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| Accounting Certifications
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Once you earn your degree in accounting, you are eligible to work as account-ant. However, some career tracks in accountancy require more – earning a profess-sional certificate.
In the United States, students who want to be Certified Public Accountants must pass a national, uniform examination prepared and administered by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). However, permission to practice public accounting – called “licensure” - is state-by-state. So each state determines who can take the test (“sit for the exam”) and what other conditions must be met to earn a license to practice. Requirements for the state of Kansas are under the jurisdiction of the Kansas State Board of Accountancy. See http://www.ksboa.org/. For other states, see www.cpe-tracker.com/financial/reqstate. (Outside th e U.S., the CPA equivalent is usually called a Chartered Accountant. For specifics on these contact the appropriate professional society or governmental body – e.g., in Canada see, see http://www.cica.ca/.
In Kansas, and in many other states, a student must complete 150-credit hours of study before they can take the CPA examination. At most colleges this requirement exceeds the credit hours required to earn a bachelor’s degree – at Newman, the requirement is 124 credit hours. So a B.S. in Accountancy at Newman – or any other college – will not be sufficient to take the CPA exam. A student may stay and take extra undergraduate course or earn an MBA or graduate degree in accountancy to satisfy the 150-credit hour requirement. (Also note that you are licensed to practice only in the state where you received your initial license. To work as a CPA in another state you must apply for reciprocity. While reciprocity is usually given, it is not auto-matic.) Currently the CPA is the only certificate leading to licensure. However, there are n umerous other professional certificates in accountancy that can document your professional expertise and enhance your career. These certifications are typically administered by a special-practice organization within the profession – e.g., Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified Financial Manager (CFM) and others. For specific requirements see the following:
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