[Anonymous]

Hi, I passed all the exams under old NH education requirement. I don’t know how to get licensed now that rules have changed. Here is my situation:

– 15 credits of accounting

– Top 10 MBA

– Multiple years of finance / accounting experience in Investment Banking

– Resident of New Jersey

– Not a US Citizen

Is there any way I could get a CPA license? Which state would be most favorable? Will I be able to transfer my exam credits?

[Anonymous]

You definitely can transfer your exam credits. However, I am not aware off hand of any states which wouldn't require more accounting credits. As far as not being a US Citizen, I know KY, where I live and am licensed, is one of the states that doesn't require citizenship. It's also one of the ones that's more flexible with experience and education, but it still requires more accounting credits. KY's educational requirements are:

“Each applicant must provide the Board with an official transcript that clearly indicates the applicant has earned a baccalaureate or master's degree with a concentration in accounting, and the date the degree was conferred. A concentration in accounting means a minimum of 39 semester hours in business-related subjects, of which at least 27 semester hours consists of accounting courses.”

If neither your Bachelor's nor your Master's has an Accounting focus, I would check and see what it would take for you to meet the requirements for one or the other at the school that granted the prior Bachelor's or Master's. It may be a matter of taking a couple more classes and counting as having the other degree. After that, you can get the additional accounting courses from anywhere. My Bachelor's (Business Administration with an area of study in Accounting) only required 24 credits of accounting, but since the degree had Accounting in its full title and since I took an extra class to get the 27 credits, they were OK with it, even though not all 27 were required for the degree.

[rp 12]

go to NASBA website. Very few states now have 120 credits rule for license. You will basically need to get sufficient accounting credits. I don't think 15 accounting credits will suffice licensure requirements. Even CA has 150 credits rule since 2014. Some states do accept courses from accredited community colleges. Your best bet is too look into NABA website for licensure requirments based on your education/credits. I know for a fact that NJ rquires 150 credits but it is much better than other nearby states. Also, exam credits don't expire if you don't have 150 credits (NJ).

Also, if your credits are outside U.S there is official evaluation done by NASBA, and/or by state accounting board like for ex. NY.

"Success in life comes when you simply refuse to give up, with goals so strong that obstacles, failure, and loss act only as motivation"

AUD: 68, 62, 77✔ (expires 10/31/16)
FAR: 53, 48, XX (retake 6/16)
REG:
BEC: 53

[Missy]

There are many states where you can get licensed once you get more accounting credits. I don't think any states have a requirement as low as 15 credits.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Anonymous]

Someone said on here the other day that the only territory left without the 150 hour rule is the Virgin Islands, but I think that's 120 hours. Of course, not all the 120 hours are accounting, so it depends how many business law/mgmt/economics/finance/etc classes you have. But even still, you run into a residency requirement with most if not all locations. You can definitely transfer your exam credits, but the question is where. You can call NH/NJ NASBA and talk to them about your options.

[Anonymous]

MLA11692 posted a link to this yesterday – hope it helps!

Looks like most do not have a residency requirement, I was wrong.

https://www.thiswaytocpa.com/exam-licensure/state-requirements/

https://www.aicpa.org/becomeacpa/licensure/requirements/pages/default.aspx#states

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for your thoughts. I have over 150 total credits but only 15 accounting credits as my undergrad was in engineering.

Here is what I saw on NJ requirements:

“Earned a graduate degree from a business school or college of business which has been granted accreditation in business by the AACSB or ACBSP, and completed one of the following:

At least 24 semester hours in accounting at the undergraduate level; or

At least 15 semester hours in accounting at the graduate level which included coursework in financial accounting, auditing, taxation and management accounting;

An equivalent combination of undergraduate and graduate level accounting coursework based upon a 3:2 ratio such that three credit hours at the undergraduate level are equivalent to two credit hours at the graduate level.”

Anybody has any experience with above requirement? My MBA is from the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor which I think is an accredited program.

[rp 12]

So you have an MBA in….? And can you give the breakdown of your 15 accounting credits? Is it from Graduate level?

"Success in life comes when you simply refuse to give up, with goals so strong that obstacles, failure, and loss act only as motivation"

AUD: 68, 62, 77✔ (expires 10/31/16)
FAR: 53, 48, XX (retake 6/16)
REG:
BEC: 53

[Anonymous]

No offense, but posts like these always blow my mind. You just presumably studied your butt off to pass all sections of the exam, yet you can't figure out the various state-by-state licensing requirements???

Read through the State Board websites and try calling/emailing them with your remaining questions.

Ok, rant over.

[Anonymous]

Without knowing a thing about Michigan or the University of Michigan, I can tell you with 100% certainty it's accredited. Unaccredited schools are the crappy ones that tend to advertise with low budget commercials featuring various “success” stories, like “now i'm an (insert low-level, badly paying job title here)!” and advertise a fast track to a “career” (though, looking at their success stories, you realize none of those people could be making above $12/hour).

My mind is blown that you “think” the school you went to is accredited. That is something you should know with certainty before applying. A degree from an unaccredited school is like fake money: it might make you feel better to look at, but it's not worth the paper it's printed on (and it certainly wouldn't help you with the CPA). It's like saying “I'm pretty sure my heart surgeon is licensed”. It's not something to take lightly! Lucky for you, your school is accredited.

[Author]

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