[TheWheelHouse]

Hi everyone,

I have taken and passed one section of the CPA, and am taking another this coming Saturday. Since the passing of my most recent exam, I received news that I have been given a full scholarship including a stipend to attend a 2 year masters program at a school in Europe. I was obviously thrilled by this opportunity, and decided to forgo working in public accounting for a couple years to instead do this opportunity.

However, I do not think I put enough thought into the experience requirement of the CPA. I am planning to take, and hopefully pass the test in the next 4 months before I leave for Europe. I am hoping to get some kind of part time job within accounting, and have been working at my internship for the last 9 months which was in internal audit. I estimate I have about 700-800 hours from the internship. I was hoping that working a part time job in Europe, I could get the additional hours I need to get 2000 hours and get my 1 year experience. From there, I would be able to keep my CPE going independently. I recall a professor telling us that if you do not get the 1 years experience within 3 years of passing the CPA, it can be quite an extensive process to get the CPA certification. I would obviously like to avoid this.

If anyone has any knowledge on this situation or advice, it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

REG - 81 2/22/2016
FAR - 85 5/19/2016
AUD - 86 4/02/2016
BEC - 7/16/2016

[jm962011]

Look into the specifics for your state as the 1 year experience requirement and when it has to be completed before you can become fully licensed differ greatly, especially regarding the amount of time you can have between passing your last exam and applying to become a CPA.

Some states also waive the experience requirement if you have a masters degree. However, being that your masters program is outside of the USA, I do not know if the same waiver would exist, if such waiver exists for your specific state.

[jm962011]

Look into the specifics for your state as the 1 year experience requirement and when it has to be completed before you can become fully licensed differ greatly, especially regarding the amount of time you can have between passing your last exam and applying to become a CPA.

Some states also waive the experience requirement if you have a masters degree. However, being that your masters program is outside of the USA, I do not know if the same waiver would exist, if such waiver exists for your specific state.

[Anonymous]

As jm said, the rules vary greatly from state to state. Some states have no requirements about when the experience is gained relative to when the exams are passed, other states do have a time limit. The 3 years that your professor was referring to may have had more to do with the job market than with a state's requirements, though. If you spread out your experience over a long time (say you have 1000 hours of experience from an internship, then take off 5 years from work due to family obligations, then attempt to get your remaining 1000 hours of work), it may be difficult to find a job with a 5 year gap after just 6 months of work, and may also be difficult to get in touch with your prior employer to sign off on the work from 5 years prior.

Another consideration that may be an issue depending on your state is whether the part-time job in Europe would qualify under the requirements of the state that you're seeking licensure in. Most states require that the work be under the supervision of an active US CPA, which may be harder to find in Europe. There are states that don't have this requirement, though, so not being under a US CPA doesn't instantly disqualify the work, I just wanted to point out that the availability of a US CPA to supervise is a factor that you'll need to consider as you look into your options.

In summary, you'll need to check your state's experience requirements. There are definitely states that you could be licensed in with this unique situation, but others that it may be more difficult, so you'll want to make sure you know your state's specific requirements and if there's any special hoops you'll need to jump through.

[Anonymous]

For those in NJ, I called the NJ Society of CPAs earlier today and they told me the 4 sections never expire

[Author]

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