If you want to work as an accountant in New Jersey, then you’ll need to become a certified public accountant first. For this, you’ll need to be licensed. In New Jersey, it’s the State Board Of Accountancy that handles licensing and regulation of public accountants.

Those who want to become CPAs need to ensure that they meet all the criteria that enable them to get certified. This means having at least hundred and fifty credit hours, in your bachelor’s program. You could opt for higher degree courses as well, which will enable you to earn more as an accountant. You will also need to have public accounting experience, of at least a year. You will also need to pass your Uniform CPA Exam. This exam will be based on the laws, ethics, and regulations in place in New Jersey. Only after successfully crossing all these steps, will you qualify to gain your accountant license.

Becoming An Accountant In New Jersey 

In New Jersey, the bachelor’s programs available to you for accountancy will only provide you with 120 semester hours of the 150 that you need. This means that you’ll need to find additional ways of earning semester hours, to qualify for your license. You can make use of master’s degrees that are online, to earn all the semester hours you need to get your CPA license within New Jersey.

Once you get your CPA license, you can find work at accounting firms, private corporations, and even nonprofit organizations. The Big Four that you should look out for when it comes to firms that hire accountants, are Deloitte, Rutherford, Ernst & Young, and Secaucus. In New Jersey, you’ll also find around twenty Fortune 500 companies. These include Johnson & Johnson and Honeywell International.

There are also several banks as well as financial services companies that also hire a large number of accountants in the state. Prudential Financial, which is based out of Newark, is one example of such a business. The Bloomberg Equities Group and the GM Financial Center are other examples. This is how you become an accountant in New Jersey:

1. Complete Your Education 

The first thing you’ll need to do is find the right college or University for yourself. You’ll need at least 150 semester hours with at least a bachelor’s degree, to get your accountancy license in NJ. You can even opt for a blended five years CPA track program that combines the curriculum of a bachelor’s and master’s program.

Ensure that the institution you attend is accredited by the New Jersey State Board Of Accountancy. After you complete your bachelor’s degree, you can sit for the CPA exam. You’ll need to complete the 150 semester hours required before you can gain your license.

2. Taking The CPA Exam 

You’ll need to sit for the Uniform CPA Exam after you have completed the necessary course hours. You can register for the exam online by going to the CPA Examination Services. Then, mail the necessary documents to the CPAES, and pay your exam fees. After these have been verified, you can take your exam from one of the registered testing sites.

These testing sites include Fairlawn, Laurel Spring, Clark, and Hamilton. After you give the exam, you’ll receive your exam scores in the mail. If you want to work as an accountant, consider investing in errors and omissions insurance in New Jersey as well. This is because working as an accountant can leave you exposed to several risk factors, such as getting sued by clients. When you have errors and omissions insurance New Jersey, you can protect your career as well as your finances. If you want to learn more about errors and omissions New Jersey, then click here.

3. Building Experience 

You’ll need to sit for the state ethics exams and also build your experience, before you can become a licensed CPA. You’ll need to have at least a year’s worth of experience when it comes to public accounting. Every year, you’ll need to log at least 1750 hours worth of experience. This can be either full time or part time. Your experience should be focused on accounting or auditing.

Your experience should also be documented as well as verified by your employer.

Conclusion 

If you become an accountant in New Jersey, then you can enjoy steady work alongside good pay. However, you’ll need to be licensed before you can work as an accountant in NJ. To gain your license, you’ll need at least a bachelor’s degree and around 150 semester hours worth of classes. You’ll also need to sit for a licensing exam, and will need to take an ethics exam as well. In addition to this, you’ll also need to build your work experience.