LACPA vs CPA: Which Certification Should an Accountant in Lebanon Take?
Short answer: LACPA and the US CPA are not alternatives; they license different things. LACPA is the only credential that lets you practise public accounting and sign audit reports in Lebanon. The CPA is the credential that multinationals and Gulf employers recognise, and it travels. An accountant who wants to audit or run a practice in Lebanon needs LACPA first. An accountant heading for corporate finance abroad may need only the CPA. Many senior Lebanese accountants hold both, and LACPA's rules make the second one shorter for holders of the first.
Here is the comparison that actually matters: what each lets you do, what each exam tests, how long each takes, and the order that saves you time.
LACPA vs CPA: what is the difference?
LACPA is a legal license issued by a national body; the CPA is a professional designation issued by US state boards. The Lebanese Association of Certified Public Accountants was established by Law No. 364 of 1994, and only accountants registered with and licensed by it may practise public accountancy, conduct audits and issue audit reports in Lebanon [Source: IFAC, Lebanon profile].
The US CPA is administered through the American Institute of CPAs and licensed by state boards of accountancy, and its exam has four sections: three core sections plus one discipline the candidate chooses [Source: AICPA]. It is recognised as a mark of competence almost everywhere, but it does not confer a right to audit in Lebanon. That asymmetry is the whole comparison: one is a right to practise here, the other is a passport.
What can a LACPA member do that a CPA cannot in Lebanon?
Sign. Only LACPA members with a practising certificate may perform statutory audits and issue an auditor's report on a Lebanese company. A CPA holder without LACPA membership, however experienced, cannot. LACPA's bylaws do provide a shorter route in: holders of CPA certificates issued by international associations are subject to an exam on the relevant Lebanese laws according to a determined curriculum, rather than the full examination [Source: LACPA Internal Bylaws].
Membership also brings obligations a CPA does not carry in Lebanon: a minimum of 40 hours of continuing professional development each year through LACPA training, seminars and conferences [Source: IFAC]. If your career is in a Lebanese audit firm, in tax advisory for Lebanese companies, or in your own practice, LACPA is the credential that makes the work legal. Our LACPA exam guide walks through the requirements.
How do the two exams compare?
The exams test different rulebooks and come at different points in a career. The table below summarises the structural differences from the awarding bodies' own descriptions.
| LACPA | US CPA | |
|---|---|---|
| Awarded by | Lebanese Association of CPAs (Law 364/1994) | US state boards via the AICPA exam |
| What it licenses | Public accounting and statutory audit in Lebanon | Public accounting in the licensing US state; global recognition |
| Framework tested | IFRS, Lebanese taxation, Lebanese commercial and professional law, auditing, ethics | US GAAP, US federal tax and regulation, auditing, plus a chosen discipline |
| Structure | Professional examinations sat after the first year of a supervised traineeship | Four sections: three core, one discipline |
| Experience | Supervised traineeship under a LACPA member; three years as standard under the bylaws | Set by each state board, commonly one to two years |
| Time limit | Pass within five years of the first traineeship year | Rolling window set by the state board after the first passed section |
Sources: IFAC, LACPA bylaws, AICPA. The AICPA's published pass rates by section ranged from about 42% to 78% in 2025 (AUD 48%, FAR 42%, REG 63%), so both exams reward structured preparation over volume of reading [Source: AICPA, pass rates].
Which is harder, LACPA or the CPA?
They are hard in different places. The CPA is broader: four sections, US GAAP and US tax, a discipline section, and a large volume of material to hold at once, and the AICPA's published pass rates by section ranged from about 42% to 78% in 2025 (AUD 48%, FAR 42%, REG 63%) [Source: AICPA, pass rates]. The LACPA exam is narrower but local: it tests Lebanese taxation and commercial law that no international programme teaches, and it arrives after at least a year of traineeship, so candidates are sitting it around a full-time job.
In our experience the LACPA paper that decides most results is Lebanese law and taxation, not accounting theory. CPA-trained candidates who assume their preparation carries over are the ones most often surprised by it. The reverse is also true: a LACPA member sitting the CPA finds the audit section familiar and the US tax section entirely new. Neither exam is a subset of the other. See our breakdown of the CPA against the CMA if the corporate route is the one you are weighing.
Which should you take first, LACPA or the CPA?
