How to Sit for the CPA Exam, What Do I Need in Order to Do This?

In total honesty, sitting for the CPA exam and becoming a CPA in general is something that I have strongly coveted for nearly two years now. I have done things like gone for the CFP Exam, or the Enrolled Agent Exam, or have even tried different fields in finance, or have even tried SEO and taken a stab at coding, but nothing really gets me going like thinking of being a CPA, namely a tax accountant. Aside from the fact that my true interest lies in finance (and somewhat between finance and SEO) I think that the professional respect, the job opportunities, the ability to walk away from your job and always have another one in either Financial Analysis, Tax, Accounting, Audit, Wealth Management, or things like Investment Banking, law or possibly software if you decide to push more towards those routes, is something that really stands out to me. And so, in this blog post, I’ll show you how to sit for the CPA exam!

Aside from this, it genuinely interests me to be doing accounting, and accounting is something that I started studying at a young age, sometime around when I turned 19 I started taking multiple accounting classes, and had a ton of fun taking Financial Accounting at one point in time. And so, in this blog post, I am going to ramble about why one day I want to go for my CPA license. Read on or subscribe to our blog for additional details and information.

How to Sit for the CPA Exam? College Credits and Study Hours Needed

So, at least in the Sunshine State of Florida where I’m at currently (and it varies pretty significantly from state to state to a certain extent depending on where you plan on becoming licensed) what you’ll need is 150 college credits, in which all of these can be undergrad credits, at least 36 credit hours in Accounting, Tax or Business law, On top of this, this will need to add up to a Bachelor’s degree in some type of field, and you’ll need to take and pass all 4 parts of the rigorous CPA exam with a 72% or better. The 4 parts of the CPA exam are:

1.  BEC – Business and Environmental Concepts, often called the easiest exam
2. AUD – Audit
3. FAR – Financial Accounting and Reporting, known quite frequently as the most difficult accounting exam.
4. REG – Regulation, the second hardest exam out of the four.

If you already have a related degree, getting the remaining credits should be fairly easy. For instance, I have a BA in Finance, so schools typically will give you credit for certain classes towards your Accounting degree if you have a related business degree.

How Much Does it Cost to Take the CPA Exam?

Each exam costs around $208.40 per examination, although they are moving to a continuous testing model of the CPA exam where you pay a monthly fee and are able to take any exam as many times as you want. Some additional changes that are being made to this exam are that they are adding specializations, like tax, regulation, tax law, computer science and computer programming, financial engineering, and other specializations that you are required to take as part of the exam.

Benefits of Becoming a CPA?

The benefits of becoming a CPA, or a Certified Public Accountant, are vast in nature. I have a fantastic career going for me right now in Wealth Management, however I have still often considered pivoting and getting my CPA license, or at least taking the first steps towards obtaining this license. Have this on a resume is extremely beneficial in any field, including things like Tax, Tech, law, Accounting, Financial Planning or Wealth Management, and a host of other fields. As a CPA you are entitled to a certain amount of instant respect in your chosen field, as well as any other field that you choose to enter, because the rigor and difficulty that it takes to become a CPA is well known across the globe.

How to Sit for the CPA Exam? And Complement Licenses You Should Go For As Well

So, you’ll need 150 college credits to become a CPA, but you’ll actually just need a Bachelor’s degree, and 24 college credits to sit for the exam. You’ll also need to pay the fee and probably are going to want to invest in a solid prep course, such as Wiley or Becker, which will run you around $1,000 to $3,000 to have a solid change of passing. And so, this is the gist of how you can sit for the CPA exam, I would highly recommend pursuing this career path if you are interested, the career mobility, job security and amazing resume boost will earn you instant respect, and you definitely will not regret it!

Final Thoughts on How Sitting For the CPA Exam Can Boost Your Career Significantly

And so, these are some of the best ways that sitting for the CPA exam can bolster your career, and of how you can sit for the CPA exam in terms of credits and qualifications. Some bonus licenses that you may want to look into getting with your CPA license include the CFA, CFP, or MBA, or even the EA, Enrolled Agent exam, these combined with the CPA license will definitely make your resume stand out to any prospective employer. Thanks for reading, and be sure to subscribe to our blog for additional details and information.

Cheers!

*Inflation Hedging.com

Sources:

https://www.bankrate.com/banking/cds/cd-rates/

https://money.cnn.com/data/markets/

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