I Pass the CPA Exam!

CPA Eligibility Guide from a Pakistani Candidate

One of my favorite readers, Moid Raza, wrote the following CPA eligibility guide. He offers great insight to international CPA candidates, especially on how to do the CPA in Pakistan.

The Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is one of the most prestigious and acclaimed professional certifications. (And note that we’re talking about the CPA US, not the CPA Pakistan. The CPA US is much more globally accepted than the CPA Pakistan and is the gold standard of accounting certifications.)

However, the CPA is considered out of reach for many holders of Pakistani Bachelor’s degrees. Pakistani candidates often have lower education credit hours according to the eligibility requirements in the United States. You must have 150 credit hours of higher education to get the CPA license.

As per my experience, becoming eligible for the CPA is more difficult than the CPA Exam itself. However, after a lot of effort, discussions, time, and money (of course), I found certain ways that may help you to be eligible for the CPA.

BUT please note that this is a bumpy road. You may need to go for different courses, which takes effort and time to get this right in the first place. So if you are not committed, turn back now.

Let’s get started!!!!

State Requirements for CPA USA Eligibility

The CPA license is granted by the boards of accountancy in the 50 states and other territories in the U.S. (including Guam, the Virgin Islands, the District of Columbia, and Porto Rico). Each state has different academic and experience requirements for eligibility. The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) is the official body for the state boards. So, you need to visit this NASBA site for more details on CPA Exams.

Since 2012, NASBA has allowed Pakistan CPA candidates and other non-US candidates to take the exam in certain international testing centers. If you are a citizen or long-term resident in these appointed countries, you no longer need to visit the US to take the CPA Exam. The countries include Bahrain, Brazil, Kuwait, Japan, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Plus, England, Ireland, Germany, and Scotland don’t have residency or citizenship requirements. So, any eligible candidate can take the CPA Exam in those European countries.

The CPA Exam is now offered in India, too. However, to take the CPA Exam in India, you must be a citizen or long-term resident of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sir Lanka, or the US. So if you’re a resident of Pakistan, you can’t take the exam in India.

If you’re a citizen or long-term resident of Pakistan, you can take the CPA Exam in Bahrain, Lebanon, Kuwait, and the UAE. You need to check out this site for more details about CPA Pakistan eligibility.

Your Degree Must Be Evaluated

As an international student, your bachelor’s degree is required to be evaluated by an approved evaluator. Your foreign credential evaluation will ensure that your coursework meets the educational requirements to sit for the CPA Exam.

Some states have specific evaluators, and some have a list on their respective state websites. You need to be careful in selecting the evaluator, as some evaluators have so many requirements that it takes a lot of effort to complete those. I will not go into detail because the information is also available on the NASBA website.

Additional Requirements for Licensing

I want to talk about one requirement that many people ignore, so it creates problems later on. As a Pakistani bachelor’s degree holder, we do not have adequate education credit hours for the CPA license. I’ll explain.

Now, it’s mandatory for you to have a license if you want to be a CPA, even if you have passed the exam. Once you pass your CPA Exam, you need to complete the requirement of the number of education credit hours for your license, or else you’ll experience a CPA Exam credits expiration after three years [if you are to sit for the exam in non-US locations].

However, there are certain states classified as Tier 1 and Tier 2. In Tier 1 states, you get a CPA license after you pass the exam and finish all of the work experience requirements. And you’re required to have a license in order to be considered a CPA.

However, for Tier 2 states, a certificate is initially provided after you pass the exam, which does not allow the full individual privileges as a CPA. After additional requirements are met, the certificate holder may receive a license, which is the permit you need to call yourself a CPA. You can find details on licensing on this NASBA page.

Post-2012 Rules

Prior to 2012, NASBA considered the Pakistani CA and the ACCA as eligible academic education. However, since 2012, they have considered it as a professional experience. Thus, they do not consider those credentials towards the education credit hours requirements for your CPA eligibility. So to get your CPA license, you’ll need to have 150 hours of higher education. And if you have a Pakistani Bachelor’s degree, that’s only equal to 90 hours. (Most Bachelor’s degrees in Pakistan and India are equal to 90 US hours, and you’ll need 150 for the CPA license.) But you can take additional college courses to get up to 150. (Click here for a great article from Stephanie about this issue.)

After a lot of effort and discussion, as per my knowledge and experience, there used to be two states where you had a good chance of meeting the CPA eligibility requirements. It used to be that Montana and Alaska were good jurisdictions for international candidates.  But that’s changed. I’ll explain.

Why or Why Not Montana?

