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Arkansas CPA Requirements on Exam and Licensing

Arkansas CPA requirementsArkansas only grants the CPA license to its residents (defined by residency or keeping of offices within the state).

The education requirement is quite complicated when compared to the CPA requirements in other states. Therefore, it is best to check the State Board’s website for details. If you have any questions, you can find the contact information for the Arkansas Board of Accountancy at the end of this post.

Arkansas CPA Requirements

1. Education Requirements to Sit for the CPA Exam in Arkansas

  • Bachelor’s degree or above
  • 150 credits from an accredited university or educational institution
  • Accounting courses: 30 credits in upper-level courses required (minimum grade of “C”) in the following topics: financial accounting (intermediate Accounting), management accounting (cost accounting), governmental or not-for-profit accounting (institutional accounting), federal taxation (advanced income tax or fundamentals of taxation), auditing and attestation, and accounting information systems
  • Business courses (other than accounting): 30 credits

Note:

  • It is necessary to have all the educational requirements met before sitting for the CPA exam.
  • Courses from an accredited community college or 2-year college are acceptable toward the 150-hour requirement.  Please note that the requirement for the Accounting Courses is for upper-level accounting courses. Junior/senior level courses are not normally offered at 2-year institutions.

2. Additional Arkansas CPA Requirements to Obtain the CPA License

CPA Education Requirements

  • No additional requirements.

CPA Experience Requirements

  • 1 year (2,000 hours) of public or non-public accounting experience.
  • Part-time employment is allowed as long as the 2,000 hours are accumulated within 1-3 years.
  • The experience has to be verified by an active CPA licensee (US CPA only). This person does not need to be the supervisor.
  • The experience needs to be gained within the previous3 years of the license application date.  Candidates have 3 years to become licensed once they have passed the CPA exam.

Ethics Qualifications in Arkansas

  • None required.

3. Arkansas CPA Requirements on Residency and Age

  • US citizenship is not required.
  • Arkansas residency is not required.
  • Minimum age: none.

4. Fees for the CPA Exam in Arkansas

  • First-timers: $952.60 (for the CPA exam fees for all 4 sections of the exam) + $170 (initial application fee).

5. Continuing Education (CPE)

CPE is required for license holders. Please click here for Arkansas CPA CPE requirements.

6. Other Useful Information

7. Contact

Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy
900 W. Capitol Avenue, Suite 400
Little Rock, AR 72201

  • Phone: 501-682-1520

What if these CPA Requirements Don’t Work for Me?

You may want to check out these pages to learn about the educational and experience requirements, with my recommendation at the end of the posts:

If you have questions, feel free to drop a note in the comment section, or visit my Facebook page.

About the Author Stephanie Ng

I am the author of How to Pass The CPA Exam (published by Wiley), and I also passed all 4 sections of the CPA Exam on my first try. Additionally, I have led webinars, such as for the Institute of Management Accountants, authored featured articles on websites like Going Concern and AccountingWeb, and I'm also the CFO for the charity New Sight. Finally, I have created other accounting certification websites to help mentor non-CPA candidates. I have already mentored thousands of CPA, CMA, CIA, EA, and CFA candidates, and I can help you too!

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