In India, chartered accountancy (CA) is a well known gratifying and coveted credential with high professional order. This is much sought after career path for finance graduates. In USA, on the other hand, Certified Public Accountant (US CPA) is the towering profession in the field of accountancy. Hence, US CPA course can be considered as US counterpart of CA in India.
Now the question is whether Indian students / finance professionals should opt to pursue US CPA course or not and if yes, how should they do that? One limiting factor for doing CA is that is not recognized in global platform while CPA is highly recognized in most parts of the globe.
Henceforth, those who want to pursue a global accounting career should opt for US CPA course as an obvious choice. Thus, US CPA provide cutting edge international recognition for accounting and finance professionals.
Many public accounting professionals from India wants to pursue the US CPA US course even after qualifying the CA exams for enjoying a greater global exposure. And that’s quite an ambitious decision they make.
The certification/ licencing exam and procedures of CPA is governed by the AICPA.
As far as eligibility criteria are concerned, apart from a graduation degree, an Indian aspirant for CPA US in India is required to possess any qualification like M.Com, MBA Finance, Member of the Institute of Chartered or Cost Accountants of India or Member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India etc. The said criteria has certain state-wise variations in the USA.
Every student has to send his educational documents to NIES or any of the CPA evaluators recognised by the AICPA for an official eligibility evaluation. On an average a student needs a minimum of 120 to 150 points and 30 to 50 accounting hours through his education to be eligible for writing the CPA exam.
After his eligibility for a particular state is confirmed, the student has to apply to that state for getting an NTS from that state.
There are 4 sections like AUD, BEC, FAR and REG for US CPA exam in India each having 4 hour duration. The US CPA exam in India is conducted online by AICPA through the prometric centres
After clearing all 4 sections, candidates have to clear the ethics exam. After fulfilling the requirement, licence fees has to be paid to obtain the licence from the respective state board.
CPA certificate vs. license- the 2 tier system:
For CPA certificate:
1) No work experience required.
2) No requirement of continuing education.
3) Not been able to sign tax returns, audit reports or use the title on any official/ legal reports.
4) Some states though allow to use the title as prefix to name on unofficial documents like resume while others totally forbid such use.
For CPA licensure:
1) Majority of states require minimum 1-2 yrs of relevant accounting experience under a CPA.
2) Can sign tax returns and audit reports.
3) Allowed to open a CPA firm.
4) Can use the title throughout.
It has to be noted that currently, most states are not going to issue a certificate upon clearing the exam only until unless the other part is fulfilled.
Thus, a CPA certificate in most cases a kind of acknowledgement that indicate the candidate has passed the exam and met up the minimum requirement for it.
A US CPA license on the otherhand, is issued upon completion of all the requirements from a board of accountancy.
As for example, the state of Colorado does not require 150 hrs for exam and work experience not required prior to becoming licensed, only a bachelor’s degree is required to sit for the exam, thus considered easiest for the Indian students. However, there is a hitch in the scenario. Indian ACCA certificates are not accepted as educational requirements.
Guam does not require 150 hrs to sit for the exam for accounting students but required for license.For non accounting students, 150 hrs required for exam.
Vermont and New Hampshire require 120 credit hrs for exam and 150 hrs for licensure.
Alaska permits non accounting students to sit for the exam.
Virgin Islands does not require 150 hrs of education for licensure.
There are 3 basic requirements for obtaining a CPA license:
1)Education requirement
2) Experience requirement
3) Clearing the CPA ethics exam
Upon fulfilling the requirements, necessary forms obtained from state BOA can be submitted with appropriate fees. After processing by the state BOA, one can receive the license in a few weeks.
Considering the above facts one has to judiciously select the respective according to his/her profile to get maximum edge in the process.
Although US CPA appears to be little bit expensive, considering its high rewarding potentials, such payments seems to be quite worthy.
Normally, it takes 7-12 months on average to complete the US CPA course whereas it takes minimum 3 years to complete the CA course. There is also the notion that clearing a CPA exam is comparatively easier than clearing the CA exam. Thanks to the presence of quality CPA training Institutes in India which made thing easier for Indian CPA aspirants.
About the top US CPA training institute in India, Africa, and Middle East – Uplift Pro
Uplift Pro is one of the top training institutes for the US CPA, US CMA, US CIA courses in India, Africa, and Middle East. Our team consists of seasoned professionals and entrepreneurs from IIEST, IITs, London Business School, and ULCA who have decided to provide a strong backup to young ambitious students and professionals to reach their desired career destinations in an organized way.
Some of our exclusive features include –
A. Affordable US CPA course fees
B. CPA certified veteran TEAM of faculties
C. Live online classes ensuring that the regular office working hours is least impacted. Also, provides class recordings to students.
D. 1:1 personal support from our 30 plus years of experienced CPA certified faculties ensuring that all our students pass the US CPA course
E. “Till you pass” guarantee assuring that you may attend our live online classes at no extra cost until you pass
F. Premium study materials with practice questions bank enabling students to pass the US CPA exam in India and rest of the world
G. Administrative guidance on US CPA evaluation procedure
H. Placement assistance
Request for Live Demo class / contact at +91-8787088850 to book your seats now.