Five Steps to Becoming a CPA

Five Steps to Becoming a CPA
1. REVIEW EXAM REQUIREMENTS

To sit for the CPA exam in Alabama, you must be at least 19 years of age and an American citizen, or have declared your intent to become a citizen. You will need:

A Bachelor’s degree with a concentration in Accounting or at least 33 hours in Accounting (excluding introductory courses) including 9 hours in financial accounting, 6 hours in both auditing and taxation, 3 hours in both managerial and governmental/not-for-profit, and 6 hours in accounting electives. Credits must also include 3 hours in business law and 27 hours in other business subjects

-OR-

A graduate degree in Accounting from a program accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business in Accounting(www.aacsb.edu), or comparable accrediting organization recognized by the Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy (www.asbpa.state.al.us)

-OR-

A graduate degree from an AACSB, or other comparable accrediting organization recognized by the Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy, accredited program with all of the requirements detailed above.

2. SUBMIT APPLICATION, ENROLL IN EXAM REVIEW COURSE

If you meet the educational requirements, submit your application to the Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy. The application fee is $100 and the exam fees are $770 for a total of $870. Your name on the application should exactly match your name on your primary form of identification, which is usually your driver’s license. At this time you should also begin planning your study approach by making inquiries into CPA reviews available in your area.

ASCPA members save hundreds of dollars on both Becker CPA review courses and ExamMatrix review courses.

3. REQUEST AND FORWARD YOUR TRANSCRIPTS

Contact any educational institutions attended and request that transcripts be forwarded to the Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy for their evaluation. If you do not expect any problems in processing your application it is best to make plans to start your review at this time.

4. PAY YOUR EXAM FEES

After receiving the required information, the State Board will issue your Authorization to Test (ATT) to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). You will receive a Notice to Schedule (NTS) which is good for six months; however, since every third month is a non-testing month, the NTS covers four testing months.

5. SCHEDULE YOUR EXAM

Your NTS allows you to start scheduling your exams. You can sit for the exam parts in any sequence so you can plan your reviews to coincide with your exam scheduling. The most efficient approach is to sit for two parts in each exam window; however, exam fees paid for parts not taken are not refundable. Exam times are scheduled with Prometric (www.prometric.com/cpa) and can be set up online. You can take the exam at a site in Birmingham, Decatur, Dothan, Mobile, Montgomery, or any other Prometic location that is convenient to you.