State Board Requirements

State Board Requirements

Basic Requirements

All license holders in Arkansas must have completed acceptable continuing education in the amount of 120 hours within 36 months or 40 hours within 12 months immediately preceding January 1 of the year for which the license is renewed.

  • Licensees engaged in the practice of public accounting shall complete at least 40% of the required hours in the subject areas of accounting, accounting ethics, attest, or taxation.
  • Licensees not engaged in the practice of public accounting shall complete at least 20% of the required hours in the subject areas of accounting, accounting ethics, attest, or taxation.
  • License holders engaged in any attest or compilation function shall complete at least 20% of the required hours in the subject areas of attest and accounting theory/practice.

Ethics Requirement

All license holders must complete at least 4 hours of CPE in the area of accounting professional conduct and ethics during the 3 years immediately preceding the expiration date of their current license. The ethics hours requirement does not go into effect for new CPAs until their first full calendar year of licensure.

ASBPA Specific Laws & Rules Ethics Requirement

Of the 4 hours of ethics required, one of the hours must have been earned through a course that focuses specially on the Laws and Rules of the Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy (ASBPA). This requirement may be satisfied by completing a web based course via the Board’s website or attending group training taught by a board member, board staff member, or a designee of the Board.

CPE Documentation Requirements

Responsibility for documenting the acceptability of the CPE courses taken rests with the CPA, who must retain such documentation for 5 years following the end of the year of completion of the CPE hours.

Measuring CPE Credit

A 50-minute period will be considered as being equal to one hour. One-half CPE credit hours (equal to 25 minutes) are permitted after the first hour has been earned in a given course.

For a complete list of rules, please refer to the Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy’s website: www.asbpa.arkansas.gov

If you have questions, you may call the Arkansas State Board of Accountancy @ 501-682-1520.