[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I’m aware that ‘endorsement’ can be used to transfer an actual CPA license, or 4 passing exam scores from out of state to Florida’s Board of Accountancy.

Here’s my predicament – I have 132 college credits from the University of Pittsburgh and, as a result, can sit for the exams in Pennsylvania. Furthermore, I should only need 18 more credits to add to my 132 in order to meet that 150-credit requirement. Unfortunately, I no longer live in Pennsylvania – I now reside in Florida, which has different requirements for sitting AND for becoming licensed. So not only can I NOT sit in Florida with my current credits, but I’m 95% sure that I’d actually have to take another 30-36 credits just to meet their requirements for licensure.

My current job here in FL places the utmost importance on passing the exams – so the sooner I do that, the better.

So I think I have 3 options to work with here (I’ll start with the one that seems to be the wisest option):

1. “Stick to PA” – Register to sit in PA right now, pass the exams, and then go back to school somewhere here in FL to meet PA’s 150-credit requirement. Then I can get my PA license, and apply to transfer my license to Florida via ‘endorsement.’

2. “Mix and Match” – Register to sit in PA right now, pass the exams, and then immediately transfer my passing exam scores to FL’s board of accountancy via ‘endorsement’. Then I can go back to school down here, but I’ll have to complete nearly twice as many credits (as well as waste more time and money) just to meet Florida’s strict requirements for licensure.

3. “Stick to FL” – Since my employer wants me to pass the exams, I’d have to meet Florida’s sitting requirements. What currently holds me back from meeting this threshold is the fact that I haven’t taken ANY business law classes. Florida requires you to complete BUSLAW 1 and BUSLAW 2. As you may have guessed, 1 is a prerequisite to 2, so it would take me 2 semesters to complete these 2 classes. And if that were the case, I might as well just go back to school full-time and try to knock out all the credits I’d need to meet Florida’s licensure requirements, as opposed to registering for only BUSLAW 1 in the spring and then BUSLAW 2 in the summer, then sitting for the exams, then going back to school AGAIN to meet the requirements for licensure.

The firm wants me to pass ASAP, just to prove that I’m not a procrastinator, so option 3 would be MUCH less than ideal. Does option 1 seem feasible though? I’ve called Florida’s board of accountancy three times, and each time I get a different answer about whether or not this approach will work in the manner that I currently understand it to.