New York CPA Exam

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The Empire State administers a one-tier licensing strategy. Therefore, you would be certified and licensed simultaneously after passing the CPA ExamCPA ExamA Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is a US state board-issued license to practice the accounting professionread more and meeting other qualifications. Note that the New York State Department of Education (NYSED) is the sole authority for CPA licensing in the state.

The U.S. jurisdiction conducts the CPA Exam at international locations as well. Here is an outline of the New York CPA exam and license requirements. 

Contents

New York CPA Exam Requirements

  • Eligibility RequirementsFeesRequired Documents

New York CPA License Requisites

  • Education RequirementsExam RequirementsExperience Requirements

Continuing Professional Education (CPE)

New York Exam Information & Resources

New York CPA Exam Requirements

The Uniform CPA Examination is a multi-part computer-assisted test. It evaluates the candidate’s potential to pursue public accounting in the U.S. It is considered one of the most challenging professional exams.

It is developed and graded by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in co-operation with the National Association of State Boards of Public Accountancy (NASBA). 

The four CPA exam sectionsCPA Exam SectionsThe Uniform Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Exam comprises four sections, namely, Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Business Environment and Concepts (BEC), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), and Regulation (REG). The unique content, structure, format, and scoring of the CPA exam earn it the title of one of the most challenging professional exams. read more are Business Environment & Concepts (BEC ExamBEC ExamThe BEC CPA Exam (Business Environment and Concepts) exam section evaluates your understanding of the general business environment and your duties and responsibilities as a CPA towards it. It assesses your ability to recognize and scrutinize situations related to Financial reporting, Financial statement audit and attestation and Tax preparation read more), Regulation (REG ExamREG ExamREG CPA Exam (Regulation) exam section tests a candidate’s competency in applying the concepts of federal taxation, business law, and ethics. It is a four-hour exam with 15 minutes break. read more), Financial Accounting & Reporting (FAR examFAR ExamThe Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) CPA Exam section tests a candidate’s competency in understanding and applying financial accounting and reporting standards.read more), and Auditing & Attestation (AUD ExamAUD ExamAuditing and Attestation (AUD) is one of the four Uniform Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Exam sections to be passed for CPA licensure. With a complex exam format, tricky questions, and an exhaustive list of topics to study, you will benefit from some quick tips on the art of preparing for the AUD CPA exam section.read more). Each examination part is four-hour long. It encompasses five testlets featuring three question types.

Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and task-based simulations (TBSs) are included in all sections. At the same time, written communication tasks (WCTs) are only covered in the BEC section. 

Please note that you have a rolling 18-month window to pass all four sections successfully. Ensure to score at least 75 points on a scale of 0-99 in each part.

Eligibility Requirements

New York CPA License candidates planning to sit for the exam must take one of the following requirement pathways:

  • 120 semester hour pathway150 semester hour pathway15 years public accounting experience pathway

The details are as follows:

Note that you must also cover Communications and Ethics & Responsibilities subjects in either business or accounting. Also, the public accounting experience must meet the following requisites:

  • 120 semester hours of college-level education, &

  • A course covering Cost or Management Accounting, Non-introductory level Financial Accounting, Taxation, & upper-division level Auditing & Attestation

  • Non-introductory level financial accounting

  • Cost accounting

  • Taxation

  • Upper-division level Audit and attestation

  • Cost or Management Accounting

  • Non-introductory level Financial Accounting

  • Taxation

  • Upper-division level Auditing & Attestation

  • Accounting Research

  • 6 semester hours (or 4 semester hours at the graduate level) in business law

  • 6 semester hours in finance

  • 3 semester hours in statistics

  • 6 semester hours in economic

  • A U.S. CPA or New York Public Accountant (PA) must directly supervise the experience.It must involve the implementation of U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and Generally Accepted Accounting Standards (GAAS). Also, it must include the preparation of auditing & financial statements.The supervising CPA must submit the Verification of Experience Form to the NYSED.

On meeting all requisites, submit the online application, fees, and documents to CPA Examination Services (CPAES). For the complete process, kindly visit the NASBA portal. 

NASBA Advisory Evaluation service is also available to determine any educational flaws in your documents before the final submission. 

Fees

Initial exam candidates:

Re-exam candidates:

New York CPA aspirants can’t withdraw from the licensure test or request to extend their Notice-to-Schedule (NTS). However, they may receive a partial examination fees reimbursement or request an NTS extension under drastic scenarios. 

Both examination and application fees are non-refundable. So, only sign up for the section(s) that you can take up in the six-month NTS validity period.

Required Documents

Below-mentioned is the checklist for required documents. 

Please note that only original transcripts are official and acceptable. 

New York CPA License Requisites

Now that we have elaborated on the exam requirements, let’s move on to the prerequisites for a New York CPA License. They are as follows:

  • Prove good moral characterBe a minimum of 21 years of ageComplete 150 semester hoursPass each of the four CPA exam sectionsObtain 1 or 2 years of relevant work experience

Please note that Social Security Number (SSN) is used, however not mandatory, for CPA applicants. Moreover, CPAES assigns a unique computer-generated number for applicants without SSN. 

Apply for the CPA License through NYSED along with the required forms. Please check the official website for the complete procedure. 

Know that the licensure fees are subject to change. Hence, check with the NYSED before final submission. 

Education Requirements

New York CPA aspirants can complete their education requisites through one of the two pathways:

#1 – 150 Semester Hour Pathway

The required hours must be obtained from one of these programs: 

  • NY State Licensure Qualifying Registered Programs – Complete an accounting program registered by the NYSED as licensure-qualifying. AACSB Programs – Complete a master’s degree in accounting from an AACSB institute accredited in business and accounting. All other Programs – Complete a postsecondary education regarded to be substantially equivalent to the programs registered with the NYSED. It includes a minimum of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institute by NYSED-approved agencies.

Note that the 150 semester hours must include:

  • 33 semester hours in accounting with at least one course in the first four listed subjects:Financial Accounting & ReportingCost or Managerial AccountingTaxationAuditing & Attestation ServicesFraud ExaminationInternal Controls & Risk AssessmentAccounting Information Systems36 semester hours in general business electives in any combination of the following subjects:Business StatisticsComputer ScienceFinance MarketingOrganizational BehaviorQuantitative MethodsBusiness LawEconomicsManagementOperations ManagementOperations ManagementOperations management is a business area that implements practices ensuring the conversion of inputs into goods and services with maximum efficiency. read moreBusiness StrategyInformation technology & Systems

The subjects must also incorporate business or accounting communications, accounting research, and ethics & professional responsibility as stand-alone or integrated courses. 

  • Financial Accounting & ReportingCost or Managerial AccountingTaxationAuditing & Attestation ServicesFraud ExaminationInternal Controls & Risk AssessmentAccounting Information Systems

  • Business StatisticsComputer ScienceFinance MarketingOrganizational BehaviorQuantitative MethodsBusiness LawEconomicsManagementOperations ManagementOperations ManagementOperations management is a business area that implements practices ensuring the conversion of inputs into goods and services with maximum efficiency. read moreBusiness StrategyInformation technology & Systems

#2 – 120 Semester Hour Pathway

The following candidates can apply through the 120-hour pathway:

  • Candidates who are not licensed in another state and have applied for licensure by finishing their education before August 1, 2009. Such candidates are deemed grandparented into the 120 semester hour pathway.Candidates who were licensed in another state before August 2009 but did not have four years of experience in the preceding ten years.

Candidates eligible for grandparenting may complete additional coursework and get their education re-evaluated to apply through the 150 semester hour pathway. 

Exam Requirements

NY CPA aspirants must score 75 points or more in each of the four CPA Exam sections. Please note that you have a rolling 18-month period to conclude the licensure test. Refer to the New York Exam Requirements section for more details. 

Experience Requirements

The following are the experience requisites:

  • 120 semester hour pathway applicants – Gain at least two years of part-time or full-time work experience.150 semester hour pathway applicants – Obtain one year of part-time or full-time work experience.

An active CPA from the same organization must supervise your employment and submit the Verification of Experience Form. 

The required experience may be full-time or part-time:

  • Full-time employment – Minimum 35 hours per week (5-day work week)Part-time work experience – 20 hours per week (Two part-time weeks constitute one full-time week)

A candidate who takes the 15 years of experience pathway to meet the education requirements need not get any other experience for licensure after passing the examination.

Continuing Professional Education (CPE)

New York State CPAs must earn the required CPE credit hours annually. Courses taken inside the state must be sponsored by firms registered with NASBA or the NY state board. 

On the other hand, courses taken outside the state must be sponsored by firms registered with NY state board, NASBA, or the state board in which the course was taken. 

Here is everything you must know about the CPE requirements. 

As per NYSED, there are a total of 44,190 CPAs in the state. The New York City itself houses almost 7000 CPAs. Also, there are over 2500 CPA licenses issued annually in the province within the past four calendar years (2016-2020). 

When it comes to New York and CPA, you simply can’t deny the relevance of Wall Street. The home of the New York State Exchange is a haven for several accountants. So, in a city that never sleeps, CPAs can thrive like never before. 

Hence, gear up to earn this coveted title in one of the most lively and diverse places across the continent! Keep yourself updated with all the CPA exam and license requirements through the authorized websites of AICPA, NASBA, and the New York state board. Learn more about CPEs for CPACPEs For CPAAs a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), you need to acquire Continuing Professional Education or CPE credits for sustaining your license. This ensures that you are actively involved in improving your know-how of the profession by engaging in learning activities.read more

New York Exam & Information Resources

  1. New York State Department of Education (http://www.nysed.gov/)

New York State Education Building

89 Washington Avenue

Albany, NY 12234

  1. New York State Society of CPA (https://www.nysscpa.org/)

14 Wall Street

19th Floor

New York, NY 10005

Phone: 800-537-3635

Fax: 866-495-1354

  1. NASBA (https://nasba.org/)

150 Fourth Ave. North

Suite 700

Nashville, TN 37219-2417

Tel: 615-880-4200

Fax: 615-880-4290

CPAES

800-272-3926

International: 615-880-4250

[email protected]

  1. AICPA (https://www.aicpa.org/)

1345 Avenue of the Americas, 27th Floor

New York, NY 10105

P: +1.212.596.6200

F: +1.212.596.6213

A Guide to New York CPA Exam & License Requirements. Here we discuss all the prerequisites to the New York CPA exam and license. You may also have a look at the below articles to compare CPA with other examinations –

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