The Accredited Petroleum Accountant® Certification Program (APA®)
The Accredited Petroleum Accountant® certification program is responsible for both training and accrediting accountants within the oil and gas industry, as overseen by the COPAS Board of Examiners.  The APA® certification program calls for 8 examinations to test the basic elements of knowledge essential for an oil and gas accountant in the following areas:

Operations                            Joint Interest
Law                                       Managerial
Financial Reporting              Tax
Audit                                     Revenue

 All eight modules must be passed before a candidate is recognized as a full APA® and entitled to use the APA® designation.  An Associate Accredited Petroleum Accountant® certificate is obtained by passing the core modules and a module of the APA® candidates choice.  The core modules are:  Operations, Law and Financial Reporting.

All the information regarding the APA® certification program can be found in the APA® Accreditation Information guidebook, TR-46.  This guidebook provides information on eligibility requirements, study materials, test dates, costs and responsibilities.  In addition, attached please find a power point presentation which provides a great overview of the program, APA® Power Point Presentation! 

If you already have your CPA and want to specialize in oil and gas, this is the program for you!  If you have an accounting degree and want to increase your knowledge of oil and gas accounting, again this is the opportunity.  If you have 5 years of industry experience and do not have an college degree, you are eligible for this program and may pursue your APA® certificate. 

There are several advantages to becoming an Accredited Petroleum Accountant®.  By obtaining your APA® essentially you become your company's resource for best accounting standards, practices and guidelines as well as increasing your personal knowledge of the oil and gas industry beyond accounting.   This certification program covers basic oil and gas law, operations, financial reporting, tax, audit, joint interest, revenue and managerical accounting as well as providing a solid understanding of various land department responsibilities.   Becoming an APA® allows you to become part of a very select group of knowlegeable and recognized oil and gas accountants.  Start today and get your career on track!

Please review the APA® power point presentation and the APA® Accreditation Information guidebook for all the necessary information regarding the program. If you have any additional questions after reviewing this information, please feel free to contact the COPAS Executive Director at, steve.irizarry@copas.org.