How to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

Apart from stupendous sense of prestige and achievement, being CPA, acronym for “Certified Public Accountant, entitles you to a fat five-figure salary package in USD, which may even touch higher six figures with experience and exposure.

While the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) prepares and evaluates the Uniform CPA examination, CPA Examination Services - a division of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, administers it across the New York State.

Here is the outline for the educational and experience criteria to qualify to sit for the Uniform CPA:

• A New York SED (State Education Department) registered accountancy program to qualify for your licensure; or

• Any other program as determined by SED as equivalent to its registered accountancy program(s); or

• Fifteen years of public accounting experience, as found satisfactory by the State Board for Public Accountancy, under the direct supervision of a US Certified Public Accountant, involving application of US GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles), GAAS (Generally Accepted Auditing Standards) and significant exposure in preparation of financial statement and auditing.

A list of current SED's academic programs that may qualify you for grant of CPA license may be looked up at http://www.nysed.gov/heds/irpsl1.html . In case your program does not figure in the list at the link, you are advised to contact your school to confirm whether the program will qualify you for the grant of license.

To appear for the Uniform CPA examination in New York, following is the course of action:

• Request a review of your education for admission to CPA examination, as well as, get an application form “Form 1” at http://www.nasba.org or by calling CPA Examination Services at 1-800-CPA-EXAM.

• File “Form 1” with requisite examination fee with the CPA Examination Services. If you have completed any post-secondary education outside US, you need to file the “Form 1” and fee with the New York State Education Department.

• If you have attended a New York State Licensure Qualifying program, you need to submit a Certification of Professional Education or “Form 2” with New York State Education Department. The form available at http://www.op.nysed.gov/cpaforms.htm needs to be filled up by your school.

• If you got your education entirely in US but devoid of a New York State Licensure Qualifying program, you need to submit “Form 2” with a transcript to the New York State Education Department.

• If you have partly passed Uniform CPA Examination, but from another jurisdiction, you will need an Authorization for Interstate Exchange of Examination Information from CPA Examination Services.

• In case of disabled applicants, you need to request CPA Examination Services for reasonable accommodations possible, by applying for the same along with due documentary proof.

A licensed public accountant can be appointed for an exhaustive range of accounts related services including auditing, general accounting, forensic accounting, environmental accounting, technology services, financial planning, financial analysis, tax consultancy, and management consultancy. Accordingly, the versatile role of a Certified Public Accountant leaves you with no dearth of job opportunities.