Wisconsin CPA License

Here is a step-by-step guide to help you to get a CPA license in Wisconsin.

Step 1. Complete Your Education

a. Find and contact the institutions in Wisconsin that offer accounting programs to get information. All the certified accountants must meet the educational criteria of the Wisconsin State Department of Regulation and Licensing. It includes a bachelor’s degree consisting of at least 150 semester hours of college credit and a bachelor’s degree.

b. Make sure that your program is approved by the Wisconsin State Board of Accountancy. All the programs in Wisconsin need to have accreditation from an agency that is approved by the U.S. Department of Education. The Wisconsin State Board of Accountancy approves the institutions that have accreditation from the regional or national institutional accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary of the Department of Education.

• If your program is not accredited or you take your program in a foreign college or university, first, the member agency of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) needs to review your credits and make a decision whether your credit is acceptable or not. Then you can take the Uniform CPA Exam. Additionally to these courses you also need to take courses in business law and income taxation. So, after completing this class and your bachelor’s degree, you need to provide the official transcript.

c. Enroll in courses that can get you college credit. A bachelor’s degree and the following courses must be included in your 150-semester hours of college credit:

Step 2. Pass The Uniform CPA Exam

Once you have gained 120 semester hours of the total requirement of 150 and get a bachelor’s degree, you can take the Uniform CPA Examination.

a. Firstly, apply for the exam directly via the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy’s (NASBA) CPA Examination Services (CPAES). You can apply and provide required documents online here.

b. Here are additional documents that you have to provide:

• Request your education institution to send your transcript directly to the CPAES at CPA Examination Services. If your program has electronic transcripts, you can email [email protected].
• Sign the application and notarize it.
• Application fee

c. When they approve your application, you will get the Notice to Schedule (NTS) the Uniform CPA Exam. You will get it by mail, fax, or email. It will arrive in 6 weeks for first-time applications and 4 weeks for online applications.

d. In order to make an appointment for the exam in Wisconsin visit the Prometric testing center website.

e. So, the next step is to come to the testing center on time and take the exam.

f. The test scores will be posted online as soon as they are mailed to you after they have been counted. You can see your score here.

Step 3. Get The Necessary Experience.

Additionally, you need to complete the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing’s educational, examination, and experience requirements in order to be able to get the license.

a. You need to have one year of paying public accounting experience after completing the educational standards. In order to get a CPA license, you must refer your work history and job certification statements to the board for review, along with the Verification of Employment and Experience Evaluation form. Also, both expertise must be checked by a confirming CPA with an active license in good standing.

To fulfill the experience requirements, you need to meet the following conditions:

• Positions in business and administration accounting that require a high degree of expertise, experience, and judgment are considered.
• Most accountants, auditing, financial consultant, and work for comptrollers, as well as anybody who prepares taxes other than individual returns, will apply.
• Part-time work should be counted proportionately, but it is usually given less consideration.
• Experience in bookkeeping and basic individual tax returns is not eligible.
• To be accepted as eligible experience, self-employment has to be completely registered and submitted to the board in person for approval.

The below are examples of experience equivalents:

• Teaching advanced technical accounting courses is a plus.
• When it comes to the law, experience is required when it comes to making autonomous accounting judgments that necessitate a high degree of accounting expertise, skill, and judgment.

Step 4. Get Your Wisconsin CPA License.

So, if you pass the exam and have got the work experience, then it is time to get your license to work as a CPA. Double-check to make sure that you have done everything and are completely ready. Here is the list of Wisconsin CPA license requirements list:

• Have a bachelor’s degree and 150 education hours.
• Pass the Uniform CPA Examination.
• Complete the required work experience for a year.

b. Also, submit the certified Public Accountant Credential Form Application and the supporting documents. Including:

• • Application for Certified Public Accountant Credential form
  • Convictions and Pending Charges disclosure form as applicable
  • Personal Chronological Resume of Accounting Experience form
  • Verification of Employment and Experience Evaluation form

• Fees that total $150 ($75 for application and $75 for ethics test)

c. Pass the Wisconsin Online ethics exam.

d. Wait for the verification process to complete.

When you submit the relevant paperwork and ethics evaluations are, your application will be reviewed.

Licensure by Endorsement

If you have a license from another state but want to work as a CPA in Wisconsin, you need to meet all of the requirements of a CPA certificate holder in Wisconsin. So, you need to provide proof of passing the Uniform CPA Exam and practicing as a CPA for five or more years. You also need to take the Wisconsin ethics exam.

Step 5. Continuing Professional Education in Wisconsin

In order to keep your CPA certificate in Wisconsin, you don’t need to do continuing professional education (CPE). However, like many other CPAs in Wisconsin, you can be a member of the Wisconsin Institute of Certified Public Accountants (WICPA), which requires CPE.

1. Enroll in an instructional accepted program.
2. You need to save all the records of the CPE that you took in 5 years after completing the course.