| Licensing |
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| Certified Public Accountant Certificate (CPA) |
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CPA:
Rules regarding the requirements for a CPA Certificate
Applicants must pass all sections of the Uniform CPA examination before applying for the CPA certificate in Oregon. Depending on when you qualified for the exam, or what level of education you have earned will determine how much experience is required.
EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR CPA CERTIFICATE:
1. There is a 24-month experience requirement for applicants who qualified and sat for the examination under the requirements prior to January 1, 2000. Applicants in this category must have a Bachelor degree including completion of a minimum of 30 semester hours in accounting, business law, economics and finance. 20 of the required 30 semester hours must be in accounting.
2. There is a 12-month experience requirement for applicants who qualified and sat for the examination under the requirements after January 1, 2000. Applicants in this category must have a total of 150 semester hours of education including a bachelor degree with 24 semester hours in accounting and 24 semester hours in accounting and/or related subjects.
- All Experience must be under the direct supervision of a qualified supervisor licensee. Qualifying part-time experience must be at least 20 hours per week. Overtime hours worked will not be credited toward the experience requirement.
- Direct supervision is defined by the Board as having a clear connection between the supervisor and the person being supervised in terms of planning, coordinating, guiding, inspecting, controlling and evaluating activities, and in discharging the employee being supervised.
- Supervisor Licensee: A supervisor licensee is any licensee in any state who has held an active CPA license, an active PA licensed in Oregon or a licensed Chartered Accountant from Canada, Australia, Mexico or Ireland, each of whom must hold an active license in good standing for a minimum of 5 years prior to and during the period of supervision.
3. Applicants who sat and received grades prior to January 1, 2000 without the completion of 150 semester hours, may choose to complete the 150 hour requirement and meet the experience requirement with completion of 12-months qualifying experience under the direct supervision of a qualified supervisor licensee.
4. Applicants for the CPA certificate must demonstrate competency in seven core competencies.
5. Applicants must take and pass an approved Ethics course.
6. Complete and submit an application form to the Board office with the appropriate fees.
Qualifying experience and successful completion of the CPA exam must be obtained within 8 years immediately preceding the date of the Certification application.
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| Public Accountant License (PA) |
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Rules regarding the requirements for becoming a Public Accountant (PA)
PA applicants must take and pass the required sections of the CPA examination and obtain one-year of public accounting experience or the equivalent under the direct supervision of a qualified supervisor licensee. Required sections of the CPA examination are described below.
EXAM SECTIONS:
Applicants who applied for and sat for the exam prior to January 1, 2002 are required to take and pass the Audit (AUD) and Regulation (REG) sections of the exam and must continue to sit at least once each year until both sections are passed.
Applicants who applied for and sat for the exam after January 1, 2002 are required to take and pass the Business Economic & Concepts (BEC), Financial Accounting & Reporting (FAR) and Regulation (REG) sections of the exam.
EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:
Applicants must obtain one year public accounting experience or the equivalent, which means 12 months full-time employment or a total of 2,080 hours of part-time employment. One hundred seventy-three hours (173) of part-time employment is equivalent to one month. Qualifying part-time experience must be at least 20 hours per week. All experience must be under the direct supervision of a qualified supervisor licensee.
Overtime hours worked will not be credited toward the experience requirement.
Supervisor Licensee: A supervisor licensee is any licensee in any state who has held an active CPA license, an active PA licensed in Oregon or a licensed Chartered Accountant from Canada, Australia, Mexico or Ireland, each of whom must hold an active license in good standing for a minimum of 5 years prior to and during the period of supervision.
Qualifying experience and successful completion of the CPA exam must be obtained within 8 years immediately preceding the date of the Certification application.
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| Core Competencies |
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In addition to completing the CPA Certification Application applicants must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Board, achievement of competency in the following seven areas:
1. Understanding the Code of Professional Conduct.
2. Ability to assess the achievement of an entity´s objectives by demonstrating knowledge of various business organizations, understanding of the objectives and goals of business entities, ability to develop and analyze performance measures and critical success factors, and understanding of the economic and regulatory trends that affect an entity´s environment.
3. Experience in preparing working papers that include sufficient, relevant data to support analysis and conclusions required by the applicant´s work.
4. Understanding transactions streams and information systems, including the ability to understand how individual transactions aggregate at the organizational level, to infer how transactions impact the organization as a whole, and to evaluate the integrity and reliability of various client information systems, including relevant computer aspects.
5. Skills in risk assessment and verification demonstrated by a sufficient understanding of accounting and other information systems to (1) assess the risk of misstatement in an information system and (2) obtain sufficient, relevant data based on the risk of misstatement and the nature of the engagement to determine the appropriateness of underlying data in terms of its completeness, existence and occurrence, valuation and allocation, rights and obligations and presentation and disclosures.
6. Skills in decision making, problem solving and critical analytical thinking, including the ability to evaluate and interpret sufficient, relevant data in a variety of engagements and settings. For example, the applicant must evaluate an entity´s cash flow, profitability, liquidity, solvency, operating cycle, achievement of management´s plans, and accomplishment of service efforts of systems reliability.
7. Ability to express scope of work, findings and conclusions, including the ability to determine the appropriateness of reports on financial statements, system reliability, or reports expressing scope of work, findings and conclusions.
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| Experience Standards |
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There are three experience standards by which applicants may demonstrate the competencies:
Attest/Assurance
Other Professional Standards; or
Industry, Government and other related businesses.
The following list describes some but not all activities that may be used to demonstrate experience:
Financial Statement Audits
Financial Statement Reviews
Financial Statement Compilations
Attestation Engagements
Financial Forecasts and Projections
Pro Forma Financial Information
Compliance Attestations
Management Advisory Services
Tax Advisory Services
Tax Return Preparation
Personal Financial Planning
Reporting on an Entity´s Internal Controls
Attest/Assurance:
Experience that demonstrates competencies under the attest/assurance category must be obtained while the applicant is:
- employed in public accounting practice
- engaged in employment that is equivalent to public accounting practice, including internal audit employment
- Employed in an organization where employment is equivalent to public practice if a peer review is conducted or if such employment is with an audit agency, internal audit department or other organization where a peer review is conducted.
Other Professional Standards:
Experience that demonstrates competencies under the other professional standards category must be obtained while the applicant is:
- employed in public accounting practice or
- employed in industry, government or other settings
If experience in industry, government or other settings, it must be performed in accordance with the standards of the profession. Examples of experience performed in accordance with established standards are:
Consulting Services
Tax Practice
Personal Financial Planning
Internal Audits
Government Finance Manager
Regulatory Agencies
Industry, Government and Other
Applicants must obtain an understanding of the industry in which the entity operates, including the employer´s competition (or other similar service providers in the case of government) and key competitiveness factors that affect the industry. This relates to Core Competency #2.
Experience related to Core Competency #3, understanding transaction streams and information systems, will include assessing the adequacy of an entity´s internal controls.
All experience gained in industry, government or other services will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the Board.
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| Ethic Exam Requirement |
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Applicants must also take and pass a written examination on the Code of Professional Ethics for accountants. The following organizations each offer an exam that meets this requirement.
AICPA
https://www.cpa2biz.com
1211 Ave of the Americas
New York, NY 10036-8775
212-596-6200
Oregon Society of CPAs
http://www.orcpa.org/
PO Box 4555
Beaverton OR 97076
503-641-7200
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| Reciprocity |
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Applications based on an active CPA license that is in good standing and issued by another jurisdiction prior to January 1, 2000 are eligible under this subsection if the issuing jurisdiction required successful completion of the CPA exam, a Baccalaureate degree and two years public accounting experience or the equivalent for certification at the time the applicant´s license was issued.
Applications based on an active CPA license that is in good standing and issued by another jurisdiction after January 1, 2000 are eligible under this subsection if the issuing jurisdiction required successful completion of the CPA exam, 150 semester hours, including a Baccalaureate degree and 24 semester hours in accounting and 24 semester hours in accounting and/or related subjects, or the equivalent thereof, and at least one year public accounting experience, or the equivalent for certification at the time the applicant´s license was issued.
Applications based on a active CPA license that is in good standing that do not meet the requirements described above, are eligible if the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Board that during four of the ten years immediately preceding the application under ORS 673.040, the applicant:
(A) Held an active CPA license issued by another jurisdiction that is in good standing at the time the application is made;
(B) Has four years of public accounting experience or the equivalent thereof, after completing the CPA exam and during the ten year period immediately preceding the application; and
(C) Successfully completed the CPA exam.
Download, complete and submit an Application, Employment Record form, Social Security form, and a Authorization for Transfer form from each state in which you have taken the exam or been licensed.
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| Substantial Equivalency |
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Section 23 of the Uniform Accountancy Act provides an efficient method for licensed certified public accountants to perform services for clients in other states. This procedure is called Substantial Equivalency and it involves three basic requirements for eligibility.
1. The CPA must hold an active license issued by a state that is substantially equivalent, or the individual´s personal qualifications must be substantially equivalent;
2. The state in which the CPA wants to do business must be one that has approved Substantial Equivalency as a method for out-of-state licensees to do business in that state; and
3. The applicant CPA may not have a principal place of business in the state to which the application for substantial equivalency is submitted.
The determination of Substantial Equivalency is based on the following requirements:
1. 150 hours education from an accredited university or college, including a baccalaureate degree
2. Successful completion of all sections of the Uniform CPA Exam, and
3. One year experience
A state is substantially equivalent if its licensing requirements are equal to or greater than the requirements stated above. An individual who does not hold an active license in a state that is substantially equivalent may nevertheless be eligible under substantial equivalency if the individual´s personal qualifications are equal to or greater than the requirements stated above.
