(Study material provided by Becker, Live Classes by Simandhar)
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is recognized as a high standard of competence in the Accounting field. The CPA exam is governed by the world's largest accounting body called AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants). The CPA course includes accounting topics and other related topics like taxation, analytics, evaluation, auditing, financial management, ethics, and regulatory frameworks
Becker coupled with Simandhar LMS make the best combination for your CPA preparation. Becker, world's renowned CPA review and Simandhar LMS, India's renowned CPA review ensure that you get all-round attention and course material required for you to qualify all the four parts of CPA with flying colors. Our clients are enroute to win the prestigious Elijah Watt Sells Award for their excellent performance in their CPA tests. Simandhar Education is the only partner of AICPA in India, world's largest accounting body responsible for conducting CPA tests all over the world. We want you to focus on CPA test and only CPA tests, we take care of you and guide you through CPA evaluation, CPA Exam prep and CPA license. Also, we provide our clients with career opportunities in Big 4 and Fortune 500 companies after CPA.
NASBA AICPA and Prometric announced good news for all the CPA aspirants: Testing for CPA Exam candidates at test centers in India will begin January 1, 2021. Also, the candidates may begin to use the scheduler on November 2, 2020.
US CPA aspirants can take the CPA course and exam sections after fulfilling all the required CPA eligibility criteria without restrictions, other than waiting to receive scores from prior attempts of the same section or when there is a major change to the exam. Continuous Testing will replace the existing limited CPA Exam Testing Window model, which only permits candidates to test in India during designated time frames.
CPA acronym stands for ‘Certified Public Accountant’. CPA is the one of the highest accounting credentials in the world administered by the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Professional Accountants). CPA is considered gold standard in the fields of accounting and finance. Spread across just 4 exams, CPA’s curriculum uses some of the most advanced testing techniques to test aspirants all over the world if they’re worthy of the designation CPA. Lakhs of aspirants take US CPA exams every year to grow themselves professionally into Public Accountants, Financial Analysts, Controllers and many other roles.
A Certified Public Accountant is a professional who has earned the CPA license from any of the 55 state accountancy boards of USA all of which are part of NASBA (National Association of the State Boards of Accountancy). Each state board has the authority to grant CPA license. One must meet all the requirements of the state board including Education, Experience and Examinations.
Due to the wide spread awareness and acceptance of CPA credential, it’s understood that a CPA possesses the required knowledge of all accounting areas as analysing financial statements, financial planning, tax preparation, internal auditing, income tax and other specializations of accounting. In a nutshell, a CPA is someone who has mastered all the elements of the accounting profession. This is also one of the many reasons, professional organizations seek CPAs for complex accounting and finance jobs.
A licensed Certified Public Accountant is fit to hold any kind of financial and accounting position in the organization. CPA’s maintain high standards of accounting and financial knowledge and ethics, they’re usually absorbed into roles such as auditors, consultants, advisors, tax accountants etc. A CPA has many options to move into any role in the profession of accounting.
CPA is a single level (no varying levels of toughness) , 4 parts course. The 4 exam parts could be scheduled at aspirant’s leisure anytime. Once the aspirant receives scores of his/her first exam, the aspirant is required to complete the rest exams in under 18 months.
Besides US, CPA exams are held at a few specific exam locations all over the world. Previously, US CPA aspirants from India visited UAE and USA to take their CPA exams. Considering the ever-growing demand of CPA in India and the rest of the world, AICPA and NASBA have started to administer exams in India since June 2020. CPA Exams can be taken from over 8 locations in India. The following 8 Indian cities have testing centers
The CPA Exams are administered by AICPA, the world’s largest accounting body. AICPA offers membership to all the aspirants successfully clearing all 4 CPA exams. CPA license, however is issued by the 55 state boards of accountancy of US that are part of NASBA. Each state board has different eligibility criteria, that needs to be met by the aspirant to take the US CPA exams.
General Rules of Thumb :
Simandhar Education provides free eligibility check that you could use to check if you’re eligible to take the prestigious US CPA certification.
With diverse industry relations and corporate tie-ups, Simandhar Education provides placement assistance to all its CPA learners.
Some differences between CA and CPA:
| Point of Difference | Indian CA | US CPA |
|---|---|---|
| Eligibility of Candidate | ICAI decides | 55 State Boards (Rules vary) |
| Exams Administered by | ICAI | AICPA |
| Licensed by | ICAI | 55 State Boards (Rules vary) |
| Duration | 4-5 Years | 18 Months Maximum |
| Levels of Toughness | 3 | Single level |
| Total No. of Exams | 20 | 4 |
| Exam Pattern | Descriptive | Objective |
| Overall Passing percentage | 10-15% | 50-60% |
| Recognition | Well Recognized | Well Recognized |
Like the CA’s, a few state boards of US have an MoU with the ICSI which allows the company secretaries (CS) to take the US CPA exam. However, it varies with the state board of accountancy.
