To become a Certified Public Accountant, you will have to meet the requirements specific to your state. Georgia CPA requirements include standards for education, experiencing and licensing. To practice public accounting in the state, you’ll need to know about and meet all of these requirements.
Read on to learn more about the standards Georgia sets and how to make sure you meet all of the specs to become a CPA in Georgia.
As with most states, Georgia CPA standards are set by the board of accountancy. The Georgia Board of Accountancy is the governing body that regulates how you can become a CPA in Georgia. They also set ongoing CPE requirements and reciprocal licensing standards. More on those in a minute. Let’s start at the beginning:
- Georgia CPA education requirements
- Georgia CPA age and residency requirements
- Georgia CPA exam fees
- Georgia CPA exam schedule
Georgia CPA Education Requirements
NASBA has set up the current CPA education requirements for Georgia:
- A bachelor’s degree or post-bachelor education
- 150 credit hours
- 30 hours in accounting (above intro classes)
- 24 hours in business
These are the requirements to become a licensed CPA. You don’t have to meet all of them in the state of Georgia before taking the CPA exam. The first two course levels for accounting, or what would be considered introduction or survey courses, don’t count toward the total semester hours.
Georgia allows some flexibility within these course requirements. For instance, you may be able to apply for upper-level accounting courses from a junior college (as long as the credits transfer to a four-year school) or use hours logged in an accounting internship. CLEP courses won’t be accepted by the Georgia State Board of Accountancy.
You will submit your official transcripts to the National Association of State Board of Accountancy (NASBA) to be eligible to take the CPA exam.
Age and Residency Requirements
To take the CPA exam in Georgia, you must be 18 years of age or older. State or even United States residency are not required.
Georgia CPA Exam Fees
There are always a number of fees you’ll have to cover as part of your CPA exam costs. In the state of Georgia, the test itself will cost the following:
- $170.00 application fee
- $226.15 for the Auditing and Attestation portion of the CPA exam
- $226.15 for the Finance portion of the CPA exam
- $226.15 for the Regulation portion of the CPA exam
- $226.15 for the Business portion of the CPA exam
In total, to take the CPA exam in Georgia will cost $1,075. That excludes re-takes, which cost an additional $85 in registration fees, as well as the usual $226.15 per CPA section.
An additional investment that most people make is in a CPA exam review course. A structured course will provide an important advantage over self-study. With a CPA review course, you’ll get a comprehensive curriculum that ensures you cover the entire body of knowledge.
Most CPA exam review courses cost between $1,200-$3,500. Coaching and private CPA tutoring are usually add-ons to programs like those. Check out our comparison of the best CPA review courses to help you choose a good fit.
Georgia CPA Exam Schedule
Once your CPA exam application has been approved, you will receive a Notice to Schedule (NTS). With this, you can schedule the CPA exam at any time.
As of summer 2020, the AICPA activated ongoing testing for the CPA exam. Prior to this, there were four windows a year (once a quarter) in which to take the CPA exam. Now, there are CPA exam dates any month of the year. It will be important to schedule it through Prometric, as this is where the test is offered.
There are Prometric testing centers all throughout Georgia, including in metropolitan areas:
- Atlanta
- Athens
- Augusta
- Columbus
- Macon
- Savannah
- Smyrna
- Valdosta
You can look at the Prometric site for additional Georgia CPA testing locations.
Georgia CPA License Requirements
Passing the CPA exam is a first step toward becoming a CPA. Once you’ve done that, there are still a few hoops to jump through. You will need to complete experience requirements, apply for licensure, and then actively maintain your CPA license for the duration of your career. Read on to learn about all of those components.
Georgie CPA Experience Requirements
As long as you have passed the CPA exam (with a 75 or higher for each section), you can move onto the experience portion of your CPA preparation. In the state of Georgia, you need to log 2,000 hours—or a full working year—of qualifying experience.
The Georgia State Board will only accept experience that meets certain criteria:
- Public accounting, business accounting, industry accounting, etc.
- Completed within one year
- No breaks are allowed
- No clerical functions count toward total hours (account analysis of already recorded information, math calculations, recording ledger information)
- Employment must be overseen and verified by a licensed CPA
- No self-employment
- Cannot coincide with time as a full-time student
Acceptable CPA duties will include:
- Consulting
- Regulatory laws
- Using internal control systems
- Financial advisory
- Taxes
- Government work
- Academia
Georgia CPA License Renewal
Each year that you are licensed to practice public accounting in Georgia, you must take 80 hours of CPE courses. Courses must be board-approved and completed every two years before renewing your CPA license. These CPE units must include 16 hours in auditing/accounting. There are some allowances for rollovers and no CPE is required for CPAs with a license under a year old.
Georgia CPA Ethics Requirement
The state of Georgia is one of the few that has no CPA ethics requirement.
Transfer CPA License to Georgia
Georgia offers reciprocal CPA licenses. If you are a CPA in another state and would like to transfer your CPA license to Georgia, you may do so in a few ways:
- Meet the qualifications (within the U.S., state eligible for reciprocity, establish Georgia residency)
- Submit documentation that you meet qualifications
- Get an authorization for interstate exchange
- Pay $320
People who have CPAs in other countries may also be eligible for a Georgia CPA reciprocal license. Contact the Georgia State Board of Accountancy for the most updated list of reciprocal countries.
More Useful Links
If you want to research how to become a CPA in Georgia or Georgia CPA requirements further, here are some recommended resources: