I will complete my MBA in finance in May. I was interested to take some courses in accounting as well, in order to sit for cpa exam once in the future. What is the best and cheap option to do it? is taking only undergrad accounting credits and sit for cpa better solution than go for master in accounting as well or at least graduate certificate in accounting. I would appreciate if anybody knows good and affordable ways to go for this. thank you
CPA Exam I will have 4 classes left to take for enough units to sit for the CPA exam. To be honest I am taking the units any way I can get them. Least expensive is the best, so I am getting as many as possible at the Community college. In California it is dirt cheap! As far as the MBA I wouldn't specifically go for the MBA in accounting. You will already have your CPA, I would do either another specialty MBA or a general MBA. That would make you more attractive to employers and not get you stuck as only an accountant.
The cheapest DL option that I know of is Louisiana State University's distance classes. http://is.lsu.edu/courselist.asp?cat=Accounting&nid=102&pg= They are about $400 per course, which is cheaper than anywhere else I have found. Be advised that there are a FEW states that won't allow distance learning credits to qualify for the CPA, although the vast majority of states only require that the school be regionally accredited.
thank you for your answers. I live in NYS and can not find the information if this state would accept LSU DL courses (it is GREAT option if accepted). I also can not find the list of courses that are required for NYS. Only 33 accounting credits. Can anyone help me to get these information?
Try this link: NYS Public Accountancy - Initial License Per NYS Public Accountancy: "To fulfill the education requirement for licensure, you must complete: •an accounting program registered by the Department as licensure-qualifying, or •an accounting program that is accredited by an accrediting body accepted by the Department. Currently the Association for the Advancement of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is accepted. Receipt of a Master's degree in accounting from such a program will be deemed as meeting New York's 150 semester hour education requirements, or •a program determined by the Department, after review of your official transcripts, to be equivalent to a registered program, or •15 years of public accounting experience acceptable to the State Board for Public Accountancy." The LSU independent learning accounting courses might not be acceptable to the NYS Board of Public Accountancy (e.g., courses not via LSU's AACSB College of Business and w/independent study courses; students work at their own pace vs. academic semester (?)). Also, the LSU Ourso College of Business has no online degree offerings. Why not just call the NYS Board of Public Accountancy and ask?
I have just check the site, it is great, thank you. Regarding LSU courses, I will definitely have to call them. As I read this, it seams that they should accept it, but I am not sure. Does anyone know for an community college that offers Taxation courses on line? COURSE REQUIREMENTS Photocopies of transcripts or “Issued to Student” transcripts are not acceptable. Since Taxation can be accepted from a local community college, education earned at a regionally accredited community college or two-year degree granting institution is acceptable except for those in auditing, attestation, and advanced accounting. Commercial CPA review courses are not acceptable. Upper-division courses mean courses usually taken at the junior or senior undergraduate level. Courses in auditing and advanced accounting must be taken either on the upper-division level (junior or senior year) of an undergraduate program or on the graduate level. Taxation courses may be taken at a community college. For further clarification, please visit NYSED’s website. Correspondence, CLEP credit, CPA Review courses and online courses are acceptable when an applicant receives credit for the courses at a regionally accredited college or university. These courses must appear on an official transcript. Pass/fail grades are acceptable in all subjects except accounting, when an applicant receives credit for the courses at a regionally accredited college or university. These courses must appear on an official transcript. T
Sonia: I can offer some suggestion about your situation. Since, you are about to complete MBA, there is no added advantage to go for another masters. You can just enroll in any graduate accounting program and take those courses. Sure, LSU is an option, but not sure if you will get enough exposure to sit for the CPA exam. Taking courses from an AACSB program will help you to learn better and complete the exam, at the same time. **Those are my opinion, from personal expeience***
Post University offers an accelerated online CPA Examination Course Requirements Certificate (e.g., "...accounting courses required to sit for the CPA Examination in most states." Online CPA Certificate | CPA Exam Preparation Courses | Post Universty Online
New England College of Business and Finance offers 3-accounting certificate courses (accounting basics, intermediate accounting, and forensic accounting); the first two are undergraduate certificates and forensic accounting is a graduate certificate (7 three hour courses per certificate). Online Continuing Education and Adult Ed Certificates - NECB
The cheapest way that I know of getting accounting credits is by writing ACCA exams (Global body for professional accountants | Accountancy | ACCA | ACCA Global). Each ACCA exam is evaluated by WES as 4 credits. So if you need 21 credits, you need to write about 6 exams but bear in mind that not all the states take WES evaluations. I used this method and I accumulated 12 accounting credits for about $300. Most material to prepare for these exams is online. I don't think you can get cheaper than this but ACCA exams are not a walk in the park. A bit more expensive but easier is to write the Penn foster exams for accounting classes and then transfer the credit to an Excelsior credit bank. Each Penn foster 3 credit course is like 300 but exams are way easier than ACCA exams.
