Arkansas CPA Requirements

Arkansas State Requirements & Education Options

General Requirement

Applicant’s license must be obtained within three (3) years of completing the CPA Exam.

Applicant must be of good moral character. Applicant may be required to submit to a state and national background check to determine good moral character.

Education Requirement

Any candidate who successfully completes the CPA examination must also complete 150 hours of education in order to be licensed.

An applicant will be deemed to have met the education requirement if the applicant earned a graduate or an undergraduate degree, either of which includes at least 30 hours in business and at least 30 upper-level or 20 graduate hours in accounting (or a combination thereof) from a college or university that meets certain requirements for accreditation.

The Accounting Concentration must include at least 30 semester credit hours (SCH) of undergraduate accounting courses above the principles level or 20 SCH of graduate-level accounting courses, or a combination including courses in financial accounting, management accounting, governmental and not-for-profit accounting, federal taxation, auditing and attestation, and accounting information systems with a grade of “C” or better in each course.

The Business Concentration must include at least 30 SCH of undergraduate courses in business, other than accounting, or 20 SCH of graduate business courses other than accounting (or a combination) with a grade of “C” or better in each course.

The accounting or business component (but not both) may include a maximum of three (3) SCH earned for an accounting internship. Internship credit may not be used to fulfill the subject matter requirements. The business component may include a maximum of three (3) SCH earned for a business internship, other than in accounting.

The accounting or business component (but not both) may include a maximum of three (3) SCH earned for an independent study. When appropriately documented by the institution, these hours may be used to fulfill part of the subject matter requirements listed.