Company secretaries are required to earn CPA to chair a few high-profile roles for the organizations they work in.
Part of CPA's curriculum is similar to CS's curriculum, which makes it easier for CS's to pursue additional professional qualification.
Besides CS, they pursue CPA, a global credential to make their mark in the international arena as it opens new career avenues.
Being a member of ICSI earns a few perks while pursuing CPA. Depending on the state board of accountancy, CS's earn 60 semester credits to pursue CPA in India.
CMA is a popular professional credential in India. Thousands of CMA's pursue CPA for various reasons.
While CPA focuses on all parts of accounting, CMA focuses on Cost Accounting. CMAs in India pursue CPA to broaden their spectrum of knowledge and explore new career opportunities in India as well as worldwide.
Besides CMA, they pursue CPA, a global credential to have the best of both worlds, global and Indian
Being a member of ICWAI has perks while pursuing CPA. Depending on the state board of accountancy, CMA's earn 60 semester credits to pursue CPA in India.
Curriculum of US CPA is widely recognized for its breadth and depth of concepts. The test also ensures that a candidate is thorough with the concepts required for an accounting professional to work in real life complex scenarios. The curriculum of CPA is spread across 4 subjects. These subjects also classify CPA into four exams that was discussed earlier on this page. They are:
CPA's test pattern consists of mostly objective and partly descriptive questions. Grading of the CPA test is done on a scaled score. On the scaled score of 0-99 in each part, an aspirant needs to score a minimum of 75 to qualify the test. This applies for all the four parts of CPA. Depending on the part, the overall passing percentage of CPA worldwide ranges from 50-60%. Given our emphasis on higher education in India, this percentage is considerably higher in India. Passing percentage of CPA among Simandhar's CPA aspirants is higher than 90%, the highest in India.
A candidate needs a 75 or more score to pass the CPA exam and become a Certified Public Accountant. According to AICPA, the CPA exam is scored on a scale of 0-99. Candidates usually get confused if those 75 scores are supposed to be 75 percent or points. It is necessary to understand that the candidate needs to achieve 75 points to clear the exam successfully.
The MCQ testlets use what’s called a multi-stage testing approach. This means that as the candidate keeps performing through each section, the level of difficulty of the next changes accordingly. If you perform really well in the first set of questions, the next set will be difficult ones. Difficult MCQs are weighted more than easy MCQs. Thus, one correctly answered difficult MCQ would improve your score more than several correctly answered easy MCQs.
These consist of problems that you need to solve based on situations and concepts. They are matching or fill in the blank kind of questions
This tests your ability to perform communication tasks like demonstration and creative writing. Mostly the BEC section of the CPA exam has written communication and in this you have to type out the answer in a blank word document.
An aspirant is required to qualify all the four parts of CPA in under 18 months from the date of results of first test. CPA being a flexible course, the aspirant is constantly in control of his CPA preparation. The aspirant has all the control over the duration of CPA. Simandhar's aspirants usually qualify all the four parts in under a year, without any pressure and earn their CPA license.
Regarding the US CPA exams fees, if candidates are testing at any international test center, he/she must pay an exam administration fee before planning with Prometric. To do this, log in to your NASBA CPA Candidate Account Portal and select “International Administration”. The international administration process for the India region is now available.
International Testing Fee- $1500
Application Fee- $225
Overall, the cost of pursuing CPA in India would amount to INR 2,20,000 approximately.
Simandhar Education is the official partner of Becker Education International Ltd, global leader in CPA exam review. Since it’s inception, Becker has helped lakhs of CPA aspirants become CPAs. Taught by world’s renowned CPA instructors, Becker’s CPA review is the perfect partner to help aspirants clear their exams.
Simandhar Education has its own CPA exam review, taught by India’s best CPA instructors like Sripal Jain (CA, CGMA, US CPA), Surinder Kaur (CPA), Srikanth Tadikonda (CMA, CPA), Dhanashree Kshirsagar (CA, CPA), Heena Vithlani (CA,CPA,IFRS with ACCA), Karan Nathvani (CA,MBA-IIM Indore, CISA, CCSK) Amit Kumar Gupta (ACA,ACS,CMA) Sudha Murthy (CA) and Suraj Lakhotia (CA, CIMA). Simandhar has helped hundreds of CPA aspirants clear their CPA exams in India.
Simandhar CPA LMS coupled with Becker CPA review makes sure that you get all the nourishment required to tackle your CPA exams. The combination ensures that you leave no stone unturned. Along with the regular classes, Simandhar extends support to aspirants through revision classes that have been a hit for a long time among the Indian CPA fraternity.
The NASBA (National Association of State Boards of Accountancy) and the state board of accountancy governs the eligibility rules of CPA. The CPA exam requirements vary by state jurisdiction. Every state board of accountancy has a different set of requirements, but most states have a core set of qualifications for a candidate to be eligible for the CPA exam.
| Key Point | US CPA | ACCA | US CMA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Levels of toughness | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| No. of exams | 4 | 14 | 2 |
| Paper Pattern | Objective | Objective + Descriptive | Objective |
| Syllabus | Auditing, Public Accounting, Taxation, Financial Reporting | Auditing, Accounting, Taxation | Management Accounting, Financial Management |
| Recognition | Global Recognition | Global Recognition, focused in UK and EU | Global Recognition |
| Exemptions for graduates | No exemptions (Level playing field) | Yes | No exemptions |
| Work experience required for license | Varies | 3 Years | 2 Years |
| Hiring organizations location | India & Global | EU, UK, Middle East | India & Global |
| License validity | Global (Can practice in India too) | Few Countries (Cannot be practiced In India) | Global (Can practice in India too) |
Becker CPA review along with Simandhar CPA gives you everything that is required for a CPA aspirant to clear all the four exams. Mock tests, revision tests, quizzes, counselling sessions, and personal mentoring by licensed CPAs make sure that you do not miss out the details of anything
Applying for CPA is a task in itself. But don’t you worry, we have you covered. Our expert crew will guide you through each step of the process, making your life easier and let you focus on studies and studies alone.
While Becker and Simandhar both offer the comfort of re-watching all the online classes at your leisure, Simandhar organizes live revision classes to make sure that you have everything served in a nutshell. We do this to make sure that you do not rush in the eleventh hour, which is often the case with CPA aspirants. They’ve been hit among the Indian CPA fraternity.
Becker’s Artificial Intelligence Adapt2U learning system takes you through your strengths and weaknesses and helps in devising the exam strategy in a better way.
While Simandhar provides the comfort of attending online classes, live classes give us the opportunity to interact with our clients and solve their problems ourselves. Our interactive classes are equally spaced and span anywhere between 1-3 hours depending on the schedule. We make sure you’re not overburdened with the classes and syllabus.
Customer centricity is Simandhar’s core tenet, everything we do is to delight you and make the CPA journey smoother for you. From scheduling classes as per your request to supporting you through the nuts and bolts of paperwork required for CPA, we take care of it all.
We support our clients by giving end to end evaluation assistance and placing them in Big 4 and top F&A organizations.
CPA offers wide career opportunities and opens new career avenues for finance and accounting professionals.
Simandhar Education has various corporate tie-ups and elite industry relations that we leverage to place our clients in the top accounting firms round the year.
Simandhar Education provides you with access to Live Interactive classes from anywhere in the world
Simandhar Education provides the facility to access recorded videos for students who seek to revisit the material taught.
Supports its students by placing them in Top F & A companies, Big 4 etc
Simandhar Education provides support to its students in handling the criticalities of Exam Registrations
The CPA experts meticulously prepare the study material that provides by Becker with paperback and digital textbook which help the students to prepare well for all the four sections (AUD, BEC, FAR, & REG) of the CPA exam.
Simandhar engages the CPA aspirants using unlimited mock exams, sample problems and MCQs with Becker training & experiential learning methodology.
There are many US firms worldwide, and more and more accountancy related assignments are being outsourced to India. We have many US companies now in India, so the job scope is good. Companies like Deloitte, EY, Amazon, Synchrony, Invesco and so many more frequently hire in India.
ACCA is a UK program, it’s a good couse, but the scope for jobs in UK companies is limited worldwide.
We select the state for you based on your educational background and make sure you get the maximum credits which are required. US CPA is a uniform exam and the paper will be the same no matter which state you apply from.
CPA US is a 4 paper exam.- Online 50% MCQ, 50% SIMS ( Case Law based questions)
Exam format: MCQs, simulations, and written communications.
Exam mode: online.
The student will have access to Authoritative literature when he is answering Simulations part in all the 4 papers. Authoritative literature comprises GAAP, IRS, GAAS
where a student can use it to answer, but it requires a lot of practice to locate the exact answer as it is too vast to search.
Yes, a graduation degree from IGNOU is considered valid for the CPA exam. IGNOU Graduation can give you 60 or 90credits depending upon the MOU if the MOU is for 1 year- then 60 credits, if your writing B. Com for 3 years -90.
