CERTIFIED.
I got a nice little packet in the mail last Saturday containing my four passing scores and their respective dates along with info about getting certified/licensed etc. The packet was from my state board of accountancy, but the scoring letter was from NASBA. NASBA apparently sends your state BOA the letter with your scores and then your state BOA sends it onto you in their “welcome to the club – sort of” packet.
After I got my passing score online for FAR, I bought the ethics course from the AICPA, passed it, and submitted my paperwork to my state BOA before ever receiving any *official* confirmation from my state BOA. My state BOA had my certificate paperwork ($25 check for the certificate + a signed oath that I believe in the US Constitution and witnessed by another CPA who has to write down their certificate # along with their signature) before they had received anything official from NASBA.
It only took a day or so to process and I got a letter on Monday this week congratulating me and recognizing me as a CPA – sort of. I am officially a Certified Public Accountant in my state and have my certificate number (the board needs to convene and sign the actual certificate before they mail it to me). However, for the purposes of putting it on a business card or signing a tax return as Jeff, CPA – I must get licensed. I have the work requirement fulfilled – which is to work as an accountant in some capacity (tax, compilations, audit, etc) for one year and have a CPA sign off that I have done this. I’m not going to use my old boss…I’ve moved since then. I’ll use an internal auditor that I used to work with at a different job.
I took the plunge yesterday and added “, CPA” to my work e-mail signature line. This was a weird moment. First of all – it felt surreal. I stared at it. ‘Can this be right?’ I pondered. After deciding that since my state BOA declared me a CPA (with the caveat that I can’t use it in public yet) – then I *am* a CPA and could represent myself as such internally at work. My work e-mails rarely leave the building, so no worries there.
In honor of adding CPA to my e-mail signature at work, I thought of a reason to e-mail the VP of my division 
That felt good.
If you’re still going through the exam process – you’ll be there soon enough.
Thanks for reading.
CPA Exam Requirements: On the short end of the 150 hour rule? Consider getting licensed in Colorado
Note – if you work in public accounting or plan on holding yourself out to the public as a CPA, then this information doesn’t apply to you – you need to meet your state’s CPA Exam requirements. This post will benefit those who are short on the 150 hour rule, but are only going to use the CPA designation as a “credential” within the private sector. Make sure you have full understanding on your respective state’s rules on holding yourself out as a Certified Public Accountant.
I have a friend who resides and works in a state that requires candidates to meet the 150 hour rule before they can even sit for the CPA Exam. He’s 24 and works in SEC Reporting for a Fortune 500 company. After graduation, he sat for and passed the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Exam. He didn’t have 150 hours and his current work load prohibited him from starting on an MBA or other graduate program which would give him his 150 hours, so he sat for and passed the Certified Management Accountant Exam (CMA).
Unbeknown to him previously (and me as well) – the State of Colorado allows out of state candidates who neither work in nor live in Colorado to be licensed as Colorado CPAs. My friend sent in his application, was approved…and is sitting for BEC this week. If he ever wants reciprocity, he will need the 150 hours, but his boss just wants him to pass the Exam – not be eligible to sign tax returns or audit reports.
Most people who work in the private sector let their licenses lapse anyway…the important thing is…did you pass the Exam? If the answer is yes – that’s all that they care about.
If you’re considering this, be sure to do your due diligence and find out if this is right for you.
The beautiful thing about Prometric offering a uniform exam is that someone in New York can theoretically sit for an exam in New York as a Colorado candidate.
Read more about Colorado’s CPA Exam requirements.
