New Jersey State Board of Accountancy

In response to the recent proposal for an alternative pathway to the standard 150-hour requirement for CPA licensure by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), the New Jersey State Board of Accountancy voted unanimously for the candidate to have the following:

      * Bachelor’s degree (which is usually 120 credits) – with 24 credits required in accounting and business

      * Two years of general experience (not competency-based)

The Board voted to ask the Division of Consumer Affairs and the Office of the Attorney General to find a sponsor to introduce legislation that would implement their positions. That process will take a few months. First, the Division has to review the Board’s request. If they agree, they would draft a recommendation to the Attorney General’s office, which would then review it from a policy and legal perspective. If they agree, the Attorney General would seek a sponsor to introduce a bill.

Applications are open until Nov. 25 to sit for the Registered Municipal Accountant (RMA) Exam on Dec. 6. Applications may be found on the Board’s website at www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/acc under the Applications and Forms tab. Completed applications should be emailed to accountancy@dca.njoag.gov. Study materials, including the past exam, may be found under the Study Materials tab. Questions can be sent to accountancy@dca.njoag.gov.

In responding to a question, the New Jersey State Board of Accountancy clarified that work experience in the field of accounting before graduating college does not count towards CPA experience for the candidate requirement even if college credit is awarded. The individual has to graduate college first for accounting work to count towards that criteria. 

The board said, in general, that the deadlines for taking lapsed parts of the CPA Exam are enforced. However, the board may review hardship exemptions to expired CPA Exam credit on a case-by-case basis. Candidates are encouraged to seek out exemptions, if needed, by contacting the Board office at accountancy@dca.njoag.gov and staff will discuss the supporting documents that should be submitted for the Board to review. Most candidates aren’t aware of this option. 

The New Jersey State Board of Accountancy reiterated that while it approved the 30-month CPA Exam extension on an interim basis until formal regulations are adopted, it appears that the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) is unaware of the extension. Executive Director Michaela Ross reported that the Board has notified NASBA several times of the extension approval and will continue to do so. She also stated that the New Jersey State Board of Accountancy can only answer questions regarding the extension that are specific to individuals, on a case by case basis. The Board cannot issue general guidance because the specifics of each case can vary greatly.

Candidates with questions are encouraged to take a screen shot of their Exam status from the NASBA Central Portal (includes 4 boxes for each exam part) https://cpacentral.nasba.org/ and send that along with their questions to accountancy@dca.njoag.gov

The New Jersey State Board of Accountancy agreed to approve the extension of the 18-month window to pass the CPA Exam to 30 months on an interim basis. CPA candidates now have 30 months from the date they pass their first section of the Exam to pass the other three parts. This applies to test candidates who have already taken one or more of the parts of the Exam as well as future Exam takers.