Background
The Uniform CPA Examination is a 14 hour exam with four sections:
Auditing & Attestation - 4.5 hours
Covers knowledge of auditing procedures, auditing standards generally accepted in the United States (GAAS) and other standards related to attest engagements and the skills needed to apply that knowledge.
Financial Accounting & Reporting - 4 hours
Covers knowledge of accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP) for business enterprises, not-for-profit organizations and governmental entities, and the skills needed to apply that knowledge.
Regulation - 3 hours
Covers knowledge of federal taxation, ethics, professional and legal responsibilities, and business law, and the skills needed to apply that knowledge.
Business Environment & Concepts - 2.5 hours
Covers knowledge of general business environment and business concepts that candidates need to know in order to understand the underlying business reasons for and accounting implications of business transactions, and the skills needed to apply that knowledge in performing financial statement audit and attestation engagements and other functions normally performed by CPAs that affect the public interest.
Registration
Obtain a copy of the Candidate Bulletin from the NASBA website. This and www.cpa-exam.org are key resources for all detailed questions you may have.
You must complete an initial application, which can be found on NASBA's website. Along with a completed application form the following are required:
Both an application and examination fee and a 2 x 2 photograph
Official transcript from each institution at which original credit towards the educational requirement was earned. CPA Examination Services does not evaluate foreign transcripts. If you have earned academic credit outside the U.S., you must have your credentials evaluated by any member organization of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). Candidates should obtain evaluation request forms directly from the evaluating services. Evaluations may be submitted by candidates to CPA Examination Services.
Allow 8 weeks for complete processing of the initial application. Processing of your application will begin once all required information has been received.
Once application is approved NASBA will issue a Notice to Schedule (NTS) by the method of notification indicated on the application.
Once a NTS has been issued, the candidate has 6 months from the date of the NTS to schedule and take the examination sections applied for.
Upon receipt of your NTS, you are required to log onto the Prometrics web site and/or call to schedule your exam. Candidates must have their Notices to Schedule available when making test appointments. No appointments can be made fewer than five days in advance of the desired test date and candidates with requiring special testing accommodations must schedule at least 10 days in advance.
Prometrics delivers the examination to candidates through more than 300 testing centers in the United States and U.S. territories. Prometric sites are located in most metropolitan areas.
The CPA exam is offered the first two months of each calendar quarter, up to six days a week. These are known as "testing windows". Candidates can sit for one or more parts of the exam during a testing window but may not take a specific part of the exam more than once during that same window. Each State Board can establish its own policy on the time frame in which a candidate must pass all four parts of the exam. This period is 18 months for New Hampshire registered candidates.
Study and Prepare
Most Bermuda students have enrolled in the Becker CPA Review program. This program offers three course formats:
Live Classes - You get the most instruction and peer interaction in live classes and also receive the benefit of class discussion. If you tend to procrastinate, live classes may be best choice.
Online Classes - Online classes are ideal for people who appreciate the structure of a weekly class, but want to participate anywhere there's Internet access. Personal guidance from your online instructor and class discussion threads are great ways to interact and get support.
CD-ROM Classes - Study whenever and wherever you want. Students who are self-disciplined and prefer to work alone will appreciate the CD format. Becker CDs provide the same expert instruction as our live and online classes, with the flexibility to study completely on your own timetable.
Becker offers an intensive final review which is a last minute pre-exam workshop. You can attend live sessions or order the self-study CDs. Becker also sells flashcards which includes 950 ready-made cards with questions on the front and brief answers on the back.
