Becoming a CPA
There are three main steps in becoming a CPA. You must complete education requirements, pass the CPA and ethics exam, and complete the experience requirement. Please check with your State Board of Accountancy for specific requirements for each state.
Education
First, you must get your college degree in accounting. To keep pace with new developments in business and technology, a majority of states require 150 credit hours of education at an accredited college or university as a prerequisite to CPA certification. Arizona requires 150 hours of education.
Here's a question about education that comes up again and again: "Do I need my Master's degree?" The short answer to that question is "no." However, many of the 150 credit hour programs lead to a graduate degree, such as an MBA (Master of Business Administration), MACC (Master of Accountancy) or MST (Master of Science in Taxation), which CPAs have found to be helpful in creating the kinds of career opportunities and salaries they seek.
CPA Exam
The Uniform CPA Examination is a prerequisite for the CPA certificate because it is the primary way Boards of Accountancy measure the competence of CPA candidates. Boards of Accountancy also rely on additional means to ensure that a candidate has the necessary technical abilities and character attributes to become a CPA. These may include interviews, letters of reference, investigation of educational background, and affidavits of employment. In addition, some Boards of Accountancy administer an ethics examination to assess a candidate's knowledge of the rules of professional conduct.
The Board of Examiners of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is responsible for preparing and grading the Uniform CPA Examination and establishing appropriate passing standards with input from the Psychometric Oversight and Content Committees. The Boards of Accountancy of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands use the Uniform CPA Examination as the primary way of measuring the technical competence of CPA candidates.
CPA exam Web site - http://www.cpa-exam.org/
Facts about the CPA exam - http://www.aicpa.org/nolimits/nav/examfacts.asp
Ethics Exam
You must have taken and scored 90% or more on the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) professional ethics exam no more than two years prior to submitting your application.
You can order an ethics exam through the ASCPA.
Experience
For Arizona certification, experience may be achieved by being a staff accountant in any of the following: an office of a CPA, in private business or industry, in government (at federal, state or local level); in education, courts or other public institutions. This experience should expose you to the practice of accounting through one or more of the following types of work: evaluating, recording and summarizing accounting records; management advisory services, review, analysis and reporting; auditing; preparing financial summaries; taxation assistance. If you are already licensed or certified in another state, self-employment as a CPA may be counted, as well.
