CPA Experience Requirements for International Candidates

Hello, this is Stephanie from IPasstheCPAExam.Com.
Today Id like to go through the strategy of picking a state board, based on the experience
requirements for CPA licensing. Rule of Thumb
If you are qualified in your own state, or the state that you plan to live and work permanently,
it is the best place to register. Its helpful, for example, if you interview for a firm that
favors in-state license holders, or launch your own CPA firm.
Having said that, I understand that it is not possible for some candidates to fulfill
the requirements of their own states. This video can help you choose a state with minimum
investment and effort.

Identify Your Bottleneck
If it is tough for you to get qualified in your own state, there must be a bottle neck
in either the educational requirements or experience requirements.
Educational Requirements We went through the educational requirements
extensively in this video. Please watch if you havent done so, because if you are
able to complete the standard educational requirements listed here, you will have a
much easier time fulfilling the rest of the requirements.
Experience Requirements Here is the standard experience requirements
according to the 3Es: 1-2 years of relevant experience; supervised and / or verified by
a US CPA. Relevant Experience
State boards have different definition of relevance. In the old days, the CPA
title was mostly for public accounting and therefore only public accounting experience
could be counted.

Nowadays, the state boards realize that CPA is practically a qualification
for general accounting and therefore, many states are accepting non-public accounting
experience as well. This means that you dont have to be an
auditor. You can instead work in the accounting department of businesses and corporations,
non-profits, governmental agencies, and even a teaching position in relevant field.
Each state has its own definition, so please double check the rules before applying. Supervision and Verification by US CPA
Your experience can be gained anywhere around the world, as long as you have been supervised
by an active CPA license holder.

In practice, it is much harder to find a boss with active
US license outside of the US, or if you dont work in a CPA firm.
Some states, such as New Hampshire, allow your experience to be supervised and verified
by a CPA equivalent. This often refers to members of statutory accounting bodies with
mutual reciprocal agreement with that in the US, that is, chartered accountants in Australia,
Canada, Ireland and New Zealand; CPAs in Hong Kong; and CPCs in Mexico.
If this doesnt work for you, please check out the following states with more flexible
experience requirements. State Boards with More Flexible Experience
Requirements Illinois, North Dakota and Virginia normally
accept work experience supervised by someone who is not a US CPA. This means that your
previous experience, possibly in other countries can be counted if it is relevant.
Arkansas, Indiana, Montana and Washington are some of the states that require a CPA
to verify your experience, but this CPA does not need to be your supervisor.

This means
that if there is an active CPA whom you know but who is not your boss, you can still ask
him or her to verify the experience for you. Massachusetts has a non-reporting license
that doesnt require work experience if you have a graduate degree. Guam has an inactive
license that also doesnt require work experience as well if you have accounting concentration.
These are what I call limited licenses and have certain restrictions on how to use the
CPA title. Please make sure you are fine with the restrictions before applying.
There may be other restrictions that may affect your decision.

For example, if you dont
have a social security number, you cannot apply for certain states such as Arkansas,
Indiana and Virginia. One Common Question
This is the one of the most frequently asked questions: can I take the exam based on some
favorable exam requirements in one state, then, after passing the exam, transfer the
exam credit to another state with more favorable experience requirements?
The answer is generally no, since this is pretty much gaming the system. Many state
boards discourage this practice by stating that you should fulfill the exam requirements
before taking the exam. In other words, these states will not accept your exam credit transfer
unless you have completed the educational requirements beforehand.
If you plan to sort things out at the end using exam credit transfer, please think
again.

It is much easier to pave a way that works all the way through the licensing process.
Summary In summary, on the experience requirements:
You dont have to work in public accounting, or work in the US But you have to work
under a US CPA or equivalent, and your boss license must be in active status. There are
a few states with more flexible experience requirements and we went through some of them
in this video. You may be able to transfer your exam credit
to another state and then fulfill that states experience requirements, but there is a risk
that the state board does not accept this transfer.
There are a few states that have more flexible experience requirements, and we went through
some of them in this video. I hope this video gives you an overview of
the CPA experience requirements, and their impact on how you choose a state board at
the beginning of your CPA journey.

If you have any questions on your own situation,
please drop me a note below. You may also want to subscribe to my youtube channel for
more information on the application process and the exam. Thanks for watching and see
you in the next video..