Although the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) qualifications are both related to finance, there are significant differences between the two. A CFA's expertise is focused
on the investment industry. Consequently, CFAs work as portfolio managers, investment advisors, and research analysts.
A CPA, on the other hand, is a specialist in accounting and taxes. You can find CPAs working in public accounting and the finance departments of small and large businesses.
B.Com gives you a total of 90 credits and to qualify for CPA exam you need 120 but there are certain states which allow you to sit for CPA exam even with 90 credits provided you sign an undertaking that you will meet the balance credits within 18 months of appearing for the first paper. Yes, you can do CPA but you need to sign an undertaking and we will help you with a bridge course to meet the balance credits. Additionally, B. Com with NAAC A- First division is also an eligibility criterion.
A CPA's knowledge is more broad-based. An individual who holds the CPA license would have expertise in a wide variety of finance-related areas. A CFA is a more specialized course and is targeted at those who want to work in the investment management profession. Compare the details of CPA vs CFA designations.
CPA exam education requirements differ by state. You can check with your local Board of Accountancy regarding your state's rules, but most jurisdictions follow the 150-hour rule. This stipulates that you need to obtain 150 semester hours of education from an accredited university. There are also rules regarding the subjects that you have to study, with most states requiring you to complete a specific number of semester units in accounting.
The continuous testing window is applied now; they will need to apply for NTS again and write the exam.
The exam has 324 multiple-choice questions, 20 simulation questions, and 3 written communication (essay) questions.
Both US residents and foreign nationals who meet the requirements of a particular state board can take the CPA exam.
US CPA license is used mainly when one wants to be self-employed and practice as a Certified Public Accountant living in the US.
A CPA's knowledge is more broad-based. An individual who holds the CPA license would have expertise in a wide variety of finance-related areas. A CFA is a more specialized course and is targeted at those who want to work in the investment management profession. Compare the details of CPA vs CFA designations.
Certified Public Accountants work in a wide range of professions. You can find them in banking, financial services, government jobs, and education. However, most CPAs are employed in public accounting or corporate accounting.
No ,the exam is NOT open book. You are not allowed any resources in the testing center while taking the exam.
The Notice to Schedule (NTS) is your notification that you may begin scheduling your examination with Prometric. It is a Hall ticket. NTS is issued in 2-4 weeks of exam application at CPA Central.
Certified Public Accountants provide a range of services across different types of organizations. • Public accounting firms: CPAs are involved in the preparation, review, and auditing of their clients' financial statements. Their expert knowledge in the fields of accounting, taxes, and related areas helps them to fulfill this role. • Large corporations: Big companies need the services of CPAs. In these organizations, CPAs work in accounting, internal auditing, and tax accounting. They play a crucial role in preparing the corporation's financial statements and ensuring that these adhere to the required regulatory norms. • Small businesses: CPAs can play an important role in small companies as well. They provide financial advice and can help with the firm's accounting records. Many small businesses use CPAs to assist them with their taxes and to represent them before the IRS. • You can also find CPAs working in government organizations and the educational sector. If you choose to work in public accounting, you could join one of the "Big 4" accounting firms – Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, or KPMG. These firms, as well as their smaller counterparts, provide accounting, auditing, tax, and consulting services. Many CPAs also opt to work in corporations and government entities. Their job could involve managerial or tax accounting, internal auditing, or financial analysis.
To be eligible to appear for the US CPA exam one must have 120 credits, each graduation is converted into 30 years of credits thereby adding 90 credits for 3 years, if your NAAC A, the first division you will get 30 additional credits. To apply for the license one must have 150 credits. Although certain other requirements vary by jurisdiction. Each jurisdiction has specific requirements about education, experience, and residency. Refer to your jurisdiction's application materials for additional information.
Your NTS will be valid for a specific amount of time. This time varies by jurisdiction. For most of the states, it is valid for 6 months whereas for a few it has 9 months validity. You must sit for the examination before your NTS expires. If you do not sit for the examination within the established time frame, your NTS will be expired and you will need to submit a new application to receive a new NTS. The expiration date will be mentioned on the NTS.
You need a score of 75 or higher to pass the CPA exam. Specifically, you must earn a 75 or higher on each of the four tests that make up the CPA exam.
If you are appearing for exams in any country other than the US you will have to take the license within 3 years of passing the CPA exam else your credits will lapse. If you appear for the exam in the US you have to apply for a license within 10 years.
Yes, you can hold multiple state license provided meeting the CPE( Continuous Professional Education) as per the state rule.
To decide when to take the CPA exam, follow these steps:
For registration questions, please get in touch using the contact details below. For any questions, use the form.
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