Michigan CPA Exam

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Michigan Board of Accountancy (BOA) is the licensing body for CPAs in the state. It establishes rules, grants licenses, and regulates the profession. It targets to protect the public interest by ensuring the license holders demonstrate utmost integrity and competence in their professional conduct.

Michigan is a one-tier state. Therefore, candidates do not obtain a CPA certificate for passing the CPA ExamCPA ExamA Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is a US state board-issued license to practice the accounting professionread more successfully. Alternately, successful candidates qualify for the CPA license only after satisfactorily meeting the compulsory education and experience criteria. Note that the state also partakes in the international administration of the CPA Exam. 

Michigan has a business-friendly environment that ranks among the best in the country. Its geographic advantage and the significant talent pool attract businesses to expand their operations here. 

Moreover, with 17 Fortune 500 enterprises, Michigan is also ranked among the top 10 states for most Fortune 500 headquarters nationwide. With a low cost of living and growth-oriented business climate, it is the ultimate destination for aspiring CPAs. 

Let’s brief you on everything about the Michigan CPA exam and license requirements without further ado. 

Contents

Michigan CPA Exam Requirements

  • Eligibility RequirementsFeesRequired Documents

Michigan CPA License Requirements

  • Education RequirementsExam RequirementsExperience Requirements

Continuing Professional Education (CPE)

Michigan Exam Information & Resources

Michigan CPA Exam Requirements

The computerized CPA Exam covers four sections developed to test your awareness and caliber as a newly licensed CPA. The passing grade for each four-hour-long section is 75 points on a scale of 0-99. 

  • Regulation (REG CPA ExamREG CPA ExamREG CPA Exam (Regulation) exam section tests a candidate’s competency in applying the concepts of federal taxation, business law, and ethics. It is a four-hour exam with 15 minutes break.
  • read more)Auditing & Attestation (AUD CPA ExamAUD CPA ExamAuditing and Attestation (AUD) is one of the four Uniform Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Exam sections to be passed for CPA licensure. With a complex exam format, tricky questions, and an exhaustive list of topics to study, you will benefit from some quick tips on the art of preparing for the AUD CPA exam section.read more)Financial Accounting & Reporting (FAR CPA ExamFAR CPA ExamThe Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) CPA Exam section tests a candidate’s competency in understanding and applying financial accounting and reporting standards.read more)Business Environment & Concepts (BEC CPA ExamBEC CPA ExamThe BEC CPA Exam (Business Environment and Concepts) exam section evaluates your understanding of the general business environment and your duties and responsibilities as a CPA towards it. It assesses your ability to recognize and scrutinize situations related to Financial reporting, Financial statement audit and attestation and Tax preparation
  • read more)

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), and Prometric develop and supervise the examination. 

Candidates have a rolling 18-month term for successful CPA exam completion, beginning from the testing date of the first passed section. 

Eligibility Requirements

Candidates must take one of the following pathways to be eligible to take the CPA Exam:

Applicants currently enrolled in college must complete the educational requisites and confirm degree conferral within 60 days after attempting the first exam section. 

  • Managerial accounting, including cost accounting
  • Financial accounting & accounting theory
  • U.S. federal taxation
  • Accounting systems & controls
  • Governmental/fund accounting

Candidates must apply for the exam through CPA Examination Services (CPAES). While submitting the application, they must attach the required fees and documents. Please check the NASBA portal for more information. 

NASBA Advisory Evaluation service is also available to identify any academic drawbacks in the documents before submitting the initial application. 

Fees

Here is the Michigan exam fees structure for re-examination candidates. 

Michigan exam applicants can’t drop out from the test or request a Notice-to-Schedule (NTS) extension. Nonetheless, they may request to extend their NTS or a partial exam amount refund only in exceptional conditions. 

Since both application and examination fees are non-refundable, applicants must schedule and sit for the applied section(s) within six months of the NTS issuance date. Or else, they would lose the fees.

Required Documents

Let’s view the required documents. 

The e-transcripts must be sent by the candidate’s college or university directly to CPAES. Moreover, candidates with Canadian educational credentials may directly submit the documents along with the exam application. However, candidates must not submit photocopies of transcripts as they are considered unofficial and unacceptable.

