The
International Qualification Examination (IQEX) is an exam administered by
NASBA, in accordance with the AICPA, which allows qualifying internationally
trained accountants to bypass the US Uniform CPA Exam and attain a US CPA
through reciprocity. The exam is
designed to award the US CPA qualification to professionals from countries whose
professional bodies have entered into a mutual recognition
agreement with the US accounting profession. In order to sit for the IQEX, an international
candidate must be deemed to have adequate education, experience and have taken an
examination substantially equivalent to that of the US. The International Qualification Appraisal
Board (IQAB), a joint body of the AICPA and NASBA, determines candidate eligibility.
At this time, mutual recognition agreements are in effect with the following
organizations:
- Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia
- Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants
- Chartered Accountants Ireland
- Instituto Mexican de Contadores Publicos
- New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants
- Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Note: Upon passing the IQEX, candidates must meet the
requirements of one of the 55 State Boards of Accountancy in order to be
licensed or certified as a CPA.
The IQEX will see a number of changes come its way in 2012. Beginning in November 2012, the exam, which
was previously administered just one month per calendar year, will now be
offered during the second month of every testing window (February, May, August,
and November). The exam will continue to
be administered in the same U.S. domestic
jurisdictions as the Uniform CPA Examination in addition to existing IQEX
testing centers in Canada.
The most
significant change to the exam comes in the area of its content. The exam will now exclusively cover ethics,
professional and legal responsibilities, business law and taxation related specifically
to U.S. accounting practice.
Previously, the IQEX had its own dedicated Content Specification
Outline (CSO), a breakdown of the content tested on the exam. Beginning in November 2012, the exam will transition
to a new format that will use an administration of the Uniform CPA
Examination’s Regulation section. As a
result, the dedicated IQEX CSO will become obsolete, and the exam will assume
the content outlined in the Regulation section of the Uniform CPA Examination CSO.
The format of the exam will now reflect the Regulation portion
of the US Uniform CPA Examination. The
exam will be three hours in length. It
will consist of three testlets of twenty-four Multiple Choice, as well as a
fourth testlet of six Task Based Simulations.
For more information on the IQEX, please visit NASBA.org.
By Craig Cuthbert, CPA
Craig is a National Business Alliance Manager for Roger CPA Review. He successfully passed all four parts of the CPA Exam in 6 months using our course.
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