[IndonesianCPA]

Hi guys,

I am a CPA candidate in the state of Virginia. I was wondering whether it is possible to satisfy the 2080 hour work experience in less than a year. For example, if I work 60 hours per week, I will just need 35 weeks to clock 2080 hours. I am not sure whether my state board of accountancy will consider overtime hours. I have contacted the Virginia Board of Accountancy and they said they consider overtime hours. But I wanted to hear a second opinion from a person who has been through this process.

B-90 6/9/16
A-91 1/18/16
R-87 2/29/16
F-94 4/25/16

Tim Gearty, Peter Olinto, Mike Brown, and Angie Brown saved my life

[nadroj]

Usually it is stated as one year of full time experience or 2000-2080 hours over a longer period, but you can try saying busy season should count extra.

[IndonesianCPA]

The VBOA website states like this:

“Pursuant to Board Regulation 18VAC5-22-100, prior to applying for a license, an individual must have been employed in academia, a firm, government, or industry in any capacity involving the substantial use of accounting, financial, tax, or other skills that are relevant, as determined by the VBOA, to providing services to the public or to an employer for a period that is the full-time equivalent of one year. Whether other skills are relevant shall be determined by the VBOA on a case-by-case basis. Self-employment does not meet the definition of experience in accordance with § 54.1-4400, Code of Virginia.

During the licensure application process, applicants will be required to complete an Experience Verification Form to verify experience qualifications.”

It says a period that is the full-time equivalent of one year. This is quite vague as they do not give the basis of measuring the full-time equivalent of one year. I think I might have an acceptable reason if I tell them that I have worked for 2,080 hours, which can be considered equal to a year of full time employment, in less than a year. Any thoughts about this sentence?

B-90 6/9/16
A-91 1/18/16
R-87 2/29/16
F-94 4/25/16

Tim Gearty, Peter Olinto, Mike Brown, and Angie Brown saved my life

[iwana_PASS]

When you said less than year how many month do you think u plan to get those hours. I think during my performance review my manager told me I worked almost 2500 hours in a year. I forgot to ask where she got that number from but it's doable. During normal not busy season I work 37.5 or 40 maybe but during busy season I have weeks I work over 100 hours and I'm doing tax.

AUD - 77
BEC - 78
FAR - 79
REG - 82

[iwana_PASS]

When you said less than year how many month do you think u plan to get those hours. I think during my performance review my manager told me I worked almost 2500 hours in a year. I forgot to ask where she got that number from but it's doable. During normal not busy season I work 37.5 or 40 maybe but during busy season I have weeks I work over 100 hours and I'm doing tax.

AUD - 77
BEC - 78
FAR - 79
REG - 82

[IndonesianCPA]

Since I have gotten 8 weeks of experience from my previous internship with a big 4 firm, I plan to satisfy the rest in 7-8 months. So, it will probably be in May 2017 as I start working full-time this September. I recently graduated from college as an international student and will be on a post-graduation work permit status(OPT). My OPT expires on July 5, 2017. I wanted to make sure that I can claim my license before that day since I am unsure whether I will get a temporary work visa that allows me to work beyond the expiration date

B-90 6/9/16
A-91 1/18/16
R-87 2/29/16
F-94 4/25/16

Tim Gearty, Peter Olinto, Mike Brown, and Angie Brown saved my life

[Anonymous]

Remeber that you need someone to sign off on those hours. Satisfying your hours requirement through multiple sources complicates the matter. I'm not sure about VA, but in MO you need a separate application for each signature.

[Anonymous]

Many states specify “acquired in not less than a year” or something like that to prevent someone from doing exactly what you're talking about. Given that VA doesn't state that, it means 1 of 2 things:

– They're OK with people completing the work in fewer months
– They feel the same as the other states and won't allow it, just haven't spelled it out as clearly

The only way to know for sure would be to contact the VA CPA board and ask them. I don't think I've heard of anyone completing their hours in less than a year, but that doesn't mean it can't be done. If you plan to do it in less than a year, I would keep a detailed log of when you got to work, when you look lunch, when you left, etc. I'm assuming you'll be salaried, so wouldn't have this unless you maintain it yourself; I'm sure it will be necessary for you be able to obtain licensure this way.

Also, just as an FYI, I don't think that 60 hours weeks are standard for all of Sept – Dec, and may not be standard for May – Jul. Jan – Apr will likely be longer than 60 hours, but especially when you're new in Sept – Dec, I don't know if you'll be able to come up with 60 hours of work per week or not. Definitely doesn't hurt to try. 🙂

[IndonesianCPA]

Thanks for all the information. It's really helpful

@DoOver : I guess it's the same in VA. Each supervisor will get a separate form. I don't think this will complicate the certification process as the board will just sum up the number of hours stated on each form.

Just an update. I got an email confirmation from the VBOA informing that I will satisfy the work experience requirement as long as I hit the 2080 work hour mark. In other words, it is possible to get certified in less than a year.

I have a follow up question, however, about what kind of work hour that can be included in the 2080 hour pool. Should those hours be chargeable hours only or can hours spent in training, company's seminars, internal projects, recruiting, etc be considered as well? I plan to claim my summer internship hours. However, I did not put in many chargeable hours during the my internship since it was not during the busy season. Instead, I had a lot of internal projects such as helping a partner research his potential clients, doing tax research for an internship presentation to top management, attending intern events, etc. I will contact my internship supervisor soon to get her confirmation, but I would like to have an insight beforehand about her likely answer

B-90 6/9/16
A-91 1/18/16
R-87 2/29/16
F-94 4/25/16

Tim Gearty, Peter Olinto, Mike Brown, and Angie Brown saved my life

[nickbuko]

I have a similar question regarding work experience requirements in VA, what type of job would fulfill the requirements? Could I be an accountant for a small company and that would be adequate? Or would I have to work for a CPA Firm?

Thanks.

BEC – 90 – March 2017
FAR – no score yet- May 31st 2017
REG – TBD – July 17th 2017
AUD – TBD – August 17th 2017

[ragepsn29]

@nickbuko, yes working at a small company as an accountant should be adequate per statement below. However, you need a CPA to verify your work experience.

“Pursuant to Board Regulation 18VAC5-22-100, prior to applying for a license, an individual must have been employed in academia, a firm, government, or industry in any capacity involving the substantial use of accounting, financial, tax, or other skills that are relevant, as determined by the VBOA, to providing services to the public or to an employer for a period that is the full-time equivalent of one year. Whether other skills are relevant shall be determined by the VBOA on a case-by-case basis. Self-employment does not meet the definition of experience in accordance with § 54.1-4400, Code of Virginia.

AUD - 65, 72, 70, 74, 81
FAR - 66, 71, 76
REG - 69
BEC - 80

[Author]

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