Exam Requirements
What should CPA candidates do first? Select the exam section that you plan to write. Then, enroll in an NIU review course. As part of our review process, we will help you apply to write the exam during your preferred testing window. To ensure that you will meet the 150-hour requirement, please follow these four easy steps:
Let Debra walk you through the "Steps to Success"!
See Course Dates & Times to view all course offerings.
Click here for a copy of the official Candidate Bulletin published by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy.
- Obtain official, sealed copies of your transcripts for all college credit that you have earned. This coursework can be earned at a community college, international college, and on-line coursework.
- Send the above information to the Illinois Board of Examiners in Champaign-Urbana. View their web site at www.ilboa.org.
- Download the CPA exam application from the above Board of Examiner web site.
- Upon receipt of the Board's evaluation of your transcript, note any deficiencies and contact the NIU CPA Review director, Debra Hopkins, dhopkins@niu.edu
for suggestions about taking the Review for credit should you need to satisfy certain requirements.
International candidates must obtain a foreign transcript evaluation performed by the Illinois Board of Examiners. No other evaluation process is acceptable. Please allow additional time, about 4 to 6 weeks for this process.
Don't waste your time waiting for the Board's reply. Enroll in a CPA Review while you are waiting for the authorization to test (ATT). You want to be prepared to sit as soon as you have been approved.
Special Points to Note
- The NIU CPA Review does not approve candidates to sit for the CPA exam. Only the state boards of accountancy are authorized to perform this function.
- Apply for authorization to test in the state in which you plan to practice (work). In order to receive reciprocal credit in a jurisdiction, you must have met the requirements of that jurisdiction at the time you write the CPA exam. For example, you plan to work in Illinois but receive authorization to test from another state board whose requirements are not as stringent as those of Illinois. You would not be able to transfer your CPA certificate to Illinois since you did not meet the requirements to write the exam in Illinois at the time of writing the exam. Be careful; check with the state board — don't make assumptions.
- All coursework must be completed and posted to a transcript prior to receiving an authorization to test.
- Don't let the authorization process keep you from your exam preparation. You may enroll and begin the review courses before you have received your final authorization to test. The NIU CPA Review will continue to support your review process free of charge until you complete your goal via periodic web based technical updates. Should you want to attend a live class again, you may enroll at a reduced price as a prior candidate.
- When computing your hours of credit earned, understand the following:
- The hourly requirements are listed as semester hours. To convert quarter hours to semester hours, simply multiply the total quarter hours by 66.67% to give you a rough estimation of your hours earned. The Board of Examiners will perform the final computation.
- Pass/fail and satisfactory/unsatisfactory hours count as long as you earned the pass and the satisfactory designation.
- Classes taken on an "audit" basis do not count.
- International coursework must be evaluated only by the Illinois Board of Examiners. Please allow an additional 4 — 6 weeks processing time.
- The CPA Review course is available for up to six hours of credit toward the 150-hour requirement. While these hours earned do not count for degree credit at NIU, they satisfy the Board requirements for an audit course, a financial accounting course, and for additional general coursework. For more information about taking the CPA Review for credit, please click here.
- Click to see tips for candidates from the Official AICPA web site.
Requirements to Sit for CPA Exam in Illinois
Effective January 1, 2001
To be admitted to take the examination for the first time after January 1, 2001, a candidate for the Illinois CPA examination must have successfully completed at least 150 semester hours of acceptable credit including a bachelor's degree. The semester hours accepted by the Illinois Board of Examiners must include an accounting concentration, or its equivalent. A candidate will be deemed to have met the education requirement if, as part of the 150 semester hours of education or equivalent as determined by the Board, he or she has met any one of the four conditions listed below. With each of the conditions listed below, accounting hours do not include business law, and no more than six semester hours of accounting may be obtained through internships or life-experience.
The following four situations meet the requirements of the 150-semester hours requirement:
- Earned a graduate degree with a concentration in accounting from a program that is accredited in accounting by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board.
- Earned a graduate degree from a program that is accredited in business by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board and completed at least 24 semester hours
in accounting at the undergraduate level or 15 semester hours at the graduate level or equivalent combination thereof, including courses covering the subjects of financial accounting, auditing, taxation and management accounting.
- Earn a bachelor's degree from a program that is accredited in business by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board and completed:
- At least 24 semester hours in accounting at the undergraduate or graduate level, including courses covering the subjects of financial accounting, auditing, taxation and management accounting; and
- At least 24 semester hours of business courses, or substantially equivalent (other than accounting) courses at the undergraduate or graduate level.
- Earn a bachelor's degree or higher degree from an accredited educational institution or other institution recognized by the Board, including:
- At least 24 semester hours of accounting at the undergraduate level and/or graduate level with at least one course each in financial accounting, auditing, taxation and management accounting.
- At least 24 semester hours in business courses or substantially equivalent (other than accounting courses) at the undergraduate or graduate level.
Candidates who have previously sat for the CPA Exam in Illinois have been grandfathered in under the old requirements and are not required to meet the new 150 rule to sit for the exam.
If you have questions about your eligibility to sit for the CPA Exam you must contact the Board of Examiners and discuss it with them.
Illinois Board of Examiners
Joanne Vician, Executive Director
Office: 217-531-0950
Email: jvician@uiuc.edu
Fax: 217-531-0960
Web site: http://www.ilboa.org
