What is US CPA?
The full form of CPA is Certified Public Accountant and is an AICPA designation given to individuals who have completed the Uniform Accounting Examination.
The Curriculum of the US CPA is well-respected for its depth and breadth of concepts. This test ensures that candidates are conversant in all concepts necessary for accounting professionals to add complex situations.
CPA’s Curriculum is split into 4 Subjects
- BEC- Business Environment Concepts
- AUD- Auditing and Attestation
- FAR- Financial Accounting and Reporting
- REG- Regulations
Eligibility for US CPA
- AICPA (American Institute of Certified Professional Accountants) is the most vital accounting organization globally and administers the CPA Exams.
- All those that have passed all four CPA exams are eligible to join AICPA.
- CPA license is issued by the 55 US state boards of accounting that are members of NASBA (National Association of State Boards of Accountancy).
- The eligibility criteria for every state board are different and must be met before the aspirant can take the US CPA exams.
General Rules of Thumb:
- Master’s Degree in any of the streams of Commerce, Accounting, or Finance.
- An aspirant needs 120 credits to require the US CPA exams and 150 credits to urge his CPA License.
- It’s considered that one year of University education in India is equal to 30 credits of US education.
- In some cases, first division graduates of a three-year degree from NAAC-A accredited universities of India are also qualified to take the US CPA exams.
How exactly is that the CPA Exam Scored and Graded?
- To pass the CPA exam to become a licensed Public Accountant, a candidate must score 75 or higher.
- AICPA states that the CPA exam scores are scaled from 0-99.
- Candidates often get confused about whether those 75 scores should be 75 percent or points. To pass the exam, the candidate must score 75 points.
Multiple-Choice Question Scoring:
Multi-stage testing is used for the MCQ testlets. The candidate must perform well in each section to increase the difficulty of the next.
You will find the next set of challenging questions easier if you do well in the first set. Difficult questions are more weighted than easy ones.
One correctly answered difficult question would improve your score more than many correctly answered easy ones.
Task-Based Simulation Scoring:
These are problems you have to solve based upon situations or concepts. These are the matching or fill-in-the-blank type of questions.
Written Communication Scoring:
This section tests your ability to communicate clearly, such as through demonstration or creative writing. The BEC section of the CPA Exam focuses on written communication. In this case, you will need to write the answer in a blank Word document.
US CPA Course Duration:
The aspirant must pass all four sections of CPA within 18 months of the first test. CPA is a flexible course. As such, the aspirant has complete control over his CPA preparation.
The duration of CPA is entirely up to the aspirant. Simandhar’s CPA aspirants typically pass all four parts without pressure and get their license in less than a year.
CPA License
The eligibility rules for CPA are governed by the NASBA (National Association of State Boards of Accountancy). Each state has its requirements for the CPA exam.
Each state board of accounting has its own set of requirements. However, most states have the same core qualifications that are required for candidates to take the CPA exam.
Let’s go through the CPA License Requirements.
Many states ask for 150 credit hours in some specific courses from a university or an accredited institute under NASBA.
The candidate should pass the Ethics exam.
Must have 2,000 hours of work experience in taxation, auditing, accounting, and management consultancy (need not be under a CPA supervisor, Mr.Sripal Jain (CA, CPA) can verify for you).
CPA designation offers excellent value, and it gives you:
- Career Opportunities
- International Recognition
- Global Qualification
- Extensive Knowledge about Accounting, Auditing, Finance, Tax, Business Economics, and International Accounting Standards (US GAAP + IFRS)
- Elite Network of CPAs
- Authority to practice Public Accountancy all over the world (In India as well)
Author Bio:
Madhuri is the SEO & Content Strategist at Simandhar Education and has 2 years of experience in content writing and blogging. She loves pursuing excellence through writing and has a passion for technology & educational content.
