CPA 150 hour credit

College Majors Business Major
1

I am trying to figure out how to get the 150 hours required to get my CPA without taking a 5th year of courses. I will currently be about 15 hours short at graduation. The college I attend did not accept all my AP credit as they only accept 5’s except for a few select courses. I wanted to take an online course while interning this summer and see if I could get the AP credit on that transcript. However, every college I have called(has to be 4 year accredited college for Texas CPA) will only allow the AP credit to be put on a transcript if I attend classes on campus. Anyone else running into this? Any ideas how to make this work? Any other ideas I haven’t thought of?:slight_smile:

2

I’m sure it’s possible but I would actually recommend the 5th yr in a Masters of Accounting class. The extra 30 hours will be highly focused and more advanced than undergraduate accounting. Some of these programs also do a fair amount of CPA prep work which will come in handy.

It’s become the standard today if you want the Big 4 accounting gig. You can get there without it, but it’s the norm. However, if you’re interested in Big 4 Advisory (risk, transaction, etc- part of the consulting practice), many don’t even get their CPAs.

3

I became a CPA before the 150 hour rule became mandatory. At my uni, top accounting students typically interviewed and if they received a good job offer they took it otherwise they went back and got their Masters in Accounting. My understanding was that the initial idea was not for CPAs to have more accounting and get a Masters, instead it was to get more exposure to other fields than accounting.

I worked overseas and many of the Brits and other expats actually had degrees in other fields, yet were hired by the Big 4/6 and trained in accounting as they worked. I like that system quite a bit as it did result in having different views, experiences that were often quite useful in our audits.

My advice would be that if you are looking for a job with the Big 4 or large second tier firm, ask around to see if they require a Masters in Accounting to be hired, if not, then I do not think the Masters in Accounting is that necessary. YMMV.

4

@yearstogo I also became a CPA before the 150 credit rule became mandatory. My S became a CPA after the 150 credit rule became mandatory. Things have changed. Here are a few comments:

  1. The Big 4 and other large public firms will not allow accountants to start full time before completing the 150 credits. They can be hired for an internship the summer before they get the 150 credits.

  2. Accounting firms do not require a Masters in Accounting or any Masters degree for its auditors. The Big 4 and other firms will hire candidates who complete the 150 credits without getting a Masters degree (some people can do it through a combination of AP credits, summer classes etc.).

  3. That said a Masters in Accounting is often an efficient way to get the extra 30 credits as they are typically two semester programs for students who have a bachelors in accounting.

  4. The course requirements to become a CPA vary a bit from state to state but most top firms expect CPA candidates to use the extra credits for coursework in accounting/related business classes. Most people who need 30 or so credits after their bachelors go for a Masters in Accounting, a one year MBA or something along those lines.

  5. Firms still hire auditors with non-accounting majors but now they do need to have the required accounting coursework completed. I know non-accounting majors who went for an intensive Masters in Accounting (typically a 2 year program with no accounting background) who got Big 4 jobs.

  6. Back in my day my Big 4 (then Big 8 LOL) firm did hire a small group of people with liberal arts degrees and send them to a Masters in Accounting program at night/summer but that program doesn’t seem to exist anymore. From everything I know candidates are not hired full time until they have fulfilled the required education.

To the OP - I can’t help you with the particulars of your situation, but if you can’t get the credits one idea might be to do one additional semester to finish off the 150 requirements and then start studying for and taking the CPA exam. If you can knock out the exam before you start working that would be a great benefit. This suggestion would be especially useful if you already have an internship lined up that you expect will lead to a full time job.