WAC 4-25-730  

WAC 4-25-730  What are the experience requirements in order to obtain a CPA license? 

Qualifying experience may be obtained through the practice of public accounting and/or employment in industry, academia, or government. Your experience may be obtained through one or more employers, with or without compensation, and may consist of a combination of full-time and part-time employment.

(1) Your experience must support the attainment of the competencies defined by subsection (2) of this section and:

(a) Cover a minimum twelve-month period (this time period does not need to be consecutive);

(b) Consist of a minimum of two thousand hours;

(c) Be obtained through the use of accounting, attest, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, tax advisory or consulting skills;

(d) Be verified by a licensed CPA as meeting the requirements identified in subsection (3) of this section; and

(e) Unless you meet the requirements of subsection (4) of this section, be obtained no more than eight years prior to the date the board receives your complete license application.

(2) Competencies: The experience must support the attainment of the following competencies:

(a) Understand the rules of professional conduct contained in chapter 4-25 WAC;

(b) Assess the achievement of an entity's objectives;

(c) Develop documentation and sufficient data to support analysis and conclusions;

(d) Understand transaction streams and information systems;

(e) Assess risk and design appropriate procedures;

(f) Make decisions, solve problems, and think critically in the context of analysis; and

(g) Communicate scope of work, findings and conclusions effectively.

(3) Verifying CPA: To verify a candidate's experience you must have held a valid CPA license to practice public accounting in Washington or another jurisdiction on the date that you verified the candidate's experience and also for a minimum of five years prior to verifying the candidate's experience. The five years do not need to be consecutive.

(4) CPA-Inactive certificateholders applying for a license: If you held a Washington state certificate on June 30, 2001, and you submit your application for a license by June 30, 2006, you may include experience obtained at any time during your lifetime.

(5) Experience affidavit: The applicant must verify that they have met the experience requirements of this section on the appropriate form(s) provided by the board. The verifying CPA must certify that the applicant's experience meets subsection (2) of this section.

(6) Records retention: Candidates must maintain documentation supporting the representations made on their experience affidavit for a minimum of three years after the date the candidate's initial license is issued by the board.

(7) Audit: The board may audit compliance with these experience requirements at any time during the three-year period following the date the candidate's initial license is issued.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 18.04.955(11) [18.04.055(11)] and18.04.105 (1)(d). 05-01-137, § 4-25-730, filed 12/16/04, effective 1/31/05.  Statutory Authority: RCW 18.04.055(11) and 18.04.105(1)(d). 02-04-64, § 4-25-730, filed 1/31/02, effective 3/15/02. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.04.215. 01-03-011, § 4-25-730, filed 1/5/01, effective 6/30/01. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.04.055 and 18.04.215 (1)(a). 99-18-113, § 4-25-730, filed 9/1/99, effective 1/1/00. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.04.055. 93-12-068, § 4-25-730, filed 5/27/93, effective 7/1/93.]

Also see Board Policy 2001-2  Experience

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