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Experience Requirements for CPA License
Most state Boards of Accountancy require at least two years public accounting experience. Many states also accept non-public accounting experience (e.g., industry, government), although the number of years deemed acceptable are typically higher than for public accounting.
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| For example, here is the License-Experience Requirement for the State of Georgia:
An applicant who meets the general, educational and examination requirements will be issued a CPA certificate upon presenting evidence that such applicant has attained two years, including 4,000 hours, of continuous experience in public accounting, under the supervision of a person licensed to practice public accounting, immediately preceding the date of application for the certificate.
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Five years, including 10,000 hours, of continuous employment in the accounting field in business or industry, under the supervision of a person licensed to practice public accounting, or in government or college teaching, may be accepted in lieu of the aforementioned experience requirement.
If experience is in government or college teaching, you are required to be supervised but not by someone licensed. For qualifying experience in government, the candidate must have been employed by a federal, state, or local government agency which is appropriated public funds and whose employees are considered public employees and which is recognized by the Board as having the responsibility and organizational structure for performing auditing and accounting functions.
For qualifying teaching experience, the candidate must have taught courses primarily in the accounting discipline for academic credit at an accredited four year college or university in at least two different areas of accounting above the introductory or elementary level. Part-time experience is permitted if it is continuous.
In addition, some states have a one-tier system, whereby candidates must pass the CPA exam and fulfill the experience requirements to obtain both the certificate and license. Others have a two-tier system in which you can obtain the certificate upon passing the exam, then must fulfill the experience requirements to obtain the license to practice in public accounting. Contact your State Board of Accountancy for their requirements
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| ©2010 Michael Johnston, CPA. All Rights Reserved. |
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