Santa Clara University CAAP Program CPA Licensing Information

Santa Clara University CAAP Program CPA Licensing Information

We do our best to provide our students and graduates with updated and accurate information on the requirements for CPA licensure, but the California Board of Accountancy makes the final determination on the acceptability of classes meeting the education requirement. It is important that students familiarize themselves with those requirements and check frequently for changes. Their website is http://www.dca.ca.gov/cba/ If you plan to practice outside California, please check the individual requirements of the specific state in question.

Changes to Requirements The educational requirements for becoming a licensed CPA changed as of December 31, 2013. They will change again after December 31, 2016. Because becoming licensed requires a minimum of 1 year of experience as a CPA prior to application for licensure, as well as passage of the CPA exam, it would be wise to keep the post-2016 requirements in mind. The key change is a requirement for a specific course, title Accounting Ethics or Accountants Professional Responsibilities.

Requirements for Licensure After 01/01/2014 and before 12/31/2016 Total Education (all listed in quarter units)* 45 Units of Accounting (CAAP provides this) 57 Units of Business and Accounting-relates coursework 15 Units of Ethics-related study (After 12/31/16, at least 4.5 quarter units of this requirement must be a class titled Accounting Ethics or Accountants Professional Responsibilities ) 225 total units of higher education A 4 year Baccalaureate degree (Degrees from non-us educational systems in which the undergraduate degree is 3 years may pose a problem and you should explore this more specifically with the CBA) HOWEVER you can sit for the exam at any time after completing your BA/BS degree and 36 units each of Accounting and Business-related courses. You don t need to wait until completion of the added requirements. *To convert semester units to quarter units, multiply by 1.5.

Examples of classes that count towards the 36 quarter units of Business-related coursework Mathematics Computer Science Any business discipline (Finance, Marketing, Management, Information Systems, etc) Economics Business writing Statistics Business Law Law School classes related to Business No restrictions on the number of units from any of the above categories Any extra accounting above the 45 units required count as general business.

Examples of classes that count towards the additional 21 units of Business or Accounting-related work All of the classes on the previous slide, plus: A maximum of 4.5 quarter units from each of the following groups: 1) English, Journalism, Communications, Science or Social Sciences, 2) Foreign language (including sign), courses with Cultural, Culture or Ethic in the title 3) Courses in Engineering, Architecture or Real Estate, or courses with Industry or Administration in the title

Ethics Requirements This is an area in which there is still some uncertainty about the new rules. The Board of Accountancy has provided examples of course titles that will meet the requirement, but the Board may be somewhat flexible and consider other courses if the bulletin description or course syllabus provides clear evidence of Ethics content Acceptable titles typically contain the following terms: Ethics Corporate Social Responsibility Auditing Fraud Corporate Governance Legal Environment of Business Business Leadership Morals Human Resources Management Professional Responsibilities Management of Organizations Organizational Behavior Business, Government and Society Business Law

Ethics Requirements A maximum of 4.5 units (3 semester units) in Philosophy, Religion of Theology, as long as the title contains words such as: Introduction General Principles of Fundamentals of Foundations of Survey of

Ethics Requirements For example, 'Foundations of Christian Faith' taught through Religious Studies would be acceptable, as would 'Introduction to Formal Logic', taught through Philosophy. However, courses titled "Christian Faith' or 'Formal Logic' would not count.

Ethics Requirements ACTG 183 (Auditing) may be counted as an Ethics class, but students who elect to count 183 as up to 6 units of ethics must take an additional 6 units of Accounting, as a single course will not be counted in more than one category. It appears that the CBA will split the units for you. So, for example, if you were short three quarter credits in ethics, you could count 3 Audit units towards ethics, and make up three accounting credits to arrive a the total 45 accounting units needed. The CBA webpage appears to limit the number of Auditing units that can be counted as Ethics to no more than one semester unit, but in discussion with the CBA licensing section we were told that is not the case.

What should you do? Stay aware of any changes to the licensing requirements We will continue to update these materials as required More specific information on these requirements can be found at http://www.dca.ca.gov/cba/. Follow the link on the lower right for New Licensure Requirements. The Handbook for the Licensing Applicant link also contains important information about applying to sit for the CPA exam and other issues of interest to applicants. If you plan to obtain your initial license outside California, you should check the specific requirements of that state.