Membership Types

There are four Wisconsin Association of Accountants membership types: Active, Associate, Student & Retired

All Members of the Association must meet the following requirements:

  1. A member must be of good moral character.
  2. A member must be a resident of Wisconsin or of a state immediately adjacent to Wisconsin.
  3. A member must, at all times, adhere to the Code of Ethics and By-laws, as adopted by the Association.
  4. For renewal of membership, active membership requirement must show that he or she has fulfilled the requirements of Continuing Professional Education in Accounting and Taxation, consisting of no less than 25 hours during the preceding calendar year.  This provision will not apply to a member's first year of membership.

Active Membership

Active membership may be granted, upon application, to accountants who meet the following qualifications:

  1. An active member must be a citizen of the United States of America.
  2. An active member must have at least a two year Associate Degree in Accounting or its equivalent, as determined by the Board of Directors, or accreditation in Accountancy through the Accreditation Council for Accountancy Taxation (ACAT).
  3. An active member must have been practicing as a full-time accountant for a period of at least (3) years immediately preceding application for membership.  During membership, an active member must continue to be a full-time accountant.  A bachelors degree in accounting from an accredited college or university shall be credited in lieu of 1 1/2 years experience.

Associate Membership

Associate membership may be granted, upon application, to the following persons:

  1. Full-time staff accountants of firms headed by an active member, who do not desire the privileges of voting or holding office, or full-time accountants who do not qualify as active members.
  2. Educators or government employees at the National, State or Local levels who devote a major portion of their time teaching accounting or serving as accountants, and officers and employees of financial institutions and other accountants employed in private industry who devote a major portion of their employment time as accountants.
  3. Those enrolled to practice before the IRS, or those accredited in taxation by ACAT, and who devote a portion of their time in their practice as an accountant, serving the public during normal business hours. (Refers to those persons who do not meet the criteria of active membership.)
  4. Any active member of the Association, in good standing, who discontinues his or her practice for any reason, except retirement.  Such a member shall resume active membership if the member resumes his or her former practice or establishes or joins a new practice.
  5. An associate membership may also be granted at the discretion of the Board of Directors on an individual basis.
  6. Bachelors or Associate Degree in accounting and/or ACAT accredited individually with less than 3 years experience.

Student Membership

Student membership may be granted to persons pursuing a course of study in accounting, business administration or related subjects at an accredited college, university, vocational or technical institute or through an accredited home study school.


Retired Membership

Retired membership shall be granted to those active members in good standing and who have been a member for 10 years.  The member must have retired from public practice and have made written election to change their membership standing. Retired members have all the benefits of association membership other than seminar discounts, voting rights and the ability to be an officer.