Become a Certified Payroll Professional!
The Orange County Chapter of the American Payroll Association invites you to become a Certified Payroll Professional. To sit for the exam the payroll professional must be proficient in all aspects of payroll, which include payroll preparation, taxation and tax reporting, MIS, human resources and accounting. PayrollOrg offers the CPP certification to recognize those who have demonstrated professional proficiency in these areas. Our goal is to assist the group in achieving a 100% passing rate through sharing knowledge and offering motivation.
Jonathan Dalton, CPP April 2023/FPC October 2022
Getting the CPP has been a long term goal of mine ever since I started payroll in 2007. It wasn’t until I joined my current company at Experian where my Manager Lydy Rene and Supervisor Debbie Rich both encouraged and supported me towards achieving this goal. I started off with studying for the FPC, in which I utilized the study program pay train. Once I achieved my FPC I had a little more courage to go after the CPP Certification. To prepare for this journey towards achieving my CPP, I took the APA’s CPP bootcamp course, practice a lot on their program pay train, and created a lot of flash cards that I study each evening after work. It was definitely a lot of hard work, perseverance and time management, but it definitely paid off in the end.
Remy, Thank you again for your Kind email and for everyone’s support in the OC chapter.
Check out our other testimonials!
About the CPP Exam
The fall exam dates will be in September and October. The exact testing dates and locations will be confirmed by the end of April. The Certification Board of PayrollOrg has expanded the requirements for exam eligibility which include the following criteria. In order to sit in on the exam, you must meet at least one of these criteria.
Criteria 1: The payroll professional has been practicing payroll a total of three (3) out of the preceding five (5) years from the date of the examination. The practice of payroll is defined as direct involvement in at least one of the following:
- Payroll production and reporting
- Payroll administration
- Payroll education or consulting
Criteria 2: Prior to sitting for the examination, the payroll professional has been employed in the practice of payroll as defined in Criteria 1 for the last 24 months, and has completed within the last 24 months all of the following courses offered by the APA:
- Payroll Practice Essentials (3-day course)
- Comprehensive Payroll and Tax Compliance Course (3-day course)
- Strategic Payroll Practices (2-day course)
OR
- Payroll 101: The Standard Foundation of Payroll Administration
- Payroll 201: The Payroll Administration Course
Criteria 3: Before sitting for the examination, the payroll professional has been employed in the practice of payroll as defined in criteria 1 for at least 18 months, has obtained the Payroll Fundamental Certification and has completed within the last 18 months all of the following courses as offered by the APA:
- Comprehensive Payroll and Tax Compliance Course (3-day course)
- Strategic Payroll Practices (2-day course)
OR
- Payroll 201: The Payroll Administration Course
Member Testimonials
Juan C. Rada, CPP 2014
Bonny O’Neill, CPP 2015
The study group provided good accountability to make sure that I was keeping up to date with the material. I had purchased study materials before, but coming to the group REALLY helped me stay on track and get it done. I liked how people who has recently passed the test were able to emphasize what was important to study, and the fact that I could email the facilitators when I had questions or needed hints. The exam was a lot of work, very challenging, but constant studying, reviewing, and memorization will get most people a pass!
Gaye Hudspeth, CPP 2014
The Study Group is a place to find new connections and be inspired to press on towards your goal. I would love to be a part of helping with the Study Group next year.
Kathryn Christensen, CPP 2014
I enjoyed the study group and would recommend it for anyone thinking about taking this test. It provided the ability to go over any of the material I didn’t understand and prepared me for the test. Thank you to everyone that gave their time to review each week with us.
Sharon Flood, MBA, CPP 2014
Robyn and all the facilitators of the study group were very helpful!! I recommend taking the practice tests as many times as you can and practicing the problems. Others in the group helped a lot too and let me know what to study so I could pass!
Roxanne Gardiner, CPP 2015
The CPP Study Group enabled me to focus on my studies for the CPP exam, and it was helpful to be with other payroll professionals who have experienced situations that we were able to share and gain insight from. I appreciate all the time and effort the facilitators and coordinators put in to help the study group.
Kris Armstrong, CPP 2013
Jonathan was great and so very helpful!! I also used flash cards VERY heavily and took all the pre exams I could find. Most of all….LEARN THE MATH! Seriously, learn the math!! Would love to be invited to teach!!
Yvette Huerta, CPP 2013
David Gay, CPP 2013
The study group kept me on track studying each week and made me confident that I would pass the exam. And I did.
Nikesh Shah, CPP 2015
The classes were a great help. It helped me to keep in check of my schedule plus a lot to learn from different people, about different companies and different types of industry. I would recommend everybody to take the classes if they are planning to appear for the exams.
Jonathan Dalton, CPP April 2023/FPC October 2022
Getting the CPP has been a long term goal of mine ever since I started payroll in 2007. It wasn’t until I joined my current company at Experian where my Manager Lydy Rene and Supervisor Debbie Rich both encouraged and supported me towards achieving this goal. I started off with studying for the FPC, in which I utilized the study program pay train. Once I achieved my FPC I had a little more courage to go after the CPP Certification. To prepare for this journey towards achieving my CPP, I took the APA’s CPP bootcamp course, practice a lot on their program pay train, and created a lot of flash cards that I study each evening after work. It was definitely a lot of hard work, perseverance and time management, but it definitely paid off in the end.
Remy, Thank you again for your Kind email and for everyone’s support in the OC chapter.
Jessica Christy, FPC 2023
Jessica passed her FPC exam in 2023 and is currently studying for the CPP exam in April 2024.
Miya Vu, CPP 2016
The Orange County Chapter study group definitely helped me with my path to becoming a Certified Payroll Professional. There is a lot of individual effort involved to pass the exam, but the study group was able to provide me with the proper tools to be successful. I enjoyed being surrounded by other payroll professionals and other CPPs who were always so helpful and knowledgeable. I would like to thank everyone involved from the Orange County Chapter including Lisa Ager and Gaye Hudspeth, but I would like to give a HUGE thank you to Kris Armstrong! She was a wonderful coordinator and I enjoyed her enthusiasm and willingness to help every week. I would also like to thank my awesome mom, Diana Johnson (CPP and Orange County Chapter Member), who was so supportive throughout the whole process and kept encouraging me to become a CPP. I know that being a CPP will help me with my professional growth and career! I would recommend this study group to anyone wanting to become a CPP.
Our 2016 OCCAPA CPP/FPC Study Group was a huge success!
Check out our members diligently studying away!
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