New Hampshire licensing process - part 4 - employment verification form

You will also need to document how many hours you worked for what type of accounting work.

You will need these information;

• Dates of employment
• Working style: full time or part time
• Signing CPA's information: which country s/he has the CPA license
• # of hours you worked that you want to be verified

Your experience counts if your work falls in one of the following categories.

• Audit, Review, Financial Statement or any Report Function
• Manageemnt Advisory Services
• Financial Advisory Services
• Consulting Services
• Preparation of Tax Returns
• Furnishing Advice on Tax Returns
• Furnishing Advice on Tax Matters

New Hampshire licensing process - part 3 - experience verification letter

Another document necessary for licensing application is "experience verification letter."

This letter is easy to prepare. 

You just need to find a boss who directly supervised your work, print the form on your firm's letterhead, and get his/her signature. 

In New Hampshire, your signing supervisor must be a certified CPA (in the US or other countries listed in the form such as Australia) who were active during the period that you want to be verified. In other words, your supervisor's license should not be expired during the period you want to be verified. 

In my case, I could find many supervisors who simply passed four sections of CPA exams or those whose license got expired, but only one person was active during the two years that I needed to be verified. 

If you want to get licensed in New Hampshire, you must find out who was active and when that was. If you cannot find an appropriate person, you may want to consider transferring a state to get licensed.

New Hampshire licensing process - part 2 - character references

In the licensing process, you will need three character references.

In my application, I asked my colleagues to write one (actually I drafted descriptions and they just simply signed). You can also ask your friends, neighbors, religious leaders, etc. However for this character reference, you cannot ask your supervisors to sign one. Save them for experience verification form.


I didn't really know what to write for this "character" reference. So, I googled similar samples and replaced XX parts for me. Here is the example;

It brings me great pleasure to recommend XX.

I have been known her for about XX years since she joined the company that we work together. She has been my colleague since 20XX.

XX is organized, efficient, extremely competent, and has an excellent rapport with people of all ages. Her communication skill is especially excellent.

I enthusiastically recommend her as a certified public accountant in the state of New Hampshire. I hope this information proves helpful.

Yours Sincerely.

Another example;

It is with great pleasure that I find myself writing this letter of reference for XX.
She has been my colleague since 20XX, and has been an outstanding employee for our firm for almost XX years as a consultant.

She continuously engaged in various international projects for global companies. She has extensive knowledge bases and a global mind-set.

In addition, she demonstrates the sincerity, honesty and integrity to pursue certification in public accounting. It is satisfying to be able to give her my highest recommendation. 

I hope this information proves helpful.

Sincerely, 

Hopefully this helps for those who are going to apply for licensing.

You can find relevant forms here: New Hampshire NASBA licensing

New Hampshire licensing process - part 1 document checklist

In the New Hampshire state, you can apply to get licensed in NASBA website.

NASBA license - New Hampshire

After passing all the four sections of CPA exam, you need to have the following documents to get licensed. These documents can be uploaded to NASBA licensing application by PDF format. It is very convenient that you don't have to mail paper-based documents.  


• Clear copy of driver’s license and/or passport

• 3 Character References

• Experience Verification Letter/Governmental Experience Verification Form

• Experience Reporting Form/Governmental Experience Reporting Form

• Clear copy of supervisor/verifier’s driver’s license and/or passport

• Copy of supervisor/verifier’s licensing information. (Online Verification printouts/screenshots are acceptable with issuance and expiration date noted)

• Transcripts/Foreign Evaluations (For applicants who passed the CPA exam for a state other than New Hampshire)

• Authorization for Interstate Exchange (For applicants who passed the CPA exam for a state other than New Hampshire)

Exam fees

Fees necessary for taking the exam are composed of application fee and examination fee.

1. Application fee: $25 - 220 (depending on the state you apply)
2. Examination fee: 

• FAR: $190.35
• REG: $171.25
• AUD: $190.35
• BEC: $171.25
• Total: $723.20

If you take exams outside of the US, you will need to pay international surcharge fees. 