Take LACPA first if you work or intend to work in Lebanon in audit, tax or public practice. The traineeship runs on the calendar, three years as standard under the bylaws, and the exam window is fixed at five years from your first year [Source: LACPA Internal Bylaws]. Every year you postpone registration is a year added to the earliest date you can sign an audit report. The CPA has no such clock and can be added later.
Take the CPA first only if your career is already, and deliberately, outside Lebanese public practice: a finance role at a multinational, a move to the Gulf, or a corporate reporting career where the recognised passport matters more than the local license. Even then, if you later want to practise in Lebanon, the shorter Lebanese-law exam route makes adding LACPA far easier than starting from nothing. Balance Brightness prepares candidates for both: the LACPA Certification Program and the CPA Exam Preparation Program.
Is it worth holding both LACPA and the CPA?
For a senior career, yes. LACPA gives you the right to practise and the local authority that Lebanese clients, banks and regulators expect. The CPA gives you the recognition that multinational clients, Gulf employers and international audit networks expect. Both sit inside the same global profession: IFAC, of which LACPA is a member, counts over 188 member and associate organisations in more than 143 jurisdictions [Source: IFAC, membership]. Together they cover both the market you are in and the market you may move to.
The overlap makes the second credential cheaper in effort than the first: the IFRS knowledge from the IFRS for LACPA Exam subject carries directly into CPA reporting questions, and audit methodology is the same discipline applied to a different rulebook.
The one thing that does not carry over is tax. Lebanese taxation, covered in the Law and Taxation for LACPA Exam subject, and US federal tax share almost nothing, so budget fresh study for whichever you take second.
How Balance Brightness helps you decide and pass
Balance Brightness has prepared accountants in Lebanon for professional exams since 1997. Mahmoud Chehade has practised Lebanese accounting, audit and tax for 30 years and has trained more than 500 professionals, and he teaches both tracks personally. The LACPA Certification Program covers all four coached subjects as one coordinated plan; the CPA program turns the four-section syllabus into a week-by-week schedule. Both run in person on Hamra Main Street in Beirut or live online. If you are undecided, tell us your job and your five-year plan through our contact page and we will say which exam earns you more first. Details on formats and fees are on the FAQ.
Frequently asked questions
Does a US CPA need to sit the full LACPA exam?
No. LACPA's bylaws subject holders of CPA certificates issued by international associations to an exam on the relevant Lebanese laws, according to a curriculum the association determines, rather than the full professional examination. The traineeship and membership requirements still apply, so confirm your exact position with LACPA. In practice this makes LACPA the natural second credential for a CPA who returns to Lebanon or takes on Lebanese clients.
Is LACPA recognised outside Lebanon?
LACPA is a member of IFAC, the global body for the accountancy profession, and of the regional federations FIDEF and the Arab Federation of Accountants and Auditors. That gives the credential standing internationally as a full professional qualification. It does not, however, give you a right to audit in another country, which is why Lebanese accountants who work regionally usually add the CPA or a local license in the country they move to.
Can I prepare for LACPA and the CPA at the same time?
You can, but most candidates should not. Each exam is demanding on its own, and the tax material in the two shares almost nothing. A better sequence is to sit LACPA within your traineeship window, then begin CPA preparation once the Lebanese exam is behind you, reusing the IFRS and audit knowledge. The exception is a candidate whose employer is sponsoring the CPA on a deadline; in that case, sit the CPA and add LACPA through the shorter Lebanese-law route later.
Which pays more in Lebanon, LACPA or the CPA?
There is no reliable published salary survey for Lebanon, so be wary of any single figure. In public practice, LACPA has the higher ceiling because it is the route to partnership and to your own firm. In corporate and Gulf-facing roles, the CPA usually commands the premium because it is the credential those employers ask for by name. For most senior careers the answer is both, in that order.
The bottom line
LACPA is the license; the CPA is the passport. If you will audit, advise or practise in Lebanon, take LACPA first, because it is the only credential that lets you sign and because its traineeship clock does not wait. Add the CPA when your career reaches for multinationals or the Gulf, and expect the second exam to be easier than the first because the IFRS and audit knowledge carries over. Whichever you sit next, prepare for the paper the examiners actually set. The LACPA Certification Program and the CPA Exam Preparation Program are built for exactly that.
This article is general information about professional certifications and is not legal, tax or career advice. Rules are set by LACPA and by US state boards and change; confirm current requirements with the relevant body.
