The 150-hour Requirement For CPA Licensure: One Institution's Response

Abstract

Virtually all states now require candidates for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination and subsequent licensure to have completed 150 semester hours of college education. The rationale behind this requirement is to improve the preparation of students entering the profession and to increase their chances of successful completion of the exam as well as ensuring a well-rounded entrant into the profession. This paper presents the findings of one institution's reaction to this challenge. Sixty-nine junior and senior accounting majors at an AACB-accredited institution were surveyed regarding how they would satisfy the requirement. The vast majority of respondents intending to become 150-hour compliant, indicated their intent to fulfill the requirement through the completion of additions coursework, primarily in the summer semesters before commencing full-time employment and to do so within four years. On-line courses were reported to be the primary means of fulfilling the requirement. Cost and convenience of acquiring the credits were the most significant determinants in completing the credit hours. The intended coursework and subject matter was primarily non-business related. The implications of the findings should be of interest to current and future students, academicians and the employing firms.

150 Credit-Hours: Stakeholders’ Benefits and Students’ Skills and Attributes

“…Renner and Tanner noted that students who favored the double-major option ranked accounting and either finance or information systems as the most appealing double majors. Finally, Larkin (2014) discovered most students intended to obtain the 150 credit-hours within four years at the undergraduate level before starting their accounting careers.…”

“…Currently, students are using a variety of pathways to fulfill the 150 credit-hours educational requirement for initial CPA licensure. While the AICPA and National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) promoted the benefits of the 150 credit-hours requirement in broadening accounting education and developing essential skills and competencies, there was no mandate for graduate-level education nor a prescribed curriculum pathway to meet this requirement (Larkin, 2014). Gramling and Rossman (2013) asserted future research should address the scope and content of additional credit hours to the 150 credithours requirement as it is already solidified as a professional requirement that benefits candidates and the public.…”

What Do First-year and Senior Civil Engineering Students Think About Raising the Bar on the Education Requirements for Professional Licensure?

“…As of 2015, all states require 150 hours of college credit before an individual can take the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam [19]. It has been noted that students fulfill this requirement in a variety of ways, many by taking a variety of online and/or summer courses while an undergraduate student [19,20]. However, Menk et al [19] note that those who have earned a graduate degree perform better on the CPA exam.…”