Hi, new Dad.  Welcome and good luck.

I got my information from the State Board of CPAs of Louisiana.

http://www.cpaboard.state.la.us/

When you go to that website, click on "Contact Us" then scroll down for the name and phone number of the man who handles CPA License Applications.  Last year when I initially applied to take the exams, and again about two weeks ago, he told me that the one-year experience requirement for my Louisiana license application could be signed off by a licensed CPA from any state, but s/he had to be either my supervisor or the Independent Auditor who examined our company books.

Here is the Lousiana license application (you find it in the Forms section of the Louisiana website):

http://www.cpaboard.state.la.us/docs/appl_cert.pdf

If my experience requirement is signed by the Independent Auditor, s/he has to write a brief letter stating the following: state that s/he had audited our books, state the years s/he performed the audits, and describe the extent of the interaction s/he had with me.  My supervisor (in my case, a CPA with an inactive license) then needs to provide a separate letter filling in the gaps: job title(s), detailed descriptions of of duties and experience, and type of work (accounting, attest, management advisory, financial advisory, tax or consulting).

The time requirement is: "at least one year of experience must be confirmed that was within four years preceding the date of this application."

I did ask whether another licensed CPA besides our Independent Auditor, one who was familiar with my employment and experience, could sign on my behalf.  The scenario under consideration was to continue in my present position, and work part-time on the side for another active CPA.  I was told, "Don't."  I would have to start again from the beginning on the time requirement if I did that.

Good luck to you.

Your compliments are flattering.  I'm looking forward to becoming a CPA/CFE.  My gut feeling is that those certifications will keep me busily and happily employed for a long time to come.  One of the two senior electives I took last year at LSU to qualify for the CPA exam was "Introduction to Fraud Examination."  That's how I got interested in it.

If you're amenable to a sideline correspondence, I'd love to get more information on the CFE.  I have the ACFE website address and am looking at the certification exam prep materials they offer, but I haven't acquired them yet.  I've been busy cleaning up the piles of work I set aside to pass the CPA exams.  That will keep me busy for another month or so, and then I'll be ready to actually start looking at the CFE exam prep.

I'm particularly interested in information about what kind of work you do as a CFE, for whom and where.  I need to build a plan for getting the certification.  Passing the CFE exam is a first obviously, but I need to be thinking about the work experience requirement.  Where I work I don't do much that could be considered CFE work.  However I expect to be changing jobs in about a year since the place where I work will be closing (the boss is retiring).