Iowa CPA Experience Requirements [2023]

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To meet the Iowa CPA experience requirements and become a CPA, candidates are required 2,000 hours or 12 months of experience in practical accounting, attestation, management, advisory, financial, tax, or consulting services of any kind. If you have academic experience, you must have taught a minimum of 24 semester hours of accounting courses in higher education.

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

Table of Contents

Summary of Iowa CPA Requirements

Credit hours to sit for the CPA exam	120
Bachelor’s required to sit for the CPA exam	Yes
Credit hours in accounting subjects to sit for the CPA exam	24
Credit hours in business subjects to sit for the CPA exam	24
Total credit hours to receive a CPA license	150
Work experience required to receive a CPA license	1 year
Ethics exam required to get a CPA license	Yes

Iowa Education Requirements

To become a licensed CPA in Iowa, there are certain credentials and educational requirements to meet the CPA exam requirements. All potential candidates are required to meet the Iowa CPA educational requirement of a bachelor’s degree with 150 semester hours in accounting from a regionally accredited college or an accredited institution recognized by the Iowa board.

Comply with Iowa’s CPA degree and coursework requirements and complete the state’s educational requirements for a bachelor’s or higher degree, which will actually give you a total of 150 semester hours of credit in the following areas:

A graduate degree with a concentration in accounting from a program approved by a board-recognized accrediting agency.
A graduate degree in business from a program approved by a board-recognized accrediting agency with 24 semester hours in accounting that includes:
- Auditing
- Financial Accounting
- Management Accounting
- Taxation
A bachelor’s degree in business or accounting from a program approved by a board-recognized accrediting agency with:
- 24 semester hours of accounting that includes:
  - Auditing
  - Financial Accounting
  - Management Accounting
  - Taxation
- 24 semester hours in business-related courses that includes:
  - Business Law
  - Finance
  - Marketing
  - Management
  - Economics

If you earned your degree in another country, your academic qualifications must be examined by Foreign Academic Credential Services, Inc. (FACS) or NASBA International Evaluation Services to determine your eligibility to take the Uniform CPA exam.

Please be reminded of the following:

Correspondence, online, CLEP, and CPA review courses count for credit with the Board if you get credit for them at an accredited college or university.
Commercial CPA review courses do not contribute toward Board credit.
Courses taken at a community college or a two-year institution count for credit with the Board.
Developmental and/or remedial courses do not count for credit with the Board.
Internships and life experience may be included toward the total requirement of 150 hours.

Submission of Transcript

You must present an original college transcript from your previous school or institution attended.

Credit for courses completed at institutions outside the United States must be transferred to an eligible bachelor’s degree-granting institution within the United States.

On the official transcript, the degree must be noted, and make sure that the transcript is official and sealed before you submit it. The transcript can be submitted directly to the institution or via electronic to etranscript@nasba.org.

Pass the Uniform CPA Exam

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

To qualify for a license, all four sections of the Uniform CPA Exam must be taken and passed with a score of 75 or better within 18 months. Candidates who need to retake any unit (s) of the exam must apply to the Board for re-examination.

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…

Iowa CPA Exam Cost Breakdown

The Iowa CPA exam cost consists of five main fees: an initial exam application fee of $170, a registration fee of $90, the $238.15 per CPA exam section totaling $952.60 for all four sections, a $100 fee on the initial CPA registration and the annual registration and renewal fee of $100.

Initial Exam Application Fee	$170.00
Registration Fee	$90.00
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 Registration Fee	$100.00
Annual Registration and Renewal of Active CPA License Fee	$100.00

Iowa CPA Ethics Exam Requirements

To meet the Iowa CPA ethics exam requirements, candidates have to complete the AICPA ethics exam and pass with a score of 90% or higher. The course is Professional Ethics: The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Comprehensive Course (For Licensure) and is found on AICPA’s website.

Iowa CPA License Requirements

You are now eligible to apply for an Iowa CPA license. The following is a list of the essential procedures you should have taken in order to receive a license:

Steps to Pre-Licensure

All four units of the Uniform CPA Examination were passed.
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Professional Conduct and Ethics course was satisfactorily completed.
Completed 150 semester (or 225 undergraduate quarter) hours of coursework with an accounting and business focus, and a bachelor’s degree or higher
12 months of competent accounting experience (or 2,000 hours)
Have your confirming CPA sign your completed Verification of Experience and Attest Qualification paperwork (if applicable).

Apply for a CPA license in Iowa.

Visit Iowa PLB and create an account to get started. All application materials must be submitted electronically.
Include necessary documents such as transcripts, your verifying CPA’s signed Verification of Experience and Attest Qualification forms (if required), etc.
Prepare your application fee payable to the Iowa Accountancy Examining Board ($100 for the initial registration fee, plus an additional $100 if applying for attest privileges).
Applications are reviewed by the board and will be approved if there are no questions or concerns. It will typically require 2-3 weeks to process the application.