most effective way for me to send you:
Great tips
Practical advice
Useful links
Limited Time Only: You'll get this "Top 10 FAQs" e-booklet for free!

{ 19 comments }

Ramya

Hi Stephanie,
I decided to go with the MI state board – since they said I can sit for the exam after submitting the CA membership certificate – and nothing else. But, to satisfy the education requirements, I have to submit all the foreign transcript evaluations etc – but I’ll have time for that. For all those applying to the MI state board, I just spoke to the representative today, just an important note: make sure that the name on your CA membership certificate matches the name on your identification documents – if it doesn’t you may have to submit a lot of name proof documents, possibly notarized. Many of you may already know this, but I thought I’d just post this.

Also, Stephanie, I have a question. I was just looking at the section on Illinois CPA Exam requirements and comments about the requirement of a SSN. While the MI State Board application asks for a SSN, if you don’t have a SSN (for H-4 visa holders like me), you can just leave it blank. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks
Ramya

Stephanie

Hi Ramya,
On SSN, I would think so but I have put in an email to the MI Rep at NASBA just to make sure. The next question would be whether SSN is required for ultimately getting the CPA license… this is an important question because you don’t want to get blocked at the very end of the step. I’ll also check it for you.

Cheers, Stephanie

Jamee Lu

Hi,

Would one year audit experience be counted towards the license, if the person is a STAFF ASSOCIATE (full time trainee), and not on the payroll of the CPA firm?

Stephanie

Hi Jamee,
I know that some states count volunteering work at a discount. Not sure what exactly your work falls under… better to check with the state board directly. Which state do you go through? Michigan? I can check it out for you.

Stephanie

Lizzie

Hi Stephanie

I am very confused. I am a Chartered Accountant who qualified in the UK under the ICAEW. However, I did not attend university and instead qualified to sit the ACA because I completed a vocational qualification in accounting called AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians). I am already 4 years post qualified and therefore now have 9 years of accounting experience, all obtained with a public accountancy firm (in the UK).

I am transferring to my firm’s New York office and have been told that I need to obtain the CPA.

As all other states appear to require a bachelor’s degree, it looks like Michigan is my only option. However, all my work experience to date has been obtained in the UK, and therefore not under direct supervision of a licensed CPA. It is likely that it could be verified however given that my firm is a global partnership and therefore is directly affiliated with the office in New York.

Thank you for your help! It’s admirable that you have dedicated time to helping those going through this extremely complex system.

Stephanie

Hi Lizzie,
Yes for Michigan I am afraid that the experience has to be supervised. Since they are pretty “easy” on the education requirement they have to be more strict on the experience side. Do you work under someone who is CA from Canada or CA/CPA from Australia? I haven’t double checked for Michigan, but it works for some states.

Regards, Stephanie

ganesh

Hi Stephanie,
can an Indian CA without bachelors degree be eligible to do CPA in Michigan

rgk

Hi Stephanie,
If I have a bachelors and masters degree got through CORRESPONDENCE in India will I be eligible to do CPA from any of the states

kumar

Hi Stephanie,
If I have a bachelors and masters degree got through CORRESPONDENCE in India will I be eligible to do CPA from any of the states

Rainier

hey, i’m having problems choosing which evaluation report should i get.. course by course (as stated in NASBA MI pdf file) or comprehensive report (as stated by most evaluation agencies)
i’m looking for the agency with the least cost that can do the job. Thanks!!

Rajitha

Hi Stephanie,

I have a 2 year Master Degree (MBA) Finance. But my bachelor degree is not accounting. am i eligible to sit for CPA thru Michigan.
And i have an 3 years experience with Deloitte LLP as Financial Analyst.

Thanks!!
Rajitha

BALAJI

Hi Stephanie,

I am a Chartered Accountant from India and was qualified to sit for the CPA exams from MI. I have now completed all the 4 papers. I am working as a consultant in an IT company. I am not planning to work for a CPA firm nor have my own practice in the future.

Will I get a certificate and can I call myself a CPA now?
Do I have to do the ethics exam.

Any information will be very helpful.

Thanks,
Balaji Thiagarajan

nirmala

Dear Stephanie,

I am Chartered Accountant from India living in Texas on a H4 Visa.I applied to take the CPA exam from CO in 2008 as they were accepting CA without evaluation at that time.Unfortunately I did not take the exam at that time now when i applied as re exam canditate they want my credentials to be evaluated.
1.I dont have a Bachelors degree in Accountancy but I have Bachelors degree in nutrition . Will I get credit for that?
2.Since Colorado no longer accepts CAs as it is should I go with Texas requirements as I live here?
3.Should I try applying for any other state and start new?

Thank you

Navin Kumar

Dear Stephanie

I really appreciate from the core of my heart the great job you are doing for the would be CPAs.

I am an Indian Chartered Accountant and Indian Cost Accountant. Beside this, I also completed my gradutation from India under correspondence and PGDBM with specialisation in Finance. I have almost 10 years of work experience in industries (not in CA firms) and three years of articleship experience during my CA.

Should I expect I can qualify for writing the CPA examination from any of the states?? Please advise.

Regards
Navin

Suyog

Hi. I am a BCom graduate from India. I would like to know a list of approved evaluation agencies for international applicants. Kindly help in this regard.

Regards
Suyog

Syed Huzaifa

Dear Stephanie

I am a qualified chartered accountant of Institute of Chartered Accountants Pakistan (ICAP). I also hold a Bachelor of commerce degree.
I have a total experience with PwC – one of the big 4 auidt firms of 6 years. Please inform me the steps and whether i am eligible to sit for CPA.

Stephanie

Hi Suyog,

Different states recognize different set of agencies, but in general the agencies have to be a member of NACES in order to get qualified.
Please go to http://naces.org/ for details.

If you are looking for agencies for Michigan, please read the application form (links under 5. Other Useful Information) which states their choices.

Stephanie

Stephanie

hi Syed,

Am I right that Pakistan bachelor degree is a 3-year degree?

If so, have you been working under a US CPA licensee in PwC in your country (Pakistan?) If so, no problem you can register through Delaware.

Otherwise, I am afraid that you may need to either get a 4/5 year degree (e.g. an MBA) or that for your future work experience you will have to be supervised by a US licensed CPA. Then it will work.

Hope it helps! If you need more info just drop a note again. Stephanie

Stephanie

Dear all,

In order to streamline the process of replying to your comments… so I am trying something new by using Facebook-powered comment box which is located right after each article.

If you have a question, please go back up and drop a note there. Thank you! Stephanie