[MiraMouse]

My husband works in a field that is highly transient and my home state has a residency requirement. I’ve done a lot of research about various other states as he has had interviews and moving to many of them would mean several steps backwards for me as far as licensing. I’ve read a lot of advice about licensing in home state vs. future work state, but what about if you don’t know where you might end up? Should I pick a state that has very similar requirements to my home state but does not have a residency requirement? Alaska is looking like a good choice right now.

I am a non-traditional candidate with a non-business undergrad. 150 hours I’ve already got, but the number of non-accounting business credits required is a deal-breaker for me in many states.

It feels a bit strange to get licensed in a state in which I may not practice and where I do not live or go to school. I’m not sure what else to do since I do not know when or where we might move. All I know is I don’t want to get stuck unable to complete licensure here because of residency and there because of course requirements or some such. I would much rather finish the entire process in one state.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

AUD - 99!
FAR - 08/2016
REG - 10/2016
BEC - 12/2016

[monikernc]

Since i have the address on the clipboard from another post I will post NCs board address. NC does not have a residency requirement. You will have to check the education req's to see if you have the mix they need. If you call they are very nice.

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[Anonymous]

KY has no residency requirement and their education requirements are less strenuous than many states. They do have so many business required, but extra accounting courses count towards the business requirements, or at least I'm quite sure they so. I want to say it's 27 in accounting and 36 in business total (could be wrong on the numbers), but I think it could be all 36 in accounting, just as long as it's 36 total in business subjects, including accounting.

I think that if you move frequently, people will understand you being licensed in a state that isn't one that you currently live in. It can look funny if someone has lived in one state for 30 years and plans to live there for another 30 and is licensed in a state they've never stepped foot in…but if you explain that you've had frequent moves in your past so you weren't as concerned with the location of the state board, that should make more sense. Additionally, if you do meet the requirements of many states (aside from residency), then it will look less like you were just trying to find the easy route. (For example, many people were applying to take the exam under Colorado when it was the last state to require 120 credits. I understand wanting to avoid an extra year of school, cause school is expensive; however, an interviewer who had to pay for that extra year of school might see it as that you “cheated” if you went to another state to avoid it.) So, while I've been one to advise others to suck it up and do what it takes to meet their state's requirements, I think in your situation to apply to another state would be acceptable.

My family moved frequently growing up (I've often been asked if my dad was military due to the frequency of our moves – he wasn't, but our lifestyle was!), so I sympathize with the frequent adjustments that are required by that lifestyle. It does make it hard to do things like get state-specific certifications, or I'd assume to establish a career. My mom was a stay-at-home mom, so didn't have to try to re-establish a career every time my dad moved, so I can only imagine what that part is like for you, but bravo to you for working hard to find the best ways to do it – like trying to determine the most logical way to pick a state for certification! 🙂

[MiraMouse]

Thank you, monikernc and Lilla, for your help and encouragement. NC's requirements for sitting for the exam are great! Licensure, though, requires a more-particular-than-usual mix of business hours that I'm not going to have. I'd prefer to avoid the additional time and expense if I can.

Lilla, it's so good to talk to people who understand! It's a tricky business trying to navigate. Kentucky looks like a great choice, and I wouldn't have realized that accounting courses count as business courses.

For now, it looks like Alaska has the up-side of being able to begin sitting now, before the proposed exam changes go into effect. Their course requirements for the exam are more relaxed than the licensure requirements. The down-sides are extra work experience, but by the time I pass I will have 2 years public accounting experience, and particular business requirements, but I think I might only have to take one extra course to fulfill those. Now that they've repealed the attest experience requirement I don't have to change jobs to get the experience.

If that goes sideways in a few semesters I'll be up to 39 hours of accounting and Kentucky may be the place to go.

Thanks again! Any other input is welcome.

AUD - 99!
FAR - 08/2016
REG - 10/2016
BEC - 12/2016

[red07]

You might want to look into Nevada too. There are no residency requirements here.

Goodluck!!

[Author]

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