Kansas CPA Experience Requirements [2023]

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To meet the Kansas CPA experience requirements and become a CPA, candidates require 2,000 hours of professional accounting experience in at least one year. The experience can be obtained full-time or part-time, but it must be completed within three years. Employment in academia, government, industry, or private practice may be included toward the requirement if the responsibilities performed need to attest or non-attest accounting skills. Candidate CPA must verify all experiences and must record their expertise using the Certificate of Experience Form available on the Board’s website.

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

Table of Contents

Summary of Kansas 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	30
Credit hours in business subjects to sit for the CPA exam	42
Credit hours in written and oral communications to sit for the CPA exam	11
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
Kansas resident	Yes

Kansas Education Requirements

To meet the Kansas CPA education requirements, applicants must obtain 150 semester hours with a bachelor’s degree with an accounting concentration that includes 42 semester hours in business and general education courses, 11 semester hours in written and oral communications and 30 semester hours in accounting theory and practice.

With a regular bachelor’s degree in accounting requiring just 120 semester hours, pursuing a post-baccalaureate certificate or master’s degree in accounting is the most tried and true approach to obtain the 30 additional credits necessary to become a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) in Kansas. Many of these programs are entirely online. There are also specialized five-year CPA track programs that combine a bachelor’s and master’s curriculum to provide you with the 150 semester hours required to satisfy Kansas CPA standards.

Accepted Educational Institutions

The Kansas Board of Accountancy (KSBOA) recognizes all accounting degrees and credits earned at institutions accredited by regional agencies recognized by the US government. See This database.

Correspondence and online courses are allowed if you received credit for them from a KSBOA-approved institution, and they appear on your official transcripts.

Required Courses

The procedure’s general education courses requirements element is the most time-consuming and arguably the most difficult. Before you begin, ensure that your chosen universities are regionally certified by KSBOA-recognized bodies. If the board does not accept your curriculum, you may need to take more courses or find another method to practice accounting without a licensed CPA. Before beginning your study, you should speak with practicing CPAs to see how they completed their schooling and see if they have any advice.

Forty-two semester hours of business and general education classes. These hours must include at least some of the following:

Macro and microeconomics
One upper-level economics course
Two courses covering business law college algebra
Algebra or some other higher-level math
Statistics
Computer science
Finance
Management
Marketing

At least 30 semesters or 45 quarter credits in accounting theory and practice courses, such as:

Financial accounting (intermediate or advanced course or course in financial accounting theory)
Managerial accounting (intermediate or advanced level beyond introductory level)
auditing course
income tax course, and
Accounting systems (post-basic computer course)

Eleven hours of written and spoken communication study. You might take one of the following courses:

Technical writing
Business communications
Public Speaking
Interpersonal communications

30 hours learning accounting theory and practice, including but not limited to:

Upper-level financial accounting
Upper-level managerial accounting
Auditing
Upper-level accounting systems

Candidates may earn up to six credits toward the accounting concentration through any of the following methods: advanced placement classes, credit by examination, credit for military education, credit through experience, and pass-fail courses, as long as the credits are focused on the subjects required for the accounting concentration. Internships can be used to fulfill the 150-hour requirement but not the accounting concentration.

Foreign Education

Any international credentialing assessment agency is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services. Evaluation Services must analyze all foreign transcripts. The assessment service must give a course-by-course evaluation of KSBOA requirements. The judgment should also consider if you studied English as a foreign language.

Passing the CPA Exam

The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) is used by the Board, as is the case in many other states, to handle applications for and administer the AICPA Uniform CPA Exam. Once applicants have satisfied the academic requirements and proven residence, they can apply for the CPA exam on the NASBA website. The CPA exam is divided into four portions, each of which must be completed with a score of 75 or better within 18 months.

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…

Kansas CPA Exam Cost Breakdown

The Kansas CPA exam cost consists of five main fees: an initial exam application fee of $170, a registration fee of $85, the $238.15 per CPA exam section totaling $952.60 for all four sections, an $82.50-160.00 permit fee and lastly the license renewal fee of $165.00.

Initial Exam Application	$170.00
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
Permit Fee (More than one year remaining)	$165.00
Permit Fee (Less than one year remaining)	$82.50
Renewal Fee	$165.00

Kansas CPA Ethics Exam Requirements

To meet the Kansas CPA ethics exam requirements, a candidate must pass the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA) ethics exam which is taken after the completion of the course “Professional Ethics: The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Comprehensive Course (For Licensure).” It is a self-study course and exam requiring a 90% or above score. The AICPA ethics course and take-home exam are available for purchase on the AICPA website.

Apply for Your Kansas CPA License

Submit Your Application for Issuance

Because Kansas is a two-tier state, CPA applicants must first apply for a CPA certificate, the needed hours of experience; once the required hours are achieved, the candidate can identify applicants and permit practice. To request a CPA certificate, candidates who have completed the Uniform CPA Exam and the AICPA ethics exam must fill out the form of the Application for Certificate by Passing Examination in Kansas. The title “CPA” may not be used by certificate holders.

Get Your Kansas CPA Permit

You are now ready to take the next step by applying for your Kansas CPA license to practice.

1. Check to see whether you have:

Completed education requirements of 150 undergraduate semesters (225 quarter) hours with 30 semesters or 45 quarter credits in accounting, 11 semester/17 quarter credits in communication, and 42 semester/63 quarter credits in business. Have your school send official transcripts to:
- CPA Exam Services – Kansas Coordinator
  PO Box 198469
  Nashville, TN 37219-8469
Passed all sections of the Uniform CPA Examination
Attained a passing score on the AICPA professional ethics course and had the results sent to KSBOA
Completed at least 2,000 hours of qualified experience in accounting, including 375 hours in attestation, if applicable
Completed the Certificate of Experience and had the verifying CPA complete his portion

Download the Kansas CPA permit application and submit it with your experience certificate to the KSBOA. The fee you must pay is determined by your certificate number and the year of application. The charge is $150 if your certificate number is odd and you apply for the permit in a strange year. Similarly, the fee for even-numbered certificate holders is $150 in even years. The price is $75 otherwise.

Exceptional Cases for Obtaining Your Kansas State CPA Permit

Assume you have a license from another state with CPA standards that are substantially equal to Kansas but do not have a principal place of business in Kansas. In that instance, you may still be awarded permit holder privileges. The list of states that are substantially equivalent (SE) can be found here.
Suppose you want to practice public accounting in Kansas and hold a CPA license from an SE state/jurisdiction. In that case, public accounting in Kansas and holding a CPA license from an SE state/jurisdiction, you must pay the $250.00 application fee and request your licensing board to provide information on the Authorization for Exchange of Licensure information. You need to have both the Kansas certificate and permit to practice. Evidence of successful completion of the AICPA ethics exam or the other state’s ethics exam recognized by KSBOA is also required.
Assume you do not have a license from a SE state/jurisdiction and want to apply for a Kansas certificate and permit. In that instance, you must produce proof that you meet the education mentioned above, experience, and CPA exam requirements.

Receiving Your Kansas CPA Certificate

After applying and the required evidence, the Board will assess the application; accepted applicants will be awarded a permission card and may begin practicing as a CPA.