Hawaii CPA Experience Requirements [2023]

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To meet the Hawaii CPA experience requirements and become a CPA, candidates must satisfy ONE of the following:

Scenario 1: Complete 1500 chargeable hours in auditing while working full-time (at least 35 hours a week) in a public accounting firm.
Experience must involve using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and auditing standards. OR
Scenario 2: Complete two years of professional full-time (at least 35 hours a week) experience working in private industry or private sector, government, education (upper-level teaching undergraduate or graduate-level accounting or auditing subjects), public accounting practice involves the use of auditing and accounting skills in one or more of the following areas: issuing reports on financial statements,
management advisory services, consulting services, preparing tax returns, and offering tax advice

This article will help you to become a CPA in Hawaii and is a requirement for you to take the Hawaii CPA exam.

Table of Contents

Summary of Hawaii CPA Requirements

Credit hours to sit for the CPA exam	150
Bachelor’s required to sit for the CPA exam	Yes
Credit hours in accounting subjects to sit for the CPA exam	18
Credit hours in business subjects to sit for the CPA exam	0
Credit hours in accounting courses for CPA License	24
Credit hours in business courses for CPA License	24
Total credit hours to receive a CPA license	150
Work experience required to receive a CPA license	2 years
Ethics exam required to get a CPA license	No

Hawaii CPA Education Requirements

To meet the Hawaii CPA education requirements, a baccalaureate or higher degree and 150 semester hours of college education must be completed. These should include 24 semester hours in upper-division or graduate-level accounting or auditing courses and 24 semester hours in upper-division or graduate-level accounting or business-related courses.

Required Courses

The 150 hours must contain 24 semester hours in accounting, auditing, taxation, business-related courses, and awarding 18 upper-division or graduate-level practices to qualify for a license. Business-related courses that are acceptable include:

24 semester hours of accounting courses, 18 of which are upper-division undergraduate (junior or senior level) or graduate-level accounting courses in disciplines such as (but not limited to):
- Auditing
- Taxation
- Financial Accounting
- Managerial Accounting
24 semester hours of upper-division undergraduate or graduate-level accounting or business-related courses, including (but not limited to):
- The legal and social environment of business
- Economics
- Marketing
- Business law
- Organizational, individual, and group behavior
- Finance
- Communication skills
- Quantitative applications in business
- Globalization
- Business ethics
- Computer science

Accepted Educational Institutions

The Hawaii Board of Public Accountancy will accept degrees and college credit hours earned at schools with standard institutional accreditation from any of the six regional accreditors and the national accreditor listed below:

Foreign Education

If you graduated from a foreign institution or university, your qualifications must be evaluated by a Board-approved international evaluation agency. NASBA International Evaluation Services can help you find one.

Pass the Uniform CPA Exam

Candidates who have obtained a Notice to Schedule are qualified to schedule and take the Uniform CPA Exam.

The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy administers the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Uniform CPA Exam, required for a CPA license in all 50 states (NASBA). Applicants in Hawaii may take the Uniform CPA Exam after completing a bachelor’s degree and 18 semesters (or 27 quarter) hours of upper-division or graduate-level accounting or auditing studies.

Candidates for the examination should apply directly to NASBA to arrange and take the exam after meeting the 150-hour education requirement or intending to finish it within 120 days (or having achieved a bachelor’s degree plus completed 18 hours of upper-division/graduate accounting study). Within an 18-month rolling period, all four exam components must be passed with a score of 75 or higher.

The Four CPA Exam Sections

Auditing and Attestation (AUD)

The Auditing and Attestation (AUD) section of the Uniform CPA Examination (the Exam) tests the essential knowledge and skills a newly licensed CPA must demonstrate when performing audit engagements, attestation engagements or accounting and review service engagements.