For taking exams in Japan (Tokyo or Osaka), and you need to pay the following surcharges.

3. International surcharge fees (Japan)

• FAR: $309.65
• REG: $328.75
• AUD: $309.65
• BEC: $328.75
• Total: $1,276.80

Exam overview

Let's understand the outline of US CPA exam. This page summarizes basic information of the US CPA exam in terms of;

1. Four components of US CPA exam
2. Test format
3. Where to take exam



1. Four components of US CPA exam
US CPA exam contains 4 sections;

1. Financial Accounting & Reporting (FAR) [4 hour exam] - 80% is financial (corporate) accounting - 20% is non-profit (governmental, non-profit organizational) accounting 
2. Business Environment & Concepts (BEC) [3 hour exam] - 18% is corporate governance - 18% is economics - 17% is information systems and technology - 47% is financial management, strategic planning and operations management 
3. Regulation (REG) [3 hour exam] - 64% is federal taxation - 19% is business law and business structure - 17% is ethics 
4. Auditing & Attestation (AUD) [4 hour exam] - 82% is auditing & attestation - 18% is professional responsibility

2. Test format

• US CPA exam is a computer-based exam. Each candidate will have random, different set of questions. 
• You can pass a section by scoring greater than or equal to 75 points. The following table shows passing rates from 2009 to 2013. (Source: American institute of CPAs (AICPA))

• Exam is composed of multiple choice questions, and simulations (for FAR, REG, AUD) or written communication (for BEC).
• You can pass the exam section by section. Each passed section has credit for 18 months. This means, if you have received passing scores in some sections and have no previously earned credit, you have 18 months to pass all CPA Examination sections. The count-down to the 18 months begins when you pass your first section(s). You can re-take failed section(s) as many times as you want.
• Exam windows are closed for March, June, September and December. You can schedule your exam in any other months. The following chart shows an example of testing schedule.

3. Where to take exam

• You may take exams in any locations in the US or some countries if you are citizens or long term residents of such areas.

[International locations]

• Citizens, permanent residents and long-term residents of Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Yemen may sit for the Exam in Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon and the UAE.
• Citizens and long term residents of Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela may sit for the Exam in Brazil as of July 1, 2013.

Please see AICPA's website for the most recent information.

Now you understand the outline of exam, let's see the exam fees.

Why US CPA?

What is USCPA? 
US CPA, or Certified Public Accountant in the US, is a title for accountants who pass the CPA exam. This qualification proves an expertise in the accounting field not only in the US but also internationally. The main function of a US CPA is to offer public accounting services, but many US CPAs also do variety of works such as corporate accounting and finance.

Why USCPA?
CPAs are at the top of their field and accounting is the language of business worldwide. Having an internationally recognized accounting qualification can expand your career paths very broadly, regardless of where you go in the world of business. In addition, especially for those who live in a country where English is not the primary language but its ability has a significant implication in business context, US CPA can prove you have a high level English proficiency.

Demand to USCPA
Although varying among countries and regions, the continued globalization of business should lead to increased demand for accounting expertise and services related to international trade and international mergers and acquisitions. Accountants and auditors who have earned professional recognition, especially as CPAs, should have the best prospects. In the US, employment of accountants and auditors is projected to grow 13 percent from 2012 to 2022, where total expected growth rate including all occupations is 11 percent.
(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014 occupational outlook handbook for accountants and auditors)

Expected salary ranges
CPAs can expect higher salary than those who do not have qualifications. For the US, if you choose to pursue accounting field as your profession, you can expect the following salary ranges;

* for large firms = $250+ million in sales ** Salary does not reflect overtime or bonuses, which aresignificant portions of compensation for these positions *** For senior, 1 to 3 years, or up to 1 year categories, add 5-10 percent for graduate degrees or professional certifications. **** For senior manager/director and manager categories, bonuses and incentives reflect an increasingly large part of overall pay at this level and are not includedin the salary ranges listed above. Advanced degrees or professional certifications also are assumed at this level. (2014 Salary Guide from Robert Half®)