[letspassshallwe]

So I heard back from VBOA today and the licensing examiner/coordinator who reviewed my transcript deemed that I don’t have enough “upper-level” accounting credits to sit for the CPA exam. Excluding Financial and Managerial accounting, I have a total of 21 and the required amount is 24. I’m honestly a little perplexed that I graduated with an accounting degree that doesn’t align with VBOA’s requirements to sit for the CPA exam.

My question is, can this be challenged/appealed? Was anybody able to submit a justification to include certain business electives under accounting? I’ve been studying for FAR the past six weeks and was planning on taking the exam sometime late April or early May and I’d hate for this to be delayed.

FAR - MAY 2013
REG - AUG 2013
AUD - OCT 2013
BEC - NOV 2013

[MCLKT]

That's crappy news, sorry.

Do you have 150 hours? I think it's common for an Accounting degree (undergrad) to be shy of qualifying to sit for the CPA exam. Of course, it depends on the individual state, but for reciprocity and “most states”, usually a master's is required.

With all of your FAR studying you could probably enroll in an online advanced Financial accounting course and do very well.

If you are able to appeal, good luck, but it will all come down to the board's final decision. And it looks like they have their minds made up.

“A small step back for a bit step up”

A:[73]97 F:[74]85 R:86 B:[74]82
*NINJA 10 Pt. COMBO & Yaeger*

[Keely]

Hi,

What school did you go to? If you went somewhere in VA, it sounds like an oversight on the board's part. I went to Radford and was able to take the exam right after college, so you should definitely be able to! 😉

Call and speak directly with the person who evaluates your transcripts. His name is Nicolas something. You can look it up on the board's website, I'm pretty sure. I've spoken with him several times, he's very helpful.

MCLKT: In VA, you can take the exam without the 150 hours, but you cannot get the license without them.

BEC: (4/2012) 88
AUD: (5/2012) 91
REG: (8/2012) 82
FAR: (1/2013) 78 🙂

VA CPA #42010

[jamesb]

@letspassshallwe..If you graduated with ACCT degree, you will NOT automatically get 24 required accounting for CPA exam…

@Keely..are you a double major?

AUD: TBA-
FAR Done
BEC Done

Becker
NINJA for AUD

[Keely]

No I didn't double major. My BBA program easily provided 24 hours.

BEC: (4/2012) 88
AUD: (5/2012) 91
REG: (8/2012) 82
FAR: (1/2013) 78 🙂

VA CPA #42010

[Keely]

I should provide a correction. It easily provided the hours because we were mandated to take either three or four (can't remember which) business electives, which must be specifically accounting classes. I thought most schools did that, though. I would still check with the evaluator, OP.

BEC: (4/2012) 88
AUD: (5/2012) 91
REG: (8/2012) 82
FAR: (1/2013) 78 🙂

VA CPA #42010

[Lisa]

letspassshallwe:

I am from VA too, and it's my understanding that the VA BOA will not give a candidate permission to sit for the exam without the 150 credit hours, and the Board does not count the Principles of Accounting classes as part of those credits. Therefore, you need some of the more advanced elective classes. For instance, Audit, Governmental & Not for Profit , and Advanced Accounting. Both Advanced and Governmental accounting can be highly tested on FAR, so if the VA BOA will not give you permission to sit without the hours, you could put your time to good use (I understand not your preferred course of action) by taking one or more of those classes. If you live in Northern Virginia, NOVA Comm College has all these classes and the Alexandria Campus has a number of excellent accounting professors.

AUD 8/04/11: 78
BEC 1/9/12: 73, 4/04/12: 80
FAR 10/25/12: 80
REG 02/25/13: 79
Ethics 100%
VA License Issued 3/2013

[Keely]

No, in the state of Virginia, you can take the exam with 120 hours, 24 hours of which need to be approved accounting courses. 150 hours only comes into play when you go to apply for the license. You cannot be licensed without 150 credit hours. You can take the exam with nothing more than a Bachelor's in anything, 24 accounting hours, and pay the fee.

BEC: (4/2012) 88
AUD: (5/2012) 91
REG: (8/2012) 82
FAR: (1/2013) 78 🙂

VA CPA #42010

[jamesb]

@Keely, I guess your business electives helped you sit for the exam after getting your bachelor in ACCT.

@Lisa…Keely is right.

Source:https://www.boa.virginia.gov/CPAExam/EducationRequirements.shtml

AUD: TBA-
FAR Done
BEC Done

Becker
NINJA for AUD

[Partially Deaf]

Funny. I only have a minor in accounting but I still have the 24 units.

MBA Candidate - UCLA Anderson School of Management

REG 89 - 4/9/2012
BEC 88 - 5/29/2012
AUD 93 - 8/20/2012
FAR 83 - 2/4/2013
-All passed on the first attempt!

CFA Level 1 - Passed on first attempt in June 2014

[letspassshallwe]

Thanks for the response everyone. I've contacted the VBOA guy (Nick), but we didn't get a chance to connect yet. He was out of office.

I went to a state school in NJ so I also e-mailed the chair of accounting to see what his perspectives are in regards to his review of my transcript to see if any of my business electives could arguably fall under accounting.

I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

Thanks for the suggestions on NOVA CC. I think I will go that route and do some “advanced” financial accounting course to qualify to sit for the exam. I'm going to eventually need 150 anyway to become certified (if I pass).

FAR - MAY 2013
REG - AUG 2013
AUD - OCT 2013
BEC - NOV 2013

[letspassshallwe]

@Partially Deaf, areFundamentals of Financial Accounting and Fundamentals of Managerial Accounting included in your 24 credits?

FAR - MAY 2013
REG - AUG 2013
AUD - OCT 2013
BEC - NOV 2013

[sandy]

According to VBOA, you need only 120 semester hours to sit for the exam and 150 hours to get the license. Please read their Education Handbook, it gives all the required accounting class. Northern virginia community college has advanced class. I took some of the advanced class from them.

[letspassshallwe]

Yup. I'm going to take Government & Not-for-profit accounting @ NVCC to fulfill VBOA's requirement. Luckily I was able to enroll in their spring's 8-week accelerated course so I guess I'm still somewhat on schedule.

On the bright side, I guess I won't have to study Government and NFP accounting in Wiley.

FAR - MAY 2013
REG - AUG 2013
AUD - OCT 2013
BEC - NOV 2013

[Tncincy]

@letspassshallwe,

I would still use wiley while taking the classes. You can use the study mode and ninja notes to nail the concepts while in the class. All is not lost, time to take the advantage. Good luck

It begins with a 75
Been here too long as a cheerleader....ready to pass

[mla1169]

Letspass, very few college courses are designed to cover the same materials as the CPA. Taking a govt and NFP class is nice and will give you a basis, but trust me wiley will have things that your course does not cover.

FAR- 77
AUD -49, 71, 84
REG -56,75!
BEC -75

Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

[Author]

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