I am a recent Excelsior graduate (BS in General Business). Most of my credits at Excelsior were earned by testing, with the exception of about 30 credit hours that I transferred from a local university (Weber State, I live in Utah). I would like to pursue a Masters degree in Accounting with the intention of pursuing a CPA license. If I complete a masters degree in accounting will I meet the educational requirements to sit the CPA exam? I know that it differs from state to state but I guess my question really is, will they count the undergraduate credits that I earned through testing? Or will the fact that I have a masters in accounting suffice? Also, regarding accreditation for my masters, will AACSB accreditation help my case or is regional good enough? I have been looking at a few different colleges and I have submitted an application to SUNY IT, if anyone has any other recommendations I would appreciate it. Sorry to ask so many questions, I have read the information regarding licensing in my state but I'm not sure I really understand it that well. Thanks for the help. Cory
The answer to all of your questions depends on the state you plan to take the exam. In my state of Illinois, a bachelors will suffice as long as it is RA. Also you must have at least 150 semester hours. They will accept testing but the grades have to be posted to the transcripts of an RA school.
In Utah... A MACC degree from an AACSB or ACBSP accredited school will automatically qualify you to sit for the CPA exam. A graduate business degree (such as an MBA) that is AACSB or ACBSP accredited along with either 24 UL or 15 graduate (or a combination of those) accounting courses covering taxation, manag. accout., fin. account., and auditing. ...and so on. Here is the link. Without a degree from an AACSB or ACBSP accredited school, the applicant is required to meet more stringent course requirements, including credit in ethics, bus law, management, marketing, et cetera. Will credit by examination meet this requirement? I would have to say yes, given that some of the state schools in UT (USU, Weber, etc.) accept CLEP and their graduates (surely some of whom must have used CLEP credits) have no problem getting accepted to sit for the CPA exam. Also, although Utah doesn't require a graduate degree, they do require 150 s/h, and part of that is required to be grad level work. So, the surest way (but not the only way) is to make sure your chosen grad program is professionally accredited. Then you only have to meet the accounting course requirements, which you can't test out of anyway. Tony
Thank you for the responses. Tony, I have seen your posts before and knew you from Utah so I was hoping that you would reply. So from what I understand AACSB or ACBSP will pretty much ensure that I can sit the CPA exam? If it's just an RA school I would have to fulfill all of the other business/accounting undergraduate requirements? I have applied to SUNY IT's graduate program, according to aacsb.edu they are a "Candidate for AACSB Business Accreditation", I can't find any info. on their site or on ACBSP.edu regarding ACBSP accreditation so I assume they are not. Will candidacy for AACSB accreditation suffice? BTW how long does it take for accreditation to be complete anyway? If they become fully accredited while I am attending will that count? If anyone has any reccomendations on AACSB accredited schools that offer DL Master's of Accounting programs I would appreciate it. Thanks again for all of the help.
Here is the requirements for Florida, no CLEPS allowed for business or accounting credits- http://www.state.fl.us/dbpr/cpa/business/licensing_pages/licensure_examination.shtml#Accreditation1
Each state is different, you need to check your individual state accountancy board to see what their requirements are. You can also check out www.nasba.org W Parker
