说到会计从业,必然绕不开注册会计师资格。很多同学会混淆一个概念,误以为经常听到的“考证”=“考试”,觉得通过了CPA的所有考试,就意味着拿到了注册会计师的资格证。其实不然。考虑到去美国读会计硕士的同学中,很多有在美国考证执业的打算。所以今天的介绍就围绕这“AICPA”来展开。
 
AICPA全称:American Institute of CPAs(区别于国内版的CPA考试)。根据CPA Institute的官方要求,取得资格的申请者需要满足三方面的条件,简称“Three Es” –Education, Examination, and Experience。
 
Education: 150 semester hours of education requirements
 
“Candidates who first become eligible to take this exam beginning January 1, 2013 must have obtained 150 semester hours of education at an accredited college or university, including a bachelor's degree or its equivalent, to qualify for AICPA regular membership.”
 
考虑到本科毕业生通常会完成120个学分的本科学习,所以很多本科毕业生选择继续攻读会计硕士学位,来额外增加30个学分的学习,以满足150个学分的要求。
 
Experience: 2-year limits on public/non-public accounting experience
 
“As for experience, most states/jurisdictions require at least two years public accounting experience.Many states/jurisdictions also accept non-public accounting experience (e.g., industry, government), although the number of years deemed acceptable are typically higher than for public accounting.”
 
大部分州需要满足至少2年的会计师事务所全职工作经历。另外,很多州也接受在行业或者政府相关领域的工作经验,只是对工作经历要求时间更长。
 
CPA Exam: uniform CPA examinations across all the states
 
AICPA考试内容
 
The Uniform CPA Examination currently consists of four sections:
 
AUD: Auditing and Attestation
 
BEC: Business Environment and Concepts
 
FAR: Financial Accounting and Reporting
 
REG: Regulation
 
AICPA考试形式
 
选择题(multiple choice questions, MCQs)
 
所有四项都有选择题部分。
 
案例分析(task-based simulations, TBS)
 
除了BEC之外,其余的三个部分都有案例分析部分。
 
BEC communications
 
只有BEC部分有communication部分。
 
AICPA考试时间&考点
 
考试时间一年按照四个季度,分为四个Test window开放考试,除了每年的3、6、9、12月,美国节假日以及每周周六、周日不开放考试外其他每个月的每一天都能考试。考试地点,目前AICPA除美国本土考点及附属国考点外,还在日本、巴林、科威特、黎巴嫩、阿拉伯联合酋长国、巴西这6个国家设立了海外考点。
 
4个sections中,AUD和FAR考试时间为4个小时,REG和BEC考试时间为3个小时。