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You are here: Home / CPA Exam International / Foreign Credential Evaluation for CPA: My
Recommendations
“ I did not get my degree in the US. How do I know if my coursework fit the
educational requirements?”
For the CPA exam, a bachelor degree in a 4-year university is the minimum requirement to
sit for the exam.
For international students, this can be tricky as they aren’t sure whether the degree from their
local countries are qualified. Solution: foreign credential evaluation agencies that specialize
in evaluating your transcripts on behalf of the state boards.
http://ipassthecpaexam.com/foreign-credential-evaluation/ 7/23/2016
Foreign Credential Evaluation for CPA: My Recommendations Page 2 of 39
Here is an overview on what evaluators do and how to pick the right one for your application.
Note: Illinois and Texas state boards evaluate the transcript themselves (both domestic and
foreign). Candidates from these two states do not need to go through these third-party
evaluation agencies.
For those who slower internet connection or prefer to reading vs watching to get the
information, here is the text version with links on the foreign credential evaluation agencies.
• Each state has its own list of approved evaluation agencies — you don’t want to pay for
a report that is not recognized by the board.
• Each state board has slightly different qualifying rules. Therefore, the agency needs to
know which rules to apply to when reviewing your transcripts.
Once you settle on a state and get the list of approved agencies, you can pick one based on:
1. Evaluation fee
2. Turnaround time
3. Reputation
1. Evaluation Fee
The fee ranges from $100 to $300 — price difference is closely correlated to turnaround
time. For example, FACS is one of the most affordable agency charging $100 for most
states, but it takes 4-8 weeks with no rush service.
http://ipassthecpaexam.com/foreign-credential-evaluation/ 7/23/2016
Foreign Credential Evaluation for CPA: My Recommendations Page 3 of 39
Most state boards require a “course-by-course” evaluation. This is different from the “general
evaluation” that some agencies are offering. Please read the fee schedule carefully when
comparing the fees.
There may also be rush services available but expect to add another $100 to the price tag.
With proper planning, you can avoid this extra cost.
2. Turnaround Time
The number of days required to produce a report varies considerably. Most agencies have a
2 week turnaround time, but can vary from 5 business days to 8+ weeks.
3. Reputation
The evaluation process is both an art and a science. It is possible that an evaluators gives
you more credit hours than the others.
Having said that, the evaluation result should not be substantially different as evaluators run
the risk of getting disqualified by the state boards. Because of this, I personally do not
recommend an agency based on how “lenient” it interprets your transcripts.
I do recommend agencies that have better customer service, because a friendly evaluator
makes your life much easier during the exam application process. I ran a little experience
and you can take a look at my findings at the end of this post.
Most evaluation agencies require the candidates to send in the original or official transcript .
By original, it refers to the copy issued by your school that is sent to you in a sealed
envelope; by official, it means a copy (either the original or certified copy) sent directly from
your school to the agency.
In most cases, this requirement is set by the state board. For example, California state board
asks the evaluators to issue report only if the candidate supplies the original copy.
Special note: if your current name is different from the name on the transcript (e.g. maiden
name), you need supporting document to show the reason of name change, e.g. a marriage
certificate.
2. Translation of Documents
http://ipassthecpaexam.com/foreign-credential-evaluation/ 7/23/2016
Foreign Credential Evaluation for CPA: My Recommendations Page 4 of 39
You can explore whether there is an in-house translation service at the evaluation agency. If
not, you can either get it translated by an official/governmental agency (as in China), or you
can contact a translation service that is a member of American Translators Association
(ATA).
It is best to check with your evaluation agency and see if they have a preferred translation
service.
Another thing to help the agency is to send in your course outline/syllabus so that the agency
has full information on the content of your qualifications.
I list out the estimated turnaround time for each foreign credential evaluation agency below
(click on the links for details). Please note that the time counts only when you have submitted
all the required documents.
For rush service, it is counted in business days. For example, a 2-day rush service is 2
business days.
Some evaluation agencies have a convenient online tracking system, while others may have
an email notification service. A few have no updates and you have to call them to check. You
may take this into consideration if it is important for you keep track of the progress.
Please note that NIES’ suggestion does not take experience requirement in
consideration, so think through carefully whether you can fulfill the experience requirement
(now or at a later date) before registration.
You may also want to chat with Leslie-Anne Rogers, who specializes in the CPA exam
qualification service for more than 16 years. She charges a fee but she is very experienced.
http://ipassthecpaexam.com/foreign-credential-evaluation/ 7/23/2016
Foreign Credential Evaluation for CPA: My Recommendations Page 5 of 39
• A2Z Evaluations
• Academic & Credential Records Evaluation & Verification Service (ACREVS)
• American Education Research Corporation (AERC)
• Academic Records Evaluation Center (AREC)
• Center for Educational Documentation (CED)
• Global Education Group (GEG)
• International Education Research Foundation (IERF)
• Center for Applied Research, Evaluation and Education (IESCAREE)
• Josef Silny & Associates (JS&A)
• NASBA International Evaluation Services (NIES)
• Education International
• eValReports
• Evaluation Service Inc (ESI)
Please note that this list is based on one experiment only, and I am always collecting
more data points from readers to improve my analysis.
http://ipassthecpaexam.com/foreign-credential-evaluation/ 7/23/2016
Foreign Credential Evaluation for CPA: My Recommendations Page 6 of 39
Other Questions?
Ask me a question on Facebook, or sign up to my mini-course designed for international
candidates. Feel free to learn more about this CPA exam mini-course here before signing up.
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Comments
Hi,
I am a Bcom graduate from University of Mumbai and MBA from ICFAI University,
Tripura with 10 years of working experience. I am currently in Glasgow, Scotland
and wish to pursue CPA. I wish to get some clarity with regards to the following :
http://ipassthecpaexam.com/foreign-credential-evaluation/ 7/23/2016