Mississippi CPA requirements
Wondering how to become a CPA in Mississippi? Your first step should always be to check the Mississippi CPA requirements, because the Mississippi Board of Accountancy will ultimately license you. This page serves as a resource for Mississippi requirements for taking the CPA Exam, earning licensure and maintaining licensure with CPE.
CPA Exam requirements in Mississippi
Getting a CPA in each state mandates different requirements for taking the CPA Exam. In order to meet the CPA Exam requirements in Mississippi, the state requires candidates to meet certain prerequisites.
- Must present themselves of being of good moral character
- Must be a resident of the state of Mississippi or have an office for the regular transaction of business in this state. Residency determination may include:
- Place of registration as a voter
- Vehicle registration and tags
- Filing of Mississippi state resident income tax returns
- Qualifying for homestead exemption in Mississippi and payment of real estate taxes to this state
- Graduation from a Mississippi university or college and successful completion of the CPA Examination in Mississippi
Minimum education requirements
All CPA candidates in Mississippi must have a bachelor's degree or higher from a regionally accredited college or university with a concentration in accounting. In order to meet the CPA Exam requirements in Mississippi, candidates are required to complete 120 hours in various course subjects, including:
- 48 semester hours of upper-level accounting and business-related courses (accounting courses must be a minimum of 24 of the 48 hours and include at a minimum three semester hours in):
- Financial accounting
- Auditing
- Taxation
- Management/cost accounting
- Government/not-for-profit accounting
Mississippi CPA license requirements
In order to earn a certified public accountant license in Mississippi, applicants must meet the following requirements:
Minimum experience requirements
- Qualifying experience requirements must be completed during the three years immediately preceding the date the application for the license is filed with the board.
- Qualifying experience should include a minimum of one year of experience gained by full-time employment under the supervision and direction of a CPA.
- An applicant must show that he or she provided one or more kinds of services involving the use of accounting or auditing skills, including but not limited to:
- The issuance of reports on financial statements, or
- One or more kinds of management advisory, financial advisory, or consulting services, or
- The preparation of tax returns or the furnishing of advice on tax matters, or the equivalent, all of which are under the direction of a CPA licensee
Ethics exam/requirements
The Mississippi Board of Accountancy reserves the right to require applicants for licensure to successfully complete a written examination, a board approved ethics course of comprehensive study, and/or an examination of the rules and regulations promulgated by the board.
Mississippi CPA license renewals
Mississippi CPAs must renew their licenses annually. The license cycle occurs July 1 - June 30. Each reporting period ends June 30 of each year.
Mississippi CPA CPE requirements
Each permit holder must have completed at least 40 hours of acceptable continuing professional education (CPE) credits each annual reporting period. Only 20 of the 40 CPE credit hours may be carry-over hours from the previous year. Each annual reporting period ends on June 30 of each odd-numbered year. A minimum of 4 CPE credit hours must be in board-approved ethics, professional conduct, public accountancy law and regulations courses triennially.
A new CPA licensee is exempt from CPE only during the compliance period in which he or she completes the examination and is exempt from the ethics, professional conduct, public accountancy law and regulations CPE requirement during the remainder of that triennial period.
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