CPA prerequisites?

I’m a small company CFO without a CPA license. I have two higher level accounting classes in undergrad and four in grad school. That’s 18 credit hours. To sit for the CPA exam, I’m required to have at least 30 upper level accounting classes. Is taking the courses online the most cost effective way to get the extra four classes?

Has anyone else sat for the CPA exam many years after graduating from undergrad and have any recommendations?

I hear the CPA exam will change in 2024. Have you seen this resource?

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My degree was in something totally unrelated to accounting/business/finance. I was able to sit for the CPA exam by taking around 25 credit hours of accounting and business law. However this was in the state of Virginia and was literally in the late 1980’s and they no longer have this option.

I would double check the requirements with your state CPA society. I was able to take my classes at a local community college.

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Good to know that it’s changing.
I saw that Lamar University has online, asynchronous courses for $296 per credit hour. That would be quite a bit more than a community college.

As far as CPA test prep courses, I wondered how many resources are provided by the CPA licensing group. I did a CFA test prep through Kaplan but am unsure about CPA prep.

Some community colleges offer a CPA certificate track for those who already have bachelors
https://catalog.aacc.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=35&poid=14444

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You should be certain of the requirements/rules for your state board as there can be some variation state-to-state. I’d google something like “XYZ State CPA requirements” as a starting point to find the coursework you need to complete.

Note that one now needs 150 college credits to become a CPA. Typically one also needs 1 -2 years of documented work experience (often in public accounting and/or working for a CPA doing financial reporting) so you should see if your work experience will meet that criteria as well.

When the time comes to take the exam I’d recommend taking a CPA review course (ex. Becker) to prepare.

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Is your company making it a requirement that you sit the CPA exam? I have an accounting degree and 38 years of experience in corporate accounting, but I am not a CPA. I work directly for the CFO of a company and our CFO does not have a CPA either.

Many CFOs do not have CPAs. CFOs can come up through areas other than accounting - such as Treasury, Financial Planning etc.

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I’m just doing it for learning and enhanced future job prospects. I’ve picked up quite a bit but figure that I’ll learn some more through the process.

A recruiter recently told me that a “CPA License is a very strong requirement for many of the CFO requirements that I get for Perm Placement and contract roles. In most cases they ask for industry and CPA required.”

My local community college has some classes which indicate that “This course is for students who possess a Bachelor’s degree and is part of the Certificate in Professional Accountancy. It may qualify as an upper division accounting course for the uniform Texas CPA exam.”

I worked in Corporate Accounting/Finance for decades. It was almost always a requirement for anyone in management to have either a CPA , Masters in Accounting or MBA.

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My husband is a cpa who wasn’t an accounting major and needed accounting credits. He took his classes through ucla extension. It was very convenient and affordable.

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@FallGirl my prior company that I was with for almost 30 years made it a requirement for new hires in Corporate Accounting/Finance to have a CPA or MBA. Those of us that had been there for years doing the work were exempt.

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