Montana used to be a good choice for international candidates because it had a low credit hours requirement to take the exam. Plus, it was a Tier 2 state, which means if you pass your exam, your score will never expire, and you could get a CPA certificate. However, a certificate doesn’t have all the benefits of a license, as explained earlier.

But Montana became a 1-tier state effective July 1, 2015. So, it doesn’t give a CPA certificate, just a CPA license. You still don’t have to have a Social Security Number to take the exam, so that’s good news for international candidates. But you now need 150 education hours to get the license. So if you apply through Montana, you’ll probably have to take more coursework to get you the 150 hours to be a US CPA in Pakistan.

You can get details of eligibility and other requirements for Montana here.

Why or Why Not Alaska?

For qualified CAs and ACCAs, Alaska used to accept the CA and ACCA as academic qualifications. However, you now have to have a bachelor’s degree with a certain number of hours in accounting, economics, college math, and US business law to get your CPA license through Alaska. And according to NASBA’s website, in Alaska, “advanced degrees are not accepted in lieu of a B.A.” Thus, you may need to visit Alaska page on NASBA for details. Plus, Alaska is Tier 1 state, which means your passing grades will expire if you do not complete the credit hours for licensing.

My CPA Eligibility Step-By-Step Guide

Let me explain my steps to becoming a CPA if you’re from Pakistan like me. Please note that all the below steps are based on the following assumptions and are based on my experiences. Let’s assume that you have the following:

  1. Bachelor of Commerce from an HEC-recognized university in Pakistan
  2. Unqualified Chartered Accountant (CA finalist, but it does not matter)
  3. Working in GCC (Kuwait, specifically)

Here, we need to understand my deficiencies for CPA eligibility first:

  1. Lacking 6 semester hours in Upper Division Accounting
  2. Lacking 3 semester hours in Taxation
  3. Time limits and durations

Please note, I will provide the guidance first, and then the timeline will be defined later, i.e. what to do when.

Step 1: Complete Education Requirements

Many states require CPAs to have a certain number of credit hours in different accounting and business topics. To overcome this education deficiency, you may need to do certain courses from an accredited college or university. For the details, you may visit this link.

I personally prefer the University of North Alabama (UNA). As I discussed with my evaluator, I personally went with UNA for the following reasons:

  • 3 courses for US $1,425 back then (US $475 each for 3 credit hours). Other colleges were relatively high.
  • Accepted by NASBA
  • The course outline is the same as Wiley CPAexcel, which I feel is one of the best review courses for CPA. Thus, while studying these courses, you are studying for your CPA. Two birds with one stone.

In order to complete the education credit hours, you will need to complete the below 3 courses just as I did:

  • AC 361P (3 credit hours): Financial Reporting I
  • AC 462P (3 credit hours): Federal Income Taxation I
  • AC 463P (3 credit hours): Financial Statement Auditing

Why Auditing?

You may be wondering why auditing. Well, it was recommended to me by my NASBA evaluator so that I would meet the requirements to take the CPA Exam. In my Audit classes for my Bachelor’s degree, we studied materials based on International Standards on Auditing (ISA). However, the CPA requirements consider the US Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS) for eligibility.

By completing these three courses, you may be good to go on the education side. As per my experience, it could take 6 to 9 weeks to complete these courses (based on work and other commitments). You need to go and check for the date of entrance, course completion dates, syllabus of these courses, passing scores, forms submission, etc., through the UNA website.

Step 2: Education Evaluation

The Bachelor of Commerce degree has to be evaluated by an authorized evaluator. Click here for Stephanie’s article about foreign credential evaluations.

Step 3: Fill Out Forms for Your Board

You need to register on the NASBA website or your state board’s website for the applications to take the CPA Exam, and after passing and getting your work experience, apply for your CPA license.

The issue is that sometimes these forms need to be notarized. Now, in Kuwait, there are no public notarization rules. Thus, it was an issue for me to get these notarized from here.

The good thing is that you may get forms notarized from Pakistan itself, which will save you time, effort, and lots of money. So make sure that these forms are notarized prior to sending them to your state board.

Time Management

Phew!!! That’s a lot of work. However, that’s not all. You must ensure all these documents are sent to your Board within 30 days of application. To get this right, you need to work backward. Thirty days is the rule for the application, and your documents will be in your file for one year, so do not worry. However, if they do not receive these documents within 30 days of application, then your application fees shall be forfeited, and you will be considered ineligible. Or at least, that was my experience.

To understand time management, let’s consider an example. Assume you applied to a state board on 20 December 2023, and all the requirements need to be with the Board prior to 20 January 2024 (within 30 days of your application).

