[strikeone92]

Hi all,

I have some very specific questions about my specific circumstances relative to sitting for the CPA exam prior to meeting state education requirements. The state, nor Becker, is able to provide advice (which is really what I need).

My narrative, as brief as possible, is below:

Goal:

– Pass all 4 sections of CPA exam prior to starting work full-time August 1

Circumstances:

– I have bachelor’s degree in business-related field (aka not Accounting)

– I am finishing Masters program to reach 150 hours May 1

– I have been studying for and am ready to sit for AUD

– I am still missing 3 credits in Auditing, 3 credits in Tax, and 1 credit in ethics, (based on Maryland education requirements) and will have these deficiencies completed by July 31

State (Maryland) Response:

– I applied to state of Maryland to sit for CPA exam

– I [just yesterday] got denied, because I am still missing 3 credits in Auditing, 3 credits in Tax, and 1 credit in ethics

– I guess I loosely interpreted the ability to sit before achieving 150 hours in the state of MD to mean that I didn’t have to have met the specific education requirements until the 150 hours were completed

So considering all of this, I am trying to consider my options. As it seems now, I would be unable to sit in the state of Maryland until my education is completed (July 31), but then that would mean I would have to study/sit while starting work full time, which is something that I am really trying to avoid.

I noticed that in the state of Washington I could potentially sit for the exam up to 200 days before completing the education requirements. If this is really an option, what are the implications of licensing in another state (given that my residency is in Maryland and that is where I am going to work full time)?

Essentially, I am trying to best understand my options that would potentially allow me to study and sit for the 4 parts of the exam prior to my start date in August. I really don’t want to postpone studying until August and mix my work and studying, or try to study for all 4 parts prior to sitting for any 1 part.

I really would appreciate y’alls input on my specific situation. Please let me know if I am leaving out any important pieces on information in this post, or can answer any questions.

Thank you very much for your time,

Drew

[Anonymous]

You can complete your exams in WA and then transfer the exam scores to MD and get licensed in MD. So, you wouldn't have to get licensed in WA. Usually the licensing is slightly delayed when transferring scores, so if you completed your exams say in July, and had your experience, you might have to wait a couple months for scores to transfer prior to being able to apply for the license in MD. However, I'm assuming that you won't have your experience requirement met till 1 year from Aug 1; in that case, you have plenty of time for your scores to transfer (and MD to assess your education etc.) prior to the time you could apply for the actual license anyway.

[mla1169]

No you will not be able to transfer exam scores to MD if you sat for the exam prior to meeting MD education requirements. See #7 of this link https://www.dllr.state.md.us/cgi-bin/electronicLicensing/CPA/CPAgradexfer1.cgi

You should research further to see if a WA license will transfer to MD, I'm not sure.

Also whether you need a MD license to work in MD will depend on variables such as what you'll be doing for work.

That said working full time and taking the exams isn't the worst thing in the world. Most people are working while taking the exams.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Anonymous]

Sorry – I'd been under the impression that scores could always transfer. That's kind of crappy that they can't, especially for someone who moves midway through the process due to unforseen events. I'll have to keep that in mind when talking to folks in the future.

[strikeone92]

Hi Lilla and mla1169,

Thank you very much for your helpful responses. I see that I would not be able to test in WA and transfer the score to MD to achieve licensing in MD if I sat in WA now; thank you for providing that clarification.

Regarding whether I need the actual license to be in MD….I am going to work full time in technology consulting (CPA is not needed to perform job), and am picking up the CPA for the purposes of having and maintaining the certification for moving up career ladder….may or may not ever practice audit/tax publicly during career…does this make any sense?

So it sounds like if I really want to sit prior to starting work, I could conceivably apply in WA and eventually get licensed in WA and not transfer it to another state…..so given that and my career ideas above…..what would the implications of being licensed in a essentially random state mean for me?

Thank you very much,

Drew

[Author]

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