President's Message
June 30, 2009
By Michael A. Thompson, CPA
 Did you pass the CPA Exam a long time ago, but never completed all the steps required to become a full-fledged CPA? Here’s good news: You may already be eligible to become a CPA by utilizing the general accounting experience you gained while working under a direct supervisor who was a CPA. This is likely if you worked for a big public accounting firm, but left for greener pastures. You also may qualify if you worked for a small CPA firm doing tax and accounting work, or if you worked under a CPA in a corporation or small business. Below is a somewhat simplified outline of the major steps to completing your CPA:
CPA Exam: The California Board of Accountancy retains CPA Exam results and college transcripts indefinitely. Therefore, you will need to submit an “Application for Certified Public Accountant License.” It is helpful for you to know your CPA Exam unique identifier and the date you passed the exam. If you passed the CPA Exam in another state, you will need to transfer those grades to the CBA.
Experience: If you have, at minimum, a bachelor’s degree with 24 semester units in accounting and 24 semester units in business from an accredited college, and you performed general accounting work under a direct supervisor who was a CPA, then this experience counts toward CPA licensure. You must have two years of general accounting experience if you have a bachelor’s degree. You need only one year of general accounting experience if you have 150 semester hours of college education. Your supervisor will need to complete a “Certificate of General Experience,” using the appropriate form for work experience obtained either in a nonpublic or public accounting setting. You can kindly remind a former supervisor that all applicants for certification can expect to have a certificate of experience completed on their behalf.
Attest Experience: You may already have attest experience, however, for simplicity, I am not addressing the pathway that allows you to sign audit reports. The reason for this is because if your accounting experience was as an employee of a business, then you were not independent. Also, if your experience was in public accounting a long time ago, then the work papers documenting your efforts may have been destroyed in accordance with strict document retention policies.
Ethics Exam: Applicants for initial license must pass the California Professional Ethics (PETH) examination with a minimum score of 90 percent. This is a self-study exam offered by the CalCPA Education Foundation, is administered online and the results are submitted directly to the CBA.
Continuing Professional Education: If your qualifying work experience occurred five or more years ago, then the CBA may require 48 hours of CPE courses in specific areas. It’s easy to obtain CPE credit from CalCPA chapter events and the CalCPA Education Foundation.
I encourage you to join CalCPA as a candidate member. Current candidate dues are $30 (free for the first year). CalCPA is your support and welcomes new members. I encourage you to become a CPA. Since each applicant’s situation is unique, I recommend reading the CPA Licensing Applicant Handbook, available from the CBA. CalCPA also offers licensing information online, including these FAQs.
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Chapter News
The Silicon Valley Forum is presenting two workshops dealing with the challenges faced by CFOs and their staffs in today’s uncertain economic climate.
At the Wednesday, July 22 meeting, Dirk Hopgood, CFO of Accretive Solutions, will look at cost-cutting strategies and how to streamline operations. Register today. At the Wednesday, Sept. 23 meeting, Jennifer Vessels, CEO of Next Step, will examine the other side of the coin: How to improve sales results and market sustainability. Register online.
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Join San Francisco Chapter members Tuesday, July 14 as we explore recent developments in state and federal legislation and case law related to estate planning, administration and litigation.
Register online.
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Tighten your spikes and start practicing your swing for the San Francisco Chapter’s Seventh Annual Golf Tournament to be held Tuesday, Sept. 22, at Harding Park–this time under special conditions. In October, many of the world’s top golfers will be at Harding for the international President’s Cup competition, so the golf course will be in wonderful condition. Because of this, we are limited to 72 players.
If you would like to be one of them, don’t wait. Register today.
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Hundreds of CalCPA members from the San Francisco, Peninsula Silicon Valley, San Jose Silicon Valley and East Bay chapters participated in Tax-Aid and provided free tax preparation services to more than 4,000 low-income families in the Bay Area during this tax year.
“These hardworking families received over $4,090,000 in tax refunds,” says Kenneth Lee, CPA, president of Tax-Aid and a Peninsula Silicon Valley Chapter board member. “Obviously they very much need this money to make ends meet during this economic downturn.”
Tax-Aid is a nonprofit organization offering services at 25 locations in six Bay Area counties. The organization also helps families open bank accounts, learn budgeting and financial management skills and access other benefits to help them succeed.
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CalCPA News
Please take three minutes to update your personal profile on our website and indicate your preferred fields of interest. This will allow us to target your meeting announcements so you receive only those of most interest to you. (No more tax updates for auditors—unless you request it).
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Looking for information on what CalCPA events you’ve registered for or a listing of all CPE taken from CalCPA or the Education Foundation? Look no further than the Manage My Account function of CalCPA’s website.
Once you log in to the website with your username and password, the Manage My Account function lets you update your personal and professional profile and provides access to Education Foundation products and course discounts.
Forget your username and password? No worries. Simply visit the Login Recovery webpage, enter your e-mail address and your username and password will be e-mailed to you.
Access Manage My Account today.
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You can post your résumé—for FREE—on CalCPA’s online classified page. Get in front of local employers looking to hire CPA professionals—post your résumé today.
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