How To Get Cpa License Without An Accounting Degree

CPA for non accounting major

The US CPA qualification is a globally recognized credential that is useful not merely to auditors simply also to financial professionals. Is earning the CPA for not-accounting majors and non-accountants a possibility?

Information technology is Getting Tougher … A Lot Tougher

I am an Economic science major and merely took 1 quarter (2 credit hours) of bones accounting courses at school, but I managed to go a CPA past taking extra courses.

I am a living example of how a non-bookkeeping major tin can go a Certified Public Accountant. Land Boards, however, have been tightening up the rules. So, we need to find creative ways to achieve our goals.

The CPA Exam Requirements

In order to go a CPA, you'll need to fulfill the 3Es:

Education
Test
Experience

For education, you must have at least a 4-year bachelor's caste together with minimum accounting and business credit hours, besides as 150 credit hours of full general higher education. For the exam, you need to laissez passer all iv parts of the Uniform CPA exam. And lastly, for the experience, you'll be completing i to 2 years of experience that is relevant and properly verified.

In short, for non-accounting majors, the clogging is likely:

The minimum accounting credit hours
The 150 credit hr requirement
Relevant experience

1. Fulfill the Minimum Accounting Credit Hours

The most logical style to go around is to pick a state that requires the least accounting courses:

Maine: 15 credit hours
Hawaii: 18 credit hours
Georgia: 20 credit hours
Massachusetts: 21 credit hours
Alaska: there is a path for non-bookkeeping majors

Hither is the catch:

Maine. They have lenient accounting educational requirements, but much stricter experience requirements. Maine asks for at to the lowest degree 2 years of public accounting feel with 4,000 hours of audit compilation.

Georgia. The country board requires these xviii credit hours to be upper-segmentation courses, meaning they only count the intermediate and avant-garde courses, the ones offered in the 3rd or 4th year of college. In practice, you will need to accept a lot more the required xviii credit hours in accounting to get qualified.

Massachusetts. MA has specific rules on which form to have. In this case, the coursework must include financial bookkeeping, inspect, management accounting, and tax.

Alaska. Alaska requires 15 accounting credit hours for bookkeeping majors, 24 hours for those concentrating in Accounting. There is even a path for non-accounting majors (<15 accounting credits) but the candidate MUST take at to the lowest degree 1 year of public bookkeeping feel.

Equally you come across, there are quite a few restrictions from these state boards. So permit's have a look at the second choice.

2. Brand Up for Accounting Courses + Satisfy the 150 Hour Rule

Recollect that I mentioned the 150 credit hours of general higher education? This is function of the CPA instruction requirements, meaning that if you lot have a standard 4-year bachelor's caste, that is, 120 credit hours of instruction, you yet need to get 30 extra credits to qualify. Thankfully, for these 30 credit hours, information technology can be not-degree courses and in whatsoever discipline as long as they are taken from a regionally accredited educational institution.

If y'all are lacking both the 30 credit hours and some accounting courses, then you might solve the two issues together with one solution — take boosted bookkeeping courses.

This fashion, yous can accomplish the 150 credit hours AND fulfill the necessary accounting credits at the same time. The studying helps directly in your CPA exam preparation also.

Once you reach the standard requirement, you accept a lot more than state boards to cull from, many with flexible working feel requirements that tin can accelerate your path to go a fully licensed CPA.

3. Complete the Experience Requirements

As a non-bookkeeping major, chances are that you lot may not be working every bit an auditor. If this is the case, so you might demand to check out the specific experience requirements earlier proceeding.

These days, virtually all state boards accept a more full general definition of relevant experience – public accounting is the nearly relevant, but bookkeeping in corporate and governmental agencies are now counted. In some cases, academic positions in universities can also be accustomed.

To find out more than about the experience requirements, potential obstacles and solutions, please cheque out this link with further explanation on rules and remedies.

Question: Can I Become a CPA with a Finance or Economics Degree?

Information technology depends on how many accounting and business organization courses you have taken, and how willing you are to fulfill the remaining requirements.

Finance Majors

For example, for almost finance majors, you are fine with the minimum number of business credit hours. If you besides took the time to accept some bookkeeping courses as well, y'all aren't far off.

Since you may demand to work on the 150 credit-hour rule anyway, the easiest way is to make up for those remaining accounting classes in community colleges or other accredited educational establishment. Most country boards are okay with community colleges, but brand sure you lot double-check as states such every bit New York crave the core accounting classes to be taken in 4-year colleges.

Economic Majors

In general, information technology is tougher considering economics and bookkeeping accept very few common classes. It is however doable (as mentioned higher up, I am an economics major). There are no shortcuts; you simply have to take enough accounting courses to reach the minimum requirement. The expert matter is that new knowledge should be actually helpful in your FAR and AUD exams. Equally an Econ major, you lot are familiar with many topics in BEC.

I am Besides Erstwhile / Likewise Busy for This. Are There Alternatives?

You might desire to cheque out other global qualifications in bookkeeping and finance.

The Certified Management Auditor (CMA) certification, for example, welcomes bachelor degree holders in any discipline.

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation has even more than flexible exam requirements.

In both cases, it helps to have basic knowledge of accounting, just you can piece of work difficult and catch up one time joining the program.

For Your Further Reading

How to take extra accounting courses to fulfill the 150-hr requirements
States with flexible working experience requirement
l most sought-afterward questions from CPA candidates
CPA Pass Rates by School: Top programs for public bookkeeping

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