Are you thinking about becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA)? Well, then you’re in the right place! You’re probably already aware that certified public accounting is a pretty exciting and overall rewarding career path. Whether your goal is to round up all of your local small businesses and push them into a more fiscally sound future, or if you want to step into the corporate world, understanding the CPA certification process will help you out in the long run.
That’s why today, we’re diving into the steps and requirements you’ll run into during your CPA certification journey, and how Estess CPAs can help guide you!
Let’s get started.
What’s a CPA and Why Is It Important?
A CPA is a lot more than just an accountant. A certified public accountant is a designation representative of an elevated level of mastery, prowess, and overall ethical responsibility when it comes to accounting.
Certified public accountants are able to deliver an array of financial services. Anything from auditing, and tax prep, to financial consulting, a CPA will have you covered. For small businesses, the value of a reliable and trustworthy CPA, cannot be overstated. CPAs help businesses streamline their payroll, bookkeeping, and tax operations, while business owners have more time to grow their brand.
Thinking about getting certified? That means you’re putting yourself in the right position to provide these services to clients of your own.
Step 1: Education Requirements for CPAs
Your first in learning how to get CPA certification is making sure that you are in compliance with all of the educational requirements. More often than not the very base requirement for your education is a bachelor’s degree, preferably in accounting or an adjacent field of study. When you live in the U.S. most states will require you to have 150 semester hours of education–which is 30 hours further than a standard four-year degree.
Some CPAs have met the education hour requirement by completing their master’s degree in accounting, while others choose to take continued education courses after receiving their bachelor’s degree.
It doesn’t matter how you achieve the hours. What’s most important is that the educational program you pursued is in alignment with the CPA certification process in your local area.
Step 2: Prepping for the CPA Exam
Now, your CPA exam is where the true work begins. It’s time to put on your thinking cap! If you’re wondering how to get CPA certified, the answer is in passing your exams, which will include these four sectors:
- Audit and Attestation (AUD)
- Business Environment and Concepts (BEC)
- Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)
- Regulation (REG)
Each of these will cover different aspects of accounting knowledge, and they’re known to be intense in their own respective rights, so studying rigorously is a must. There are quite a few test prep classes and other continued education (CE) course materials that are specifically geared towards the CPA certification process.
It’s important to note that persistence a consistency will be your best friend when you’re preparing for your exam.
Step 3: Gaining Practical Experience
Congratulations! Now it’s time to get in the field. The next step in how to get CPA certification is gaining the experience you need to gain the clients you want. Depending on the state you’re living in, you’ll need at least one year of experience working under the eyes of a licensed CPA, while some states may be a little mor stringent and require two years of working experience.
Your work experience will not only be a gret asset to you and gaining more knowledge in the field–it will also signal to potential clients that you have both the academic knowledge and practical hands-on skills to help them streamline their financial affairs.
If you don’t know where to look for a supervised roll, it’s important to connect with firms that have a reputation for working with small businesses and could use the extra help.
Step 4: Ethics and State-Specific Requirements
When it comes to taking steps in how to get CPA certified, your ethics exam is an integral element. This exam–which is required by most states–is an analysis of the candidates’ understanding of any and all of the ethical standards that CPAs are required to comply to.
Step 5: Applying for CPA Licensure
Once you’ve aced your CPA exam, gotten some supervised experience in the field, and completed your ethics exam, the fun part happens.
It’s time to apply for your license! It’s a pretty simple process. Usually, you provide the proof of your education, passed exam results, work experience, and you’ll officially be licensed.
Taking the steps in learning how to get CPA certified can be a pretty rewarding process, and if you’re thinking about becoming a CPA, now is the time to start the journey.
Not sure where to start? Click here to speak with the team.
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