But evaluation services can take at least 8 weeks for the evaluation, so you should consider sending them the documents by 31 October 2023. I would recommend sending it by 15 – 20 October 2023. As soon as they receive your documents, they will confirm with you with a receipt email. As soon as they dispatch the evaluation and your documents, they will inform the same to you, too.

So let’s say you might go to classes at UNA to get your education credit hours. The UNA Fall 2023 Semester is open till 31 October 2023, and that means you need to submit your respective forms with UNA before 31 October 2023. I would recommend sending these forms to them on the same date, i.e. 15 – 20 October 2023. The course should be completed by 1 December 2023, and they announce the results by late December or early January. They will send your transcripts to your Board by the same date or the day after.

VOLLA!!! Insha Allah, you shall receive your trophy (Notice to Schedule) within a week or so. Only after getting your NTS shall you apply for international testing and take the CPA Exam.

Please note that the above example is just for your understanding purpose, and there may be a few days up and down. But make sure you do not miss the 30-day window.

CPA Exam in Pakistan: FAQs

Are there CPA Pakistan exemptions?

No, there are not any exemptions for taking the CPA Exam for Pakistani candidates. The only time exemptions are given when a candidate has a credential from another professional accounting body. However, no accounting bodies from Pakistan are on that list, which can be viewed on the AICPA’s website.

Can you take the American CPA Exam in Pakistan?

Right now, no, you cannot sit for the exams for the CPA USA in Pakistan. But if you want to go for the CPA in Pakistan, you can take the exam in the United States, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Bahrain, Lebanon, Kuwait, or the UAE.

What’s the CPA course duration in Pakistan?

There seems to be some confusion about a US “CPA course.” In the US, candidates don’t have to enroll in any certain classes in order to sit for the CPA Exam. Instead, to get the CPA license, they need to meet the education requirements (150 hours of higher education), pass the 4-part CPA Exam, and get at least 1 year of work experience. I think the confusion is that there are several good CPA review courses in the US that help you study for the CPA Exam and pass it faster. These are usually self-study courses (mostly online) that give you the tools to study the content on the CPA Exam.

What’s the CPA fee structure in Pakistan?

There are several fees associated with getting a CPA in Pakistan, but they are generally the same as other international CPA candidates. When you’re ready to take the exam, you’ll pay a CPA Exam application fee to your state board of accountancy. Many states also require a CPA Exam registration fee in addition to the application fee. As an international candidate, there’s also the cost of your foreign credential evaluation. And after you pass the exam, you’ll also have to pay a fee to your state board when you finally apply for your CPA license.

Plus, there are additional exam fees if you don’t take the 4-part CPA Exam in the US. For every section you take outside of the US, there is a $390 fee, which amounts to $1,560 for all four sections.

Is the CPA in Pakistan worth it?

Before you go on this CPA journey, I would first decide if it’s worth it for you. Why do you want to become a CPA? After all, you will need to get in many education hours, pass a very difficult exam, and complete your work experience. Plus, the CPA Exam tests on the GAAP accounting standards, but outside of the US, the rest of the world follows IFRS. But if your end goal is to work for a company that follows GAAP, it might be worth it. Click here for Stephanie’s article about the benefits of getting a CPA.

End Words

I have jotted down what I can think of for the CPA eligibility requirements. I may have missed a step or requirement. If you come across any info or additions, please feel free to add them. Moreover, if you still have any confusion or query, or if further guidance is required, please contact me in the comment section below.

I would like to thank the following ladies (weird, no guys), without whom I would not be eligible. You will definitely come across them if you follow my path.

  1. Stephanie Ng for her immense guidance and website ipassthecpaexam.com, a must to visit for CPA-related stuff. I would highly, highly recommend getting her book How to Pass the CPA Exam (just US $40). This book is like the flashlight for all CPA-related information and how to proceed with it. It will help you till you pass your exam.
  2. Rhonda Willard, NASBA Evaluator, very patiently replied to all my queries and guided me on all steps.
  3. Sharon Campbell, Program Director, UNA, guided me well with all my UNA exam-related queries and ensured my transcript was out to NASBA ASAP.

I would also recommend going through the CPA Candidate Bulletin to understand the CPA Exam. It is the official guidance from NASBA.

If you’re an international CPA candidate, Stephanie has created a free CPA mini-course just for you. Click here to learn more about the course and sign up.

I would also recommend visiting the following websites for more information and guidance:

BEST OF LUCK WITH YOUR QUEST!

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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