CALIFORNIA CPA LICENSURE EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS & THE CAL POLY POMONA ACCOUNTING PROGRAM Dr. Bob Hurt, C.F.E. Professor of Accounting

OUTLINE  General principles  California CPA licensure process  Educational requirements overview  Total number of units  Distribution of units  Additional information For a video that explains these slides, please visit my YouTube channel:

GENERAL PRINCIPLES (1 OF 2)  The California Board of Accountancy is the final decision maker with respect to interpreting the licensure requirements.  This presentation focuses on the:  Cal Poly Pomona accounting program in the 2013 / 2014 (and similar) academic years.  California CPA licensure requirements from 1 January 2014 to 31 December  No course can be double counted, but an individual course can be split up between areas.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES (2 OF 2)  Most education requirements are stated in terms of semester units.  For quarter system campuses, the California Board of Accountancy will convert the quarter units to semester units.  Semester X 2 / 3 = Quarter. For example, 9 semester units = 6 quarter units.

CALIFORNIA CPA LICENSURE PROCESS (1 OF 3)  Two license types  Attest: able to sign audit opinions  General: not able to sign audit opinions  Three basic components  Education  Exam  Experience

CALIFORNIA CPA LICENSURE PROCESS (2 OF 3)  Education  Requirements to sit for the CPA exam  Bachelor’s degree  24 semester units of accounting subjects  24 semester units of business- related subjects  Requirements for CPA licensure  All of the above PLUS  20 semester units of accounting study  15 quarter units of ethics study  Important notes  The accounting & ethics study requirements may be met as part of the bachelor’s degree or after the bachelor’s degree.  The accounting study requirements can be met with an appropriate master’s degree, but a master’s degree is not a requirement.

CALIFORNIA CPA LICENSURE PROCESS (3 OF 3)  Exam  Uniform CPA exam  Information available from many sources including:  AICPA AICPA  California Society of CPAs California Society of CPAs  Experience  One year working under a licensed CPA  Must include a minimum number of hours in auditing for the attest license

EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS OVERVIEW  Two considerations  Total number of units  Subject areas of units  To sit for the CPA exam  Bachelor’s degree (180 quarter units at Cal Poly Pomona)  24 semester units of accounting (met with the degree)  24 semester units of business- related subjects (met with the degree)  To get licensed  225 quarter units including the bachelor’s degree  Extra 45 units (225 – 180) referred to generically as the “fifth year”  Fifth year must comprise  20 semester units of accounting  15 quarter units of ethics

TOTAL NUMBER OF UNITS  Required for licensure: 225.  Built into your degree: 180.  Deficiency: 45.  Alternatives  “Courses not used” in your degree progress report  Courses you took at a community college but did not transfer to Cal Poly Pomona  Courses you take after you graduate  Master’s degree  Community college  Other college-level coursework

DISTRIBUTION OF UNITS (1 OF 6)  Required to sit for the exam  Accounting subjects, 24 semester units (Group 1)  Business-related subjects, 24 semester units (Group 2)  Required for licensure  Accounting study, 20 semester units (Group 3)  Ethics study, 15 quarter units (Group 4) Accounting & ethics study may be taken as part of the bachelor’s and / or after the bachelor’s.

DISTRIBUTION OF UNITS (2 OF 6)

DISTRIBUTION OF UNITS (3 OF 6)

DISTRIBUTION OF UNITS (4 OF 6)

DISTRIBUTION OF UNITS (5 OF 6)

DISTRIBUTION OF UNITS (6 OF 6)  The additional units (3 semester / 4.5 quarter) may come from any combination of:  Accounting  Business related  Foreign language  Courses with the words “culture / cultural / ethnic” in the title  Real estate  Engineering  Architecture  Potential sources  General education  Courses not used

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION  California Board of Accountancy  California Society of CPAs  These slides are available at Dr. Hurt’s web site: