[n.ACMA]

hi, finally I managed to pass the last exam I.e. REG (Thank God). I want to know how long it takes for the state board to send the congratulatory letter and do they send it by mail or by email? I am an international candidate taking exams from Montana. Afterwards I can apply for ethics exam? Lastly at present the nasba a/c screen shows various expiry dates for the exams, once the final result is put in place, the expiry dates will disappear?

[RedSoxFan77]

^ I was wondering the same thing about expiry dates, but apparently they don't disappear. You can see from my ‘nasba is making me nervous thread'

I haven't received my congratulatory letter yet, and I passed my last exam on May 23.

FAR 75
AUD 74, 82
REG 58, 74, 83
BEC 68, 75
Licensed 7.1.14!!!

[MrsBing]

This is from NASBA:

Score Information

Congratulatory Letters

If you tested through jurisdictions represented by CPA Examination Services (CPAES) – except Alaska and Florida – you will receive a congratulatory letter from CPAES upon passing the entire CPA Examination. This letter will provide you with further instructions on how to obtain your license, per your Board’s qualifications. All other candidates will receive additional instruction regarding the licensure application process directly from their Board of Accountancy.

Letters mailed by CPAES will be sent to you by the following dates:

January/February testing window: April 1

April/May testing window: July 1

July/August testing window: October 1

October/November testing window: January 1

Becker, Wiley Test Bank, and Ninja 10 Point Combo!

FAR: 89
REG: 87
AUD: 92
BEC: 75
Ethics: 90

Licensed Arizona CPA

[lalap]

Hello n.Acma, congratulations!! I believe that you need to pass the ethics exam first in order to receive the congratulatory letter. I received my certificate letter (is it the same thing?) this afternoon from ILBOA via email. I passed my ethics back in 2012 and passed my last CPA exam on May 23 2014. Some info from ipass the cpa website:

“Additional Montana CPA Requirements for Licensing

Montana is a 2-tier state, i.e. the State Board issues a certificate and a permit to practice. For the different between CPA certificate vs license please click here.

(i) For CPA certificate

4-year bachelor degree or equivalent with 150 credit hours

Passing of the CPA exam

Passing of the CPA ethics exam administered by the AICPA

(ii) For CPA permit to practice (License)

Education:

Holder of the CPA certificate (i.e. fulfilling the 150 semester hour requirement)

Working experience:

1 year of public accounting experience

2 years of non-public accounting experience

The experience has to be “attested” (i.e. verified) by an active CPA licensee. It does not state that the experience has to be supervised.

The experience should “take place in the five years prior to the date of the [licensing] application”

Passed

[n.ACMA]

Hi Lalap

Thanks for the info. Can u tell me how to register for the ethics exam? I contacted the CPAES coordinator sometime back bue at that time i had REG pending so they advised me to first pass REG. Is ethics exam also administered through prometric? I read somewhere that ethics exam is an open book exam and can be written from home as well. Is it true? How long it took u to prepare for the same and did u study from the AICPA authorised material available for purchase through their website?

[lalap]

Hello,

The ethics exam is part of a self-study program published by the AICPA. The exact name of the course is Professional Ethics: AICPAs Comprehensive Course. The course can be ordered from the AICPA Store at http://www.cpa2biz.com. When ordering you can choose to receive the course in either CD or textbook format (the price is the same for both).

Yes, The exam is open book (yay)! You will recognize some of the questions from AUD. I also took it online at home. The CD contains both study materials (in PDF format) and the exam questions. So you do not need to purchase study material separately.

---

From Ipass the CPA website:

“First of all, let me address a few frequently asked questions:

1. Who Administers the CPA Ethics Exam?

Other than a few states that run their own ethics exam or courses, State Boards generally pick the Professional Ethics Exam administered by the AICPA.

2. Does Every State Require a CPA Ethics Exam?

No, only 35 or so state boards require their to-be-CPAs to take the ethics exam. Please double check with your state board to see if this exam is indeed necessary.

3. Is the CPA Ethics Exam Difficult?

Not really. The exam is more like a self-study, open-book test. However, since the passing score is 90 you have to be careful when reading and picking the correct answer for the questions.

4. Can I Take the Ethics Exam Before I Pass the Uniform CPA Exam?

Yes for most states, but I heard that WA doesn’t allow this. So please double check if your state if you would like to proceed with the CPA Ethics Exam before finishing the Uniform CPA Exam.

In general I would recommend that you focus all your energy in studying for the “core” exam and tackle the ethics exam at a later stage. You can just view this exam as a necessary evil — not difficult but something that needs to be done.

CPA Ethics Exam By AICPA: Overview

The AICPA Ethics Course is a self-study course that may be taken online or through correspondence.

They try hard to make this rather dry topic interesting by adding interactive elements (kind of like watching slide shows) and real-life scenarios to explain the AICPA Code of Conduct, the concept of “independence” and new rules from the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. It’s kind of like a mini version of REG.

All in all you should be glad to get the CD version — I used to have this thick book with small font and I had to constantly pinch my arms to keep going.

An 11-hour course in CD-ROM format

40 multiple choice questions

You can choose to submit the test electronically or the traditional way (see below)

A score of 90 or above is required to pass the exam

Candidates should pass the exam within 2 years of CPA certification application

Depending on your state, the course *may* be able to count towards your CPE credit

How To Take and Pass The CPA Ethics Exam

1. Purchase the self-study course

Your State Board will tell you how to take the exam after you pass the Uniform CPA Exam. Or you can choose to buy it directly from the AICPA website. Cost: $148.75 ($119 for AICPA members).

In case the link doesn’t work for you, the pack you should purchase is called “Professional Ethics: AICPA’s Comprehensive Course“.

2. Study the Materials

You don’t need to spend the full 11 hours on the course (I know… how exciting can this topic be!?) but please make sure you don’t skip around and miss some important points. Some additional tips for you:

Take notes so the concepts can sink in (at least long enough for you to take the test…)

When working on the multiple choice, read the question carefully — they can be tricky!

Don’t pick the first answer you think it’s correct. Spend the time to read through all. Remember, with a 90 passing score you can’t afford to make careless mistakes.

3. Submit your Answers

(i) Submit electronically

The full instruction can be found in the package. Essentially, you will find a serial number on the answer sheet (the number that starts with “CPE-”) that gives you the access online. You can get your results immediately after submission.

Don’t worry if you see the answer sheet with 240 slots — I don’t know why but I can reassure you that there are only 40 questions and not 240 questions for the CPA Ethics Exam.

(ii) Submit by mail

If you prefer the traditional way, then fill in the bubbles and mail directly to AICPA according to the instruction found in the package. Please note that it may take up to 6 weeks to get your results using this method.

Tips for snail mail:

Mark the bubble that ask AICPA to send the result directly to the State Board (you will still get a copy of the result, no worries)

Make a copy of your answer sheet in case the mail got lost and you need to resubmit

Use certified mail and keep the receipt

* * * FAQ * * *

1. I need help! Is there any review course?

Check out this free resource: The Washington Society of CPA provides an Ask The Ethics Expert online service for anyone who has questions on the CPA Ethics Exam administered by the AICPA.

2. I bought the course a while back. Is it still good?

AICPA give you one full year to study and take the CPA Ethics Exam. If this is not enough, you can ask for a 30-day extension by contacting AICPA Grading Depart at 1-888-777-7077.

My advice though is that you should take the Ethics test as soon as possible (but after the Uniform CPA Exam) and get it done with. It’s not that difficult, especially compared to the CPA exam.

3. I failed the CPA Ethics Exam twice… is there a limit?

You are limited to 3 attempts for online submission. After that, you will have to mail the answer sheet to AICPA.

4. I registered and passed the exam in State A, but will move to State B shortly. I am about to take the CPA ethics exam. Which state board should I send my score to?

If your plan of working in State B is quite permanent, you can request sending the score to State B directly and transfer your CPA exam credit from State A to B at the same time. You’ll need to have fulfilled State B’s education and experience requirements for licensing before the transfer. Generally speaking, if State A is a substantially equivalent state, there shouldn’t be any issue.

Passed

[Author]

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