South Dakota CPA Education Requirements [2023]

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South Dakota CPA Education Requirements

To meet the South Dakota CPA education requirements and become a CPA, candidates need to acquire a bachelor’s or graduate degree in accounting or a course of study that is the equivalent of an accounting degree with 150-semester credits that includes 24 semester hours in accounting including elementary principles of accounting and at least one course each in intermediate or advanced accounting, auditing, taxation and cost accounting; and 24 semester hours in business courses other than accounting.

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

Summary of South Dakota CPA Requirements

Credit Hours to sit for the CPA Exam	150
Credit Hours in Accounting including Elementary Principles of Accounting to sit for the CPA Exam	24
Credit Hours in Business other than Accounting to sit for the CPA Exam	24
Bachelor’s Required to sit for the CPA Exam?	Yes
Ethics Exam Required?	Yes
Work Experience Required	1 – 3 Years
Required CPE Hours Every Three Years	120

General Requirements

The state does not require in-state residency for licensure nor requires you to be a U.S. citizen; the Social Security number is optional. You must also declare any criminal convictions or license revocations from your past.

Education Requirement

The South Dakota Board of Accountancy requires all CPA applicants to have a bachelor’s degree or higher and 150 semester college credit hours.

Credit Requirements for South Dakota CPA License

With a conventional bachelor’s degree in accounting consisting of only 120 semester hours, pursuing a post-baccalaureate certificate or master’s degree in accounting is the most tried and established approach to obtain those 30 more credits.

Many of these programs are entirely online. You can also locate specialized five-year CPA track programs that offer a hybrid bachelor’s and master’s curriculum tailored to provide you with the 150 semester hours required to achieve South Dakota CPA requirements.

All candidates must finish at least 24 semester hours of accounting courses, including a system on basic accounting principles.

Accepted Educational Institutions

The first step is to check that your college or university is accredited by a South Dakota Board of Accountancy-recognized agency. If it is not, your credits will not transfer to a license, and you will have to retake classes. In this case, seek clarification from your academic advisor. The Board is looking for the following accreditation agencies:

Coursework taken at a two-year college is admissible if it is regionally certified, as are courses taken at an online college if it is regionally approved.

If you attended a non-accredited college or university, your credits would be accepted if and only if the following conditions are met:

You were accepted into a graduate-level business program at a recognized college.
Your institution wasn’t accredited at the time of your education but was certified at the time of application, given that their graduation requirements were substantially similar before receiving accreditation.
You complete 15 semester/22 quarter hours, including nine semester/13 quarter hours in accounting through an accredited institution after earning your bachelor’s degree

Required Courses

Meet the CPA degree and program requirements in South Dakota. The 150 semester hours (225 quarter hours) of college education must contain the following courses through a combination of your bachelor’s program and graduate courses or credits acquired as part of a certificate achieved concurrently or separately from your degree:

24 semester hours in accounting, including these courses:

Intermediate/advanced accounting
Auditing
Taxation
Cost Accounting

24 semester hours in business-related courses that may include:

Business Law
Economics
Business Communications
Corporate Finance
Marketing
Management

Foreign Education

If you studied abroad in the United States, contact one of the foreign transcript review firms listed below:

The evaluation agency will subsequently submit initial evaluations for final approval to the South Dakota Board of Accountancy.

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…

South Dakota CPA Exam Cost Breakdown

The South Dakota CPA exam cost consists of three main fees: the $268.15 per CPA exam section totaling $1072.60 for all four sections, the CPA certificate application fee which depends on the day that you’ll apply, and lastly the renewal fee of $50.

Below are South Dakota’s exam section fees and included in each of the examination fees is a $30 application processing fee. All exam fees are non-refundable.

Auditing and Attestation (AUD)	$268.15
Business Environment and Concepts (BEC)	$268.15
Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)	$268.15
Regulation (REG)	$268.15
Total for all 4 CPA Exam Sections	$1,072.60
Exam Reschedule Fee	$35.00 – $104.00
CPA Certificate Application (August 1 – January 31)	$50.00
CPA Certificate Application (February 1 – July 31)	$25.00
Renewal Fee	$50.00
Late Renewal Fee	$100.00

Applicants will be allowed to apply for one or more section(s) of the examination at a time. All fees must be paid at the time of application and must be in U.S. dollars. Cash will not be accepted. All certified checks or money orders must be drawn on a US bank and made payable to the South Dakota Board of Accountancy.

South Dakota CPA Ethics Exam Requirements

To meet the South Dakota CPA ethics exam requirements, candidates will need to take and pass the course administered by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) titled Professional Ethics: The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Comprehensive Course (For Licensure). A candidate must pass the ethics exam with a minimum score of 90%.

South Dakota Experience Requirements

To meet the South Dakota CPA experience requirements, candidates have to acquire one year of experience that consists of full or part-time employment that extends over a period of no less than a year and no more than three years and includes no fewer than 2,000 hours of performance of services. This experience should include providing any type of service or advice involving the use of accounting, attestation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax or consulting skills. Acceptable experience may be gained through employment in government, industry, academia, or public practice where it must be verified by a licensee.

Supervisor Requirements

Complete the Certificate of Experience form, including the supervising CPA’s authorization signature. This will be submitted together with your first trial CPA certificate application. Once completed, you must submit the Certificate of Experience form to the board and your supervising CPA’s signature.

Apply for Your South Dakota CPA License

Submit Your Application for Issuance

Once all licensing requirements have been satisfied, the Application for the CPA Certificate can be filed to apply for a license. Unless otherwise requested, candidates are not required to resubmit transcripts. Candidates must submit proof of completion of the AICPA ethics course and exam and a Certificate of Experience, along with their application.

Receiving Your South Dakota CPA License

Applicants will get a CPA Certificate within 90 days of receiving their Uniform CPA Exam results after the application material has been reviewed and accepted by the Board.

You can apply for your CPA certificate if you have completed the exam, education, and experience criteria.

Here’s a rundown of everything you’ve done thus far:

a. Checklist

Satisfied the education requirements: A bachelor’s degree at minimum with 150 semester hours (225 quarter hours) of credit, including 24 semesters (36 quarter) hours in accounting subjects, 24 semesters (36 quarter) hours in business courses
Passed all sections of the Uniform CPA Exam
Passed the AICPA comprehensive professional ethics course
Gained the mandatory 2,000 hours of experience under the supervision of a licensed CPA

b. Download and fill out the Application for Initial CPA Certificate. Submit the application and Certificate of Experience form with the $50 fee to:

South Dakota Board of Accountancy
301 East 14th Street, Suite 200
Sioux Falls, SD 57104

c. Wait to receive the CPA certificate from the South Dakota Board of Accountancy