Michigan CPA License Requirements

Here is a quick checklist for Michigan CPA licensure requirements. 

The Great Lake State does not have a minimum age, U.S. citizenship, or state residency requirements. Candidates must submit the CPA licensure application, fees, and required documents to the Michigan state board. Please refer to the official website for more details. 

Let’s view the applicable fees. 

Education Requirements

CPA aspirants must hold at least a bachelor’s degree from an authorized college or university with an accounting major. It involves earning a minimum of 150 semester hours along with:

  • 3 semester hours in auditing24 semester hours in general business subjects (except accounting) like:Business communicationsBusiness ethicsEconomicsBusiness lawManagementFinanceInformation systems or technologyMarketingStatisticsQuantitative methodsOther state board-approved subjects21 semester hours in accounting principles covering the following areas:Managerial accounting, including cost accountingFinancial accounting & accounting theoryTaxationAccounting systems & controlsGovernmental/fund accounting

  • Business communications

  • Business ethics

  • Economics

  • Business law

  • Management

  • Finance

  • Information systems or technology

  • Marketing

  • Statistics

  • Quantitative methods

  • Other state board-approved subjects

  • Managerial accounting, including cost accounting

  • Financial accounting & accounting theory

  • Taxation

  • Accounting systems & controls

  • Governmental/fund accounting

In the case of two duplicative courses, the first course hours are counted toward the semester-hour requirement. 

Exam Requirements

Michigan CPA licensure applicants must score a minimum of 75 points in each of the four CPA exam sections. They have a rolling 18-month period to receive the passing grades. Kindly visit the Michigan Exam Requirements section for further information. 

Experience Requirements

Candidates must obtain at least 2000 hours of relevant work experience within 1-5 years before applying for the license. The work experience has to be verified by an active CPA to be acceptable. The qualifying employment fields include government, industry, public practice, or academia. 

Experience gained during a college or university internship is acceptable, including the internships counted toward the educational requirement. In addition, applicants with a minimum of four semester hours of an academic appointment in accounting at a state-board recognized institute may include instruction as qualifying experience.  

Continuing Professional Education (CPE)

Michigan requires CPAs to renew their license every two years after earning 80 CPE credit hours. CPE keeps them updated about the current changes to the CPA profession. They must complete the required hours from state-board approved CPE sponsors. The Michigan board accepts credits from programs provided by NASBA’s National Registry Sponsors. 

Check out all the details here. 

Michigan is a state with high employment prospects for CPAs. It offers them a yearly average base pay of $58,789. From large corporations to small start-ups, all hunt for qualified CPAs to boost their market presence. 

The state’s awe-inspiring economic growth is a motivation for CPA aspirants. So, don’t wait anymore! Start prepping up for the Michigan CPA licensure as soon as you graduate. Take some valuable insights from former CPAs. Also, ensure to browse through the Michigan board website for updates on the CPA exam and license requirements. Learn more about CPEs for CPACPEs For CPAAs a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), you need to acquire Continuing Professional Education or CPE credits for sustaining your license. This ensures that you are actively involved in improving your know-how of the profession by engaging in learning activities.read more

Michigan Exam Information & Resources

  1. Michigan Department of Licensing & Regulatory Affairs (https://www.michigan.gov/lara/)

Mailing Address

Ottawa Building

611 W. Ottawa

P.O Box 30004

Lansing, MI 48909

Phone: 517-335-9700

  1. Michigan Association of CPAs (https://www.micpa.org/)

888 West Big Beaver Rd.

Suite 550

Troy, MI 48084

Phone: 248.267.3700

  1. NASBA (https://nasba.org/)

150 Fourth Ave. North

Suite 700

Nashville, TN 37219-2417

Phone: 615-880-4200

Fax: 615-880-4290

CPAES

1.800.CPA.EXAM

International: 615-880-4250

[email protected]

  1. AICPA (https://www.aicpa.org/)

220 Leigh Farm Road

Durham, NC 27707-8110

Phone: +1.919.402.4500Fax: +1.919.402.4505

A Guide to Michigan CPA Exam & License Requirements. Here we discuss its education requirements, fees, eligibility criteria, required documents etc. You may also have a look at the below articles to compare CPA with other examinations –

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