Membership Type & Chapter Affiliation

ACTIVE MEMBERS must either possess a valid license as a Public Accountant or Certified Public Accountant as defined in the CPA LAW, Act 140 of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

OR meet one of the following criteria:

1. Be an Enrolled Agent (enrolled to practice before the Internal Revenue Service);
2. Possesses an undergraduate degree in accounting or business administration with at least 12 semester hours in accounting;
3. Possesses an associate degree with a major in accounting;
4. Be accredited in Accountancy or Taxation by the Accreditation Council for Accountancy;
5. Have five years experience as a principal in his/her own firm, a partner or officer in an accounting firm or an employee holding a responsible accounting position in an accounting firm.

All active members shall be required to obtain a minimum of 24 hours of continuing professional education annually. Those active members holding a valid Certified Public Accountant or Public Accountant license or those who are enrolled agents must obtain the minimum amount of continuing professional education required by their respective regulating body. Active members must obtain ethics as required by their regulating body or 2 hours annually.

Individuals may apply for ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP only if they do not qualify for ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP.

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS must be either:

• Individuals/employees of an accounting or tax practitioner firm;

                                                            OR 

• Individuals/employees of government, a financial institution, a private sector business, a non-profit entity or an educational institution whose primary duties are in the field of accountancy or taxation. 

All ASSOCIATE MEMBERS shall be required to obtain a minimum of 15 hours of continuing professional education annually. Associate members must obtain 2 hours of ethics credits annually.

STUDENT MEMBERS must be attending a college, university or business school full-time and must be pursuing a course of study in accounting, business administration, or a related subject.  A full-time student is a person who is enrolled for the number of hours or courses the school considers full-time attendance. A person is not a full-time student if attending school only at night. (Full-time student is defined by IRC Reg. Section 1.151-3(b).)