Oklahoma CPA Education Requirements [2023]

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Oklahoma CPA Education Requirements

To meet the Oklahoma CPA education requirements and become a CPA, candidates will need to have a bachelor’s degree with 150 semester hours including 76 hours of upper-level division course credit, 30 hours of upper-level accounting courses including at least one course in auditing or assurance and 9 semester hours of upper-level business courses.

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

Summary of Oklahoma CPA Requirements

Credit hours to sit for CPA exams	150
Good moral character	Yes
Oklahoma resident	Yes
Minimum upper-level division course credit	76
Minimum upper-level accounting courses including at least one course in auditing or assurance	30
Minimum semester hours of upper-level business course	9
Bachelor’s required to sit for CPA exams?	Yes
Ethics Exam	Yes
Work Experience	1 Year
Required CPE hours each three-year period	120

Educational Requirements

The first requirement to apply for a CPA exam is attaining a bachelor’s degree or higher from a regionally accredited college or university.

Candidates must complete 150 semester hours or 225 quarter hours in various course subjects, including:

A minimum upper-level division course credit of 76 hours.
A minimum upper-level accounting course of 30 hours with at least one course in auditing or assurance which has a concentration on external auditing standards including but not limited to statements on auditing standards (SAS). Internal auditing however does not meet this requirement.
A minimum upper-level division related course credit of 9 semester hours in any or all of the subjects of:
- Business Communication
- Business Law
- Business Management
- Computer Science
- Economics
- Finance
- Financial Information Systems
- Insurance
- Marketing
- Risk Management
- Statistics

Oklahoma CPA Exam Requirements

Once educational requirements have been completed, candidates can now start applying for the CPA exam. During the application, be sure that the following documents are available for submission:

Official transcripts from all schools attended.
A 2×2 current passport photo.
An affidavit of Lawful Presence in the U.S.

Note that additional documents may be requested or required by the board. The application process takes about 5 to 7 business days and could be longer if some documents are incomplete or more information is needed.

Pass the Uniform CPA Examination

The “Uniform CPA Examination”, which is a 4-part exam, is developed by the AICPA – the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and administered by NASBA – the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy.

The Four CPA Exam Sections are:

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 CPA, 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…

Oklahoma CPA Exam Cost Breakdown

The Oklahoma CPA exam cost consists of seven main fees: the qualification application of $75, a criminal history background search fee of $15, the examination application fee of $75, $226.15 per CPA exam section totaling $905 for all four sections, the CPA license registration fee of $75, a permit fee of $125, and the renewal fee of $75.

Qualification Applicaion Fee	$75.00
Examination Application Fee	$75.00
Criminal History Background Search Fee	$15.00
Auditing and Attestation (AUD)	$226.15
Business Environment and Concepts (BEC)	$226.15
Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)	$226.15
Regulation (REG)	$226.15
Total for all 4 CPA Exam Sections	$905.00
Registration Fee	$75.00
Permit Fee	$125.00
Renewal Fee	$75.00
Late Fee	$75.00

Oklahoma CPA Ethics Exam Requirements

To meet the Oklahoma CPA ethics exam requirements, candidates will need to complete the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) course called “Professional Ethics: AICPA’s Comprehensive Course” (For Licensure) or its equivalent as determined by the board and must be earned within the previous calendar year or within 365 days immediately preceding the date of the permit application. The course and exam may be found on AICPA’s website and must be passed with a score of 90% or higher.

Along with the ethics requirement, a candidate must report a minimum of 40 hours of CPE where passing the AICPA exam can be counted toward the 40 hours of CPE required for the permit.

Oklahoma CPA Experience Requirements

To meet the Oklahoma CPA experience requirements, candidates will have to comply with the one year of accounting experience requirement which consists of full-time employment that is no less than one year and no fewer than 2,000 hours. Experience must be satisfied through work in government, industry, academia or public practice, all of which must be verified by a certificate or license holder or an individual approved by the board.

The experience is defined by the board by rule and must include providing a type of service or advice involving accounting, attestation, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, and consulting skills.

Oklahoma CPA License Requirements

In order to obtain a certified public accountant license in Oklahoma, applicants must meet and submit the necessary CPA license requirements upon receipt of official score notification.

After the candidate’s experience is approved by the board, an application for certification will be sent. Fill out the application and submit and pay the appropriate fee ($75).

The board will then schedule the candidate’s name on the next board meeting agenda for approval. Successful candidates will be sent a notification of approval by the board.

Permit to Practice

The state of Oklahoma is one of few two-tier states. This means that you must have a CPA certificate and a permit to practice in order to legally practice public accounting.

Requirements to acquire the permit are generally the same as the license. However, you may only apply and register for this after completing the following:

CPE Certificates of Completion – report a minimum of 40 hours.
AICPA Ethics Course Certificate of Completion – Earned within the previous calendar year or 365 days immediately preceding the date of application.
$125 fee payable to Oklahoma Accountancy Board.