[ra208]

ARGH! I just got told by CPA Exam Services that I don’t meet the educational requirements to sit for the exam. I have too many accounting courses and not enough business courses.

When I went back to school in 2013 to take courses to prepare for the exam, I specifically called the WA state board and asked if I could use extra accounting courses to fill in the business courses requirement.

Either they gave me bad info or they have changed their rules!

So don’t fall in to this trap. I guess I have to go back and take some basic “business communication” even though I have been working in the industry for a decade.

Anyone have a similar experience?

[aaronmo]

Link to your state's reqs please? This doesn't make sense to me…usually the limit is how many ACCOUNTING classes you have. I have almost no business courses.

[SGood]

The educational requirements to sit for the CPA Examination as a Washington candidate can be found here: https://nasba.org/exams/cpaexam/washington/

Eligibility for Examination

As a first-time applicant, you must have completed:

At least 150 semester hours of college education, and
A baccalaureate or graduate degree from an accredited U.S. college or university, and
A concentration in accounting, which means:
24 semester hours (36 quarter) in accounting subjects, of which at least 15 semester (22.5 quarter) hours are at the upper level or graduate level.
The following are examples of acceptable accounting courses:
Introductory/Elementary Accounting
Intermediate Accounting
Advanced Accounting
Cost/Managerial Accounting
Audit
Tax courses
Accounting Information Systems
The following are examples of acceptable upper level accounting courses:
Intermediate Accounting
Advanced Accounting
Managerial Accounting
Cost Accounting
Governmental Accounting
Auditing
Tax Courses
Accounting Information Systems
Not-for-Profit Accounting
Accountant Theory
Forensic Accounting
Financial Statement Analysis
Any accounting courses taken as part of a Master’s Program
24 semester hours (36 quarter) in business subjects at the undergraduate or graduate level in business and general education courses, that can include:
Macro- and Micro-economics
Budgeting
Investments
Business law
Statistics
Money & Banking
Finance courses
Management and administration

[ra208]

I am wondering if WA changed their reqs….

This is the education eval sheet on their website now: https://cpaboard.wa.gov/sites/default/files/educwrk.pdf

But I have one saved (maybe from two or three years ago) that explicitly states “In other words, excess accounting courses can be applied to the business administration requirement.”

Here is the WA website: https://cpaboard.wa.gov/individual-licensing/education-requirements

I guess I need to get in touch with the state board. Just left a message with the coordinator from CPA Exam Services also.

[aaronmo]

WOW is that obnoxious. And ridiculous. I'm sorry 🙁

Is there anyway you can test/license in another state? I'm by no means a subject matter expert, but I don't think many of them have reqs on business courses like that.

[aaronmo]

I really hope you can get around that crap…BUT…if you can't…

This might be an option:

https://www.tesu.edu/business/mba/

If you're going to take 24 hours in BS, at least get an MBA out of it. And they're cheap. I'm angry on your behalf by the way.

[ra208]

Thank you for being angry on my behalf.

Yes, I think I may have to figure out how to turn this into an MBA. I really honestly don't care if I have an MBA, right now, but maybe it would make me less angry, and it would never hurt.

I will look at that school and other options.

[aaronmo]

I think MBAs are silly too, and would have no interest in one…BUT…if you HAVE to take that many credits, it probably makes more sense to take 6 more and get one. First I'd see if there were other options, or other states. That rule SUCKS.

Another option (and this is how I did my accounting course work) might be just taking stuff at community colleges.

In retrospect, I regret doing it that way…I wish I'd spent a little more, taken a few more classes, and gotten a Masters out of it. It ended up fine NOW because I got the license…but it really hurt my opportunity and employ-ability before that.

[Author]

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