Newly licensed CPAs are required to:

Demonstrate knowledge and skills related to professional responsibilities, including ethics, independence and professional skepticism. Professional skepticism reflects an iterative process that includes a questioning mind and a critical assessment of audit evidence.
understand the entity including its operations, information systems (including the use of third-party systems) and its underlying business processes, risks, and related internal controls.
understand the flow of transactions and underlying data through a business process and its related information systems.

Business Environment and Concepts (BEC)

The Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) section of the Uniform CPA Examination (the Exam) tests knowledge and skills that a newly licensed CPA must demonstrate when performing:

Audit, attest, accounting, and review services
Financial reporting
Tax preparation
Other professional services

The content areas tested under the BEC section of the Exam encompass five diverse subject areas. These content areas are enterprise risk management, internal controls and business processes, economics, financial management, information technology and operations management.

Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)

The Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) section of the Uniform CPA Examination (the Exam) assesses the knowledge and skills that a newly licensed CPA must demonstrate in the financial accounting and reporting frameworks used by business entities (public and nonpublic), not-for-profit entities and state and local government entities.

The financial accounting and reporting frameworks that are eligible for assessment within the FAR section of the Exam include the standards and regulations issued by the:

Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (U.S. SEC)
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)

Regulation (REG)

The Regulation (REG) section of the Uniform CPA Examination (the Exam) tests the knowledge and skills that a newly licensed CPA must demonstrate with respect to:

U.S. federal taxation
U.S. ethics and professional responsibilities related to tax practice
U.S. business law

Tips for Passing the CPA Exam

The CPA exam covers so many topics that you will need to study specifically for each section, usually for 6-8 weeks per section. Even a master’s degree in accounting doesn’t adequately prepare you to just walk in and pass the 4 CPA exams.

You will need a full review course such as Becker, Wiley CPAexcel, Gleim, Roger, etc, and you will need to dedicate several hours a day over the course of months to even have a chance at getting passing scores.

How to Save Yourself MONTHS of Time and Frustration
Keep in mind that the CPA exam is the one part of getting your CPA license that you can control how long it takes. The education and experience requirements take as long as they take, but the CPA exams can take you as little as 6 months, or as long as multiple years… depending on how effective your study process is from the beginning.
Learn how to study strategically so you can save yourself tons of time and retake fees with this free training…

Hawaii CPA Exam Cost Breakdown

The Hawaii CPA exam cost consists of seven main fees: an initial exam application fee of $170, an exam registration fee of $85 and the $238.15per CPA exam section totaling $952.60 for all four sections.

As for CPA licensing, it will depend on whether the year of issue of the license is odd ($127) or even ($195) and will cost $152 for renewal. Then finally, there is the initial permit to practice fee that will cost $155 which will also cost the same amount to renew.

Initial Exam Application Fee	$170.00
Exam Registration Fee	$85.00
Auditing and Attestation (AUD)	$238.15
Business Environment and Concepts (BEC)	$238.15
Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)	$238.15
Regulation (REG)	$238.15
Total for all 4 CPA Exam Sections	$952.60
Initial CPA License Application Fee (ODD-NUMBERED YEAR)	$127.00
Initial CPA License Application Fee (EVEN-NUMBERED YEAR)	$195.00
Permit to Practice for CPA (sole, partner, principal)	$155.00
Permit to Practice for CPA (staff member)	$63.00
CPA License Renewal	$152.00

Hawaii CPA Ethics Exam

While most states require ethics before licensing, Hawaii candidates can become a CPA without it as there are no Hawaii CPA ethics exam requirements. Candidates need only to fulfill the experience requirements for licensure after passing the CPA Exam.

Receiving Your Hawaii CPA License

Following the Uniform CPA Exam results, the application packet will be reviewed and authorized by the Board at the next Board meeting. Applicants will receive their license card within two to three weeks following the meeting, and a certificate will be mailed to them between four to six weeks. Before licensees can begin practicing, they must apply for a Permit to Practice at least 30 days before the permits’ effective date.