Career Accountant – Steps to Become a CPA

Demand for Qualified Professionals Is High Everywhere

To be a career accountant does not always mean become a CPA, but I can tell you from experience it is better if you do. It takes quite a lot of sacrifice for someone to become a CPA, but any career accountant will tell you that it was worth the sacrifice.

Steps to Become a CPA
Step 1: Undergraduate Degree
The first step to become a CPA is to get an undergraduate degree either in accounting or finance – or a business degree with a heavy emphasis on accounting. Some states are mandating significant additional coursework/credit hours in future years so NOW is definitely the time to be getting into the field before the education (very expensive education) requirements get tightened/go into effect.

Step 2: Professional Experience (a.k.a get a public accounting job)
State laws vary, however most states require a substantial amount of professional work hours in accounting – with some restrictions on the type of work performed. Your firm (once you are hired) will know the specifics of the requirements for your state and (if they’re any good) will help guide you through the process to get the right hours as you prepare for the next step. Figure on 3200 hours of work with 25% of that work required to be in specific fields.

Step 3: Pass the CPA Exam
The CPA exam requirements again are set by state law however all states and US Territories have some law on the books as to what the professional requirements are of the CPA exam. The exam is not always the last step for career accountant prospects. The CPA exam can be taken once the candidate has met the minimum requirements to sit for the exam, and again state rules vary but typically it means getting your undergraduate degree with a specified number of business, accounting, law, and or finance credits on your transcript.

Step 4: Apply to the State Board of Accountancy for your CPA License
Once the career accountant has met all the requirements (degree, exam, experience) he or she must apply to the state board of accountancy for their CPA license. This is the last step to become a CPA and is a great relief to candidates once the application is completed and sent in.

Step 5: Continuing Education

Like many professional occupations, the career accountant must maintain their status by taking additional credit hours of classes. Because the world of accountancy is changing CPAs must be prepared to face the new and additional challenges. Tools and techniques become obsolete and are replaced. New assets are invented by the world of finance all the time. New regulations and case studies are written annual. Once a person has become a CPA they have to keep up with the changing rules, tools, and guidelines in order to retain their hard-earned status.

Demand for Qualified Career Accountants Is High and Growing
The steps to become a CPA have not changed much in the last couple of decades, and any career accountant will tell you the journey was worth the effort. The prestige of a CPA license reaps many rewards (like expect a double in pay), and the career accountant has the professional freedom to be able to find work anywhere he or she chooses to go. It doesn’t hurt that careers in accounting are among the fastest growing in the United States either. Professionalism, ethics, and accountability have been sorely lacking in the USA over the last 30+ years, and as a result the business world is responding with increased demand for high quality, highly trained professionals. A career accountant has much to look forward to in the coming years.

Tags: accounting career, become a cpa, Career Accountant