<p>Hey guys, I am just about to finish my first year at a local community college and plan to be an accountant. Would it be ideal to major in Business Economics and put an emphasis on accounting minor (going for CPA)? Any help would be appreciated! I know some schools like Cal Poly SLO have business administration while other schools like UCLA have business economics.</p>
<p>No way. Accounting is very specific and requires teaching that is designed for accounting, not generic business economics. An emphasis or minor isn’t going to cut it. No one will hire an accountant that doesn’t have a Bachelor’s in ACCOUNTING.</p>
<p>You also need a degree in accounting to even sit for the CPA exam. Business administration and business economics is completely different from accounting.</p>
<p>CA Educational Reqs: <a href=“http://www.dca.ca.gov/cba/applicants/tip_sheet.pdf[/url]”>http://www.dca.ca.gov/cba/applicants/tip_sheet.pdf</a>
Self-Assessment Worksheet: <a href=“http://www.dca.ca.gov/cba/applicants/self-assess-wrksheet.pdf[/url]”>http://www.dca.ca.gov/cba/applicants/self-assess-wrksheet.pdf</a></p>
<p>You may get bad advice from people outside of CA who do not research the regs. Sorry about that.</p>
<p>@noimagination,</p>
<p>OP won’t fulfill the accounting course requirements by majoring in business administration/economics.</p>
<p>Another thing. There will be dozen(s) of applicants applying for the same job as OP. And they will have degrees in ACCOUNTING. Sorry, but what employer will hire a business econ graduate to be an accountant over an accounting graduate? None.</p>
<p>Wrong. CA hires a bunch of people from UCLA and UC Berkeley. UCLA only has a Business Economics degree with a minor in accounting. Big 4s including my office hires many Cal grads from both Haas and non-Haas (Econ majors). As long as one has the requisite accounting courses, one doesn’t need to have an accounting degree. Obviously, this is a state-by-state issue and maybe in FL, they do things differently, but in CA, many of the top schools don’t even have an official Business Admin program, let alone an accounting program</p>
<p>[Courses</a> | UCLA Anderson School of Management](<a href=“http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/programs-and-outreach/accounting-minor-program/courses]Courses”>Courses | UCLA Anderson School of Management)</p>
<p>Example:
[Final</a> Entry: Exam Excellence](<a href=“http://www.calcpa.org/content/26973.aspx]Final”>Our apologies. We can't find that page...)
“This is what Napolitano, who works as a transactions services-valuation/capital markets and accounting advisory services hybrid associate for PwC, did. He completed all four parts of the exam from April to September 2012 and graduated a quarter early Summa Cum Laude with a bachelors degree in business economics (minor in accounting) from UCLA in the same year.”</p>
<p>Thank you noimagination and houshyomamma for the clarification! I was a bit confused there but now im still leaning towards UCLA majoring under bus. econ or cal poly slo’s accounting concentration program. Do you guys have any personal recommendations for schools in CA for accounting? I have heard its mostly CSU’s but would rather not go to any other than Cal Poly SLO. Thanks once again.</p>
<p>UCSB has a top notch accounting program! The major is called Econ & Accounting.</p>
<p>You can’t go wrong with UCLA or SLO (or UCSB). The Big 4 and mid-tier firms hit those schools all throughout the year.</p>
<p>Be sure to take the minimum of courses/content/credit hours in order to qualify to sit for the CPA exam in your state after you graduate. If you don’t, it is unlikely that you will even be able to get a Big Four interview.</p>