Most states are substantially equivalent, which allows their licensees to apply under substantial equivalency provisions in another state. However not all states have approved provisions that allow the issuance of authority to practice under substantial equivalency procedures. Oregon is a substantially equivalent state and has also approved the issuance of authority to practice in Oregon under the provisions of substantial equivalency. Oregon Administrative Rule 801-010-0080 describes the requirements for substantial equivalency authority in Oregon.
The following states do not meet substantial equivalency standards:
California - unless licensed under 5093
Colorado
Delaware
Florida
New Hampshire
Puerto Rico
Vermont
Virgin Islands
An individual whose principal place of business is not in this state, who has an active license in good standing as a certified public accountant issued by another jurisdiction, and who meets the standards of substantial equivalency, may receive authorization to practice public accountancy in this state, upon application.
Eligibility under the standards of substantial equivalency shall be based on evaluations conducted by NASBA's Credential Net. An applicant may meet one of the following two standards to establish eligibility under this rule:
(a) The jurisdiction that issued the license on which the application is based is verified to be of substantial equivalency; or
(b) The applicant as an individual meets qualifications that are verified to be of substantial equivalency.
The Credential Net application can be found at http://www.nasba.org/nasbaweb.nsf/lp
Download, complete and submit an Application and an Authorization for Transfer form from the state through which you are applying for Substantial Equivalency.
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| Individual Substantial Equivalency Eligibility Policy |
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Policy Number: B-06-031
Subject: Individual Substantial Equivalency Eligibility
Date: May 7, 2006
Approved: August 7, 2006
Purpose: To establish eligibility standards of licensees of a licensing jurisdiction that is not determined to be Substantially Equivalent, and who apply for authority under Substantial Equivalency to provide public accounting services to Oregon clients based on the licensee’s individual qualifications.
Applicability: Applicants for Substantial Equivalency authority based on the applicant’s personal qualifications, and Staff members of the Board of Accountancy
Policy: The Board shall use the following guidelines to determine eligibility of the professional qualifications of individuals who apply for Substantial Equivalency authority based on the individual’s personal qualifications.
1. All applicants for Substantial Equivalency authority are required to hold a CPA permit issued by the Board of Accountancy of another jurisdiction that is both in active status and in good standing with such Board.
2. The applicant’s principal place of business is not in Oregon.
3. Applicants who meet the requirements of paragraphs one and two of this policy are eligible for authority under Substantial Equivalency if the CPA certificate was issued by the other jurisdiction before January 1, 2002.
4. Applicants whose CPA certificate was issued after January 1, 2002 and who do not have 150 hours of education are required to qualify for substantial equivalency under one of the standards required to obtain an Oregon CPA certificate under reciprocity standards. Reciprocity standards are described in OAR 801-010-0080.
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| Foreign Credentials |
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Applying for a CPA license with Foreign Credentials
from Canada, Australia, Ireland or Mexico ONLY
OAR 801-010-0085
The following foreign credentials are eligible for reciprocity in Oregon:
- Chartered Accountant license issued by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants
- Certified Practicing Accountant license issued by CPA Australia
- Chartered Accountant license issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia
- Contador Publico Certificado License(CPC) issued by Comite Mexicano para la Practica International de la Contaduria, and
- Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland
Applicants for reciprocity under these provisions must pass the International/Qualifications Examination (IQEX) Uniform CPA exam.
Please apply directly to the address listed below to have credentials evaluated or to take the IQEX examination.
NASBA
Adam Heyeczki
CPA Examination Services
150 Fourth Avenue North #700
Nashville, Tennessee 37219-2417
Telephone: (615) 880-4206
e-mail: KCannon@NASBA.org
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| Municipal Auditor License |
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Applicants for Admission to the Municipal Roster required by ORS 297.425 shall meet the following requirements:
- The applicant must be a licensee under ORS 673.150 in good standing;
- Submit an application for admission, along with appropriate fees, and appropriate CPE.
- Within the two year period immediately preceding the date of application to the municipal roster, the applicant must complete 40 hours of Level 1 or Level 2 education in the following subjects, including at least 4 hours in each subject:
- Audits of state and local governmental units; Governmental Accounting and Financial Reporting Standards; Generally Accepted Governmental Auditing Standards; Single Audit Act of 1984 and related Office of Management and Budget circulars and supplements; Oregon Local Budget Law; and Minimum standards of audits and reviews of Oregon municipal corporations.
- Upon approval of an application to the municipal roster, the Board shall: notify the applicant in writing that the application is approved; enter the applicant´s name on the municipal roster; and notify the Secretary of State that the applicant is authorized to conduct municipal audits.
- Initial permit fee: Municipal Auditor - $100
- Biennial renewal fees: Municipal Auditor - $100
Click here for Municipal Audits Administrative Rules
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| Fees & Applications |
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Applications are available on this website in the forms section or you may call the Board office at 503-378-4181.
Complete the application form and return to the Board office with the appropriate fee. All application fees are non-refundable.
For all forms related to licensing, please click here
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