Resources
National Association of State Boards of Accountancy www.nasba.org
Becker CPA Exam Review www.beckercpa.com
CPA Examination information www.cpa-exam.org
National Association of Credential Evaluation Services www.naces.org
Prometric www.prometric.com/CPA
A Study Skills Resource Site www.how-to-study.com
Admission Steps for Overseas Members to ICAB Membership
FROM STATE BOARDS OF ACCOUNTANCY
There are two different types of admissions to ICAB by CPAs
Those CPAs who are Bermudian
Those CPAs who are from overseas
For a Bermudian CPA to become a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bermuda (ICAB), they must follow the same steps as a Bermudian CA, but must first become licensed to practice as a CPA with their State Board. ICAB will only accept licenses from States requiring 150 credit hours. This would also mean that their Continuing Professional Education (CPE) hours are up-to-date. The member must then complete the Bermuda Institute's Application for Membership, duly signed by a current member, in good standing, of the Bermuda Institute and a member that knows the applicant to be of good moral character and habits and in every way a fit and proper person to be admitted to membership in the Institute. As required by Bermudian CAs, the CPA applicant must also have a Practical Experience Form completed by the relevant Public Accounting firm in which they were employed, indicating that they completed the required 30 months of audit and assurance hours. In regard, to CPAs from Overseas, they must follow all the same steps as the Bermudian CPA, but they are not required to complete the Practical Experience Form. On receipt of the completed application for membership form by ICAB, ICAB in turn requests a letter from the relevant member's State Board seeking confirmation of their current license to practice as a CPA. On receipt of such a letter by ICAB, the application is prepared for presentation to ICAB's Application Review Committee and then to ICAB's Council for final approval for membership. Should a CPA not have the assurance hours, they will be expected to sign a Letter of Understanding stating that they will not practice public accounting until such time that they receive the required number of assurance hours.
International Qualifications Appraisal Board
The International Qualifications Appraisal Board (IQAB) is responsible for assessing the admission standards of foreign accounting bodies and recommending to the provincial institutes of Chartered Accountants in Canada whether and under what conditions members of these bodies may be admitted to the Canadian CA profession based on their foreign qualifications. IQAB also negotiates Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) with foreign accounting bodies whose qualifications processes have been assessed as substantially equivalent to the Canadian CA standards of professional education, experience and evaluation and who can provide Canadian CAs with reciprocal rights to licensure and certification ("designated bodies). IQAB works closely with our provincial institutes, which are ultimately responsible for approving its reports and Mutual Recognition Agreements. We work closely with US IQAB - comprised of AICPA and NASBA representatives - on those reviews in which both groups have a common interest.
IQAB's recommendations that have been approved by the provincial institutes reflect eleven foreign accounting bodies whose members are recommended for exemption from the Canadian Uniform Evaluation (UFE) ("designated bodies") and seven bodies whose members are not.
Designated Accounting Bodies
The eleven designated accounting bodies whose members are recommended for exemption from the UFE are:
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia
Institut des Reviseurs d'Enterprises de Belgique
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
Ordre des Experts Comptables (France)
The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland
Instituto Mexicano des Contadores Pùblicos (IMCP)
Nederland Instituut van Register Accountants
New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants
AICPA and The National Association of  State Boards of Accountancy in the United States of America exempt CAs in their respective province / territory from the requirement to pass the AICPA final examination
Non-Equivalent Accounting Bodies
The seven non-equivalent accounting bodies whose members are not recommended for exemption from the UFE are:
The Australian Society of Certified Practicing Accountants
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan
The Philippines Institute of Certified Public Accountants
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants of United Kingdom
Accounting Bodies Currently Under Review
Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe
Members of Non-Assessed Accounting Bodies
Accounting bodies who are not  Members of Designated Accounting Bodies or  Members of Non-Equivalent Accounting Bodies, have not been assessed by the Canadian CA profession's International Qualifications Appraisal Board (IQAB).
These are categorized as Members of Non-Assessed Accounting Bodies. As a member of one of these, you are not automatically eligible for exemptions from any education or examination requirement of the Canadian CA program.
You may, however, ask for an individual assessment of your qualifications and those of your accounting body to determine if the respective provincial institute will grant you exemptions. If exemptions are not granted, you must complete all the requirements of the respective institute's program to qualify for membership. For the details, refer to the respective institute websites).
Alberta
Bermuda
British Columbia
Manitoba
New Brunswick
Newfoundland
Nova Scotia
Ontario
Prince Edward Island
Quebec
Saskatchewan