In the midst of unfortunate happenings that have disrupted the functioning of the entire world, there is a sigh of relief for CPA aspirants residing in India. As we know, CPA is the US equivalent of India’s CA and it is a extremely prestigious certification. Taking into consideration the concerns related to the health and well-being of families, friends, coworkers and communities, National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) has announced that eligible Indian candidates can schedule to take any U.S. CPA Exam section in June and September 2020.

 “Amidst this disruption, we want to help alleviate one concern you may have — taking your U.S. CPA Examination. We know you have dedicated an incredible amount of time preparing for this next step in your professional development. We also recognize that current travel restrictions, test center closures and other factors make it difficult or impossible for you to take the U.S. CPA Examination as planned. So, to support you on your pathway to CPA licensure, and to maintain your health and safety, we will now administer the Exam in India at We hope the convenience of taking the Exam in your country eases some of your burden while you think about your family, friends and colleagues,” NASBA said.

Until last year, candidates had to travel to test centers outside of India to write the exam. Owing to the current situation prevailing throughout the world, NASBA has taken a step to reassure the candidates that their efforts put into the preparation of this very prestigious certification will not render futile. Since it is the very first time that India will be hosting the exam, NASBA has decide to conduct it twice as against the conventional four across the rest 10 international testing locations. The final call on having four cycles a year in India is to NASBA’s discretion and expected to be taken next year.

To exploit this opportunity of taking the test in India, eligible CPA Examination candidates must be citizens or long-term residents of the following countries- India, Bhutan,  Bangladesh, Myanmar Maldives,  Nepal,  Sri Lanka and USA.

It is obligatory for International candidates to meet the same requirements in order to appear for the exam in India as their domestic counterparts, including residency as determined by individual boards of accountancy. Candidates are required to send an email to iexam@nasba.org if they wish to change the test region for international administration process to India and have already processed the payment for another test region, with the information such as Name,  Jurisdiction,  Jurisdiction ID,  Exam Section,  Exam Section ID,  Current International Testing Country,  and New International Testing Country.

Per the usual, the exam will have four sections — Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Business Environment and Concepts (BEC), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) and Regulation (REG). The minimum score required to pass for all four CPA Exam sections is 75, which is a scaled score and not the percentage of questions answered correctly. Only then will the candidates have the right to practice in India as well as the USA, considering other visa-related formalities are being met.

Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the highest standard of competence in the field of Accountancy across the globe and a popular career choice to standout in this increasingly competitive world. Hence, CPAs enjoy perks of having attractive salary packages along with many other. The CA course in India is difficult as the syllabus is vast and clearing all the levels of CA needs average intelligence combined with plenty of hard work. A CPA lets you start off your career with a respectable position and pay and lets you pursue CA as well. Although a CA cannot practice as a CPA alongside CA practice, he/she can form alliance and pitch for US based work with CPA Qualification in India. ICAI is encouraging export of services and this could be a game changer.

 Simandhar Education (official partner of Becker and AICPA) is India’s #1 Training provider Becker for US CPA, US CMA , IFRS and EA courses and is committed to be helpful at every step, right from US CPA exam preparation to the licensing process. In collaboration with the Big 4 and over 100 renowned MNC’s, Simandhar Education is well equipped to provide exceptional placement assistance. With the co-founder and leading man, Sripal Jain (CA, CPA USA), Simandhar faculties, with more than 10 years of industry experience, are engaged with teaching and research to push the boundaries of human knowledge. Catering to training requirements of CPA aspirants all over India via online platforms, Simandhar Education also has presence in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Gurgaon, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Mumbai etc. for offline in-class coaching.

Sripal Jain has always been extremely interactive and responsive to queries. On being asked if it is possible to pass CPA exam in 6 months, Sripal exclaims, “It is possible to pass CPA in 3 months as well. The problem lies in the evaluation process, which requires candidates to submit documents from the University, and given the lockdown, technically it is not possible. What is important is skill set and not just passing the examination. I understand the curiosity of many CPA aspirants on the exam being conducted in India, but please understand this does not give them the liberty to pass immediately. The overall structure of the exam is still intact.”

As an initiative to enrich the time spent in quarantine, Simandhar Education has lined up a series of knowledge-packed live interactive sessions with eminent leaders all over the world. The video recordings of the same can be found on their YouTube channel. The blogs on the website cover challenging and engrossing topics such as “Effects of Covid-19 on CPA Exam” and “How to recover from a failure in the CPA Exam?” etc