subject: Requirements for Taking the CPA Exam in Illinois [print this page] Requirements for Taking the CPA Exam in Illinois
Generally, when an aspiring certified public accountant is about to take the qualifying exam to finally earn his certification or license, the only requirement would be to first earn a bachelor's degree in accountancy, taxation, business, or economics, and then fulfill the work experience requirement. But this requirement could vary, depending on the state where the aspiring certified public accountant would wish to practice his profession. Some of the states with special requirements for their aspiring certified public accountants include the state of Illinois.
Taking the CPA Exam in Illinois: The Educational Requirement
The state of Illinois is actually a bit loose when it comes to the requirements for those who would be taking the certifying exam for certified public accountants. The focus is more so on the education aspect. This is especially seen in their educational requirement prior to taking the certified public accountant's exam. Here, the aspiring CPA needs to, on top of his bachelor's, baccalaureate, or college course in accountancy or in any related discipline, be able to earn at least 150 semester hours of further related courses in the field of accounting. This 150 hours needs to include at least 24 semester hours worth of studies in business courses or their equivalent aside from accounting. This can be taken along with the aspiring certified public accountant's college course or as a course he takes after graduating from college. Also, he needs to have at least 24 semester hours worth of accounting units that should include a course each in auditing, financial accounting, management accounting, and taxation. Like the other requirement, this can also be taken along with his course in college or as a graduate course.
Expenses Associated with the CPA Exam in Illinois
And then, of course there were the fees that the aspiring certified public accountant needs to pay to be able to take the certification exam. For those who will take the exam for the first time, they will need to pay 175 dollars to the Illinois board of CPA examiners. 50 dollars will be the fee for those who will retake the exam. And then, there were the application fees for each exam section. For those who will take all four sections, they will need to pay 120 dollars. For three exam sections, the fee would be 108 dollars. 76 dollars will be the application fee for two exam sections, and 40 dollars for one section.
On top of that, there are also fees for each exam coverage. These are auditing and attestation, business environment and concepts, financial accounting and reporting, and regulation. For those taking auditing and attestation, the fee would be 209.33 dollars. For business environment and concepts, it will be 161.63 dollars. 197.40 dollars will be the fee for financial accounting and reporting, and 173.55 dollars for regulation.
Further Requirements in Taking the CPA Exam in Illinois
The good news with taking the CPA exam in Illinois is that it does not require the applicant to be a resident of the state prior to taking the exam there. Even American citizenship is not requirement. People of all ages can take the certifying exam for public accountants.
