Calling all accountants!

Hi folks,

Okay, being known around my parts both for working in HR and for doing my doc by distance, I often get asked about various distance ed options. Today, one of our employees came to me with this scenario: he is thinking about a career switch, and is interested in going into accounting. He is interested in distance-only programs, to do while still working over here, then when graduating, going back to the U.S. to work as an accountant.

What I've been able to find so far, for a BA in Accounting, is this list of schools:

Indiana Institute of Technology
Kaplan College
Northwest Missouri State U
St. Leos U
Southern New Hampshire University
Strayer U
Thomas Edison State College
UMUC
University of Northwestern Ohio
U of Phoenix
Upper Iowa U

So, my questions to the board are:

1. Any recommendations among these schools for a BA in Accounting? Or am I missing any highly recommended schools?

2. Anyone familiar with the ease (or lack thereof) of finding an accounting position with a distance BA in the field?

3. Would this person also need to go on to do a Master's in Accounting immediately to be eligible to sit for a CPA exam?

Any insight you might have into a marriage of distance ed and the accounting field would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,
Adrienne

 

My wife is taking Accounting classes from LSU, with the plan to get second BS in Accounting from Excelsior College. This seems like the most inexpensive option.

 

In most states a bachelor's degree in accounting will qualify a person to sit for the CPA exam. Many states require a 5th year and well as significant work experience before being certified.

You might want to check the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) website. (AICPA.org)

 

To take the Texas CPA exam, at least 15 of your upper-division accounting credit hours must come through physical attendance on a campus:

http://www.tsbpa.state.tx.us/eq1.htm

Education

The applicant must meet specific education requirements before an application for the CPA examination can be filed. These requirements are as follows:

* Earned a baccalaureate or graduate degree conferred by an accredited institution of higher education recognized by the Board; and
* Successfully completed at least 150 semester hours of college credit; and
* Successfully complete at least 30 semester hours of upper division accounting coursework, beyond the first two semesters of elementary accounting as defined by Board rule. At least 15 of these hours must result from physical attendance at classes meeting regularly on the campus of any transcript-institute institution.
The requirement that coursework must be classified as upper division becomes effective January 1, 2004.
* Successfully complete at least 21 semester hours of upper division related business coursework as defined by Board rule.
The requirement that coursework must be classified as upper division becomes effective July 1, 2005.
* Successfully complete a 3 semester hour ethics course that includes ethical reasoning, integrity, objectivity, independence and other core values as defined by Board rule. (Effective July 1, 2005)


Don't know if other states have similar limitations on how much distance-learning credit you can apply towards the eduational requirements to tak the CPA exam.

Alex

 

Many options

Almost every state I have looked at now requires 150 credit hours, and most of them require at least some of those to be graduate level business (not neccessarily accounting, depending on courses taken at the undergrad level) courses. Here are a couple links describing this requirement.
AICPA

NASBA

What state does he want to work in? Because of the variation between states in regards to educational requirements, this definitely matters.
Here is a link listing all of the state boards of accountancy. Most of the state's educational requirements are pretty easy to find using these links.


state boards

General thoughts.
-RA is required in almost all of the states.
-Professional accreditation (AACSB, ACBSP) can make the path easier in some states.

Add City University and Mountain State University to your list.

Apart from the Bachelor's in Accounting degree, also look at business administration degrees that allow you to concentrate in accounting. A couple schools off the top of my head that offer this through dl are Columbia College, SUNY Empire State College, and IIRC, Bellevue University, Liberty University, and National University. There are at least a handful more that I can't remember off hand.

Other options, depending on which state he plans to relocate to and his education background (does he already possess a degree?), are a certificate program (such as the one offered through UCLA extension) or a foreign MPACC degree that doesn't require (or allow) an undergrad degree in accounting for admission (such as USQonline's program).

Also, Gus Sainz's site is a great resource that lists quite a few accounting degrees (along with other business oriented degrees).

Good luck,
Tony

 

Also add Lakeland College to the list, although not the most challenging program. I'm enrolled there and have been less than thrilled with the rigor of the program.

I don't think NW Mo. St. offers an online progam in Acct. I contacted them last year and was told they don't. They may have changed since then though.

 

As stated in the previous posts, I recommend looking at the requirements for the major accounting designations (e.g. CPA, CMA) before selecting a program. Here is an interesting link for non-U.S. residents who want to obtain the CPA designation:

http://www.uscpasuccess.com/na/index.html

Click on "U.S. CPA Programs" and then click on "Who is Eligible?".

Good luck!

Michael Weedon

 

Thanks, folks!

This is excellent information for this person to be getting along with. I'll pass all of it on to him, and your comments have also sharpened my thoughts on possible help I can give to others in the future.

Cheers,
Adrienne