Sonia, have you thought about getting an accounting certificate online? That might be another option.
I completed 9/14 ACCA exams and I can verify that after the first three exams (Level 1) its not going to be a walk in the park...Level 2 has 6 exams. Level 1 & 2 is called the Fundamentals Level and is the equivalent of an undergrad degree. Usually persons holding a degree in Accounting MAY get 3-7 exemptions from the fundamentals level. The third level aka the Professional level (5 exams) is examined at a postgraduate standard, and is definitely rough. The pass mark is 50% for all exams 10% more that most UK undergrad degrees. Honestly if you're in the US, I don't think you should do ACCA. Even though it's globally accepted, I don't think you're allowed to practice with it alone in the US. You may still have to take exams from an American chartered body. The reason may be because it's more Principles based whereas the US is more Rules based. Also the Corp and Bus Law is totally geared towards the UK and EU and not the US. The main difference is US GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) vs IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards). I've also heard that for some reason, ACCA members and other international Chartered members are no longer allowed direct entry to write the CPA exam... seems like a dumb move to me honestly. I think you must have a 4yr undergrad in accounting or accounting concentrated to write the CPA exam. For an ACCA member to become a CGA (Canada), all he has to do is the Tax and Law conversions... a much more effective and efficient conversions if you ask me. Hope this helps in some way.
I agree, ACCA is not meant to work as a CPA in the US but credits earned towards ACCA can help to satisfy the credits required to write the CPA exam. the original posting was calling for cheap ways to get accounting credits and each ACCA exam is evaluated by WES to be equivalent to 4 accounting credits and cost under 100 dollars. ACCA is not accepted by CPA US like the Canadian CA or Mexican CPA mainly because political reasons. CPA has a joint designation with CIMA (uk) that is meant to get an easy entry to the CPA for UK CIMA graduates. As CIMA and ACCA are competitors, CPA cannot accept ACCA as it has already decided to go with CIMA. ACCA can still be used in the US for general credit, the ACCA qualification is regarded like a B.Sc in Accounting as it is accredited by the UK qualifications framework. The thing is that 3 credits at an online school like Devry would cost you close to thousand bucks so you better off paying 100 and get ACCA credits.
Sonia, Since you’re on your way to receiving an MBA, working toward a second masters in accounting could take a lot of time, and may even be expensive. Many people who are interested in another degree or want to change careers often turn to online accounting degree. These are usually the most affordable, allow for flexibility, and don’t require you to relocate. Especially if you graduate and begin working in finance, your best bet is to continue online. Good luck!
sonia, what are your thoughts on taking the cpa exam? i know that for me, the draw of that cpa salary was too much. i actually ended up taking the exam 2 times but eventually passed. seems like forever ago.
CPA or MBA? If you want to get into tax accounting then getting your MBA is the way to go. You starting salary is on average $10,000 higher and most large tax firms are looking for MBA's. If you are not going to get into taxation then definitely get your undergraduate accounting degree and sit for the CPA exam. This opens a lot of doors and gives you an edge against everyone else in the job field. There are a couple great CPA review courses for around $1,500 that are top notch. You can check out Crush the CPA Exam for detailed reviews and pricing of the top 10 major cpa review courses on the market. Good luck!
