Arizona CPA requirements

This page serves as a resource for your state's CPA licensure requirements and is current as of December 2019. Always consult with your state or jurisdiction's board of accountancy for the most current information.

Degree requirement

bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited college or university

Education requirements

150 semester (225 quarter) hours including the following:

• 36 non duplicative semester hours of accounting, 30 hours of which must be upper level coursework
• 30 semester hours of related courses which may include:
  • business administration
  • statistics
  • computer science, information systems or data processing
  • economics
  • finance
  • management
  • business law
  • college algebra or more advanced mathematics
  • advanced written communication
  • advanced oral communication
  • general ethics
  • marketing
  • other courses closely related to the subject of accounting and satisfactory to the board

Ethics exam requirement

Must provide proof of a passing score (90% or better) on an examination in professional ethics within two years immediately preceding submission of the application for certification. The AICPA offers the ethics exam.

Experience requirement

At least 2,000 hours of paid or unpaid experience either before or after passing all sections of the CPA Exam that has exposed the applicant to and provided the applicant with experience in the practice of accounting. Experience can be any combination of full-time, part-time, volunteer or internship as long as it meets the aforementioned requisite experience.

CPA license renewal period

Renewals are biennial basis based on birth year.
Even-number birth years will register during the month of their birth every even-numbered year.
Odd-number birth years will register during the month of their birth every odd-numbered year.

CPE requirements

80 hours of CPE regardless of whether employment is in public accounting, industry, business or government. Hours must include:

• minimum of 16 hours of classroom or live/interactive webinar
• minimum of 40 hours must be in accounting, auditing, taxation, business law or consulting services of which a minimum of 16 hours must be in the subject areas of accounting, auditing or taxation
• 4 hours of ethics which includes a minimum of one hour in each of the following:
  • ethics related to the practice of accounting including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Professional Code of Conduct, the Arizona State Board of Accountancy statutes and administrative rules

Fees

Sources:

Education, experience, ethics

Renewals, fees, CPE