Florida Administrative Code
61 - DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION
61H1 - Board of Accountancy
Chapter 61H1-27 - EDUCATIONAL AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS
Section 61H1-27.002 - Concentrations in Accounting and Business

(1) For purposes of Section 473.306, F.S., if application for the Uniform CPA Examination was made prior to August 2, 1983, an applicant must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with a major in accounting, or its equivalent, with a concentration in accounting and business subjects. A concentration in accounting and business is defined as an educational program that includes at least 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours, or the equivalent, in accounting education above elementary (principles of) accounting and 27 semester or 40 quarter hours, or the equivalent, in general business education. In order to meet the provisions of Section 473.306, F.S., the application must have been filed, completed and approved and show on its face that all educational and other requirements were met prior to August 2, 1983.

(2) For purposes of Section 473.308, F.S., if application for licensure is made after August 1, 1983, an applicant must have at least 150 semester hours or 225 quarter hours of college education, including a baccalaureate degree or higher conferred by an accredited college or university with a major in accounting, or its equivalent. The applicant's total education program shall include a concentration in accounting and business as follows:

(3) To be eligible to take the licensure examination, an applicant shall have completed 120 semester or 180 quarter hours as follows:

(4) For purposes of this rule, upper division accounting hours other than elementary above the minimum requirement may be substituted for general business hours. Elementary accounting subjects shall not be accepted as general business education. Elementary accounting subjects include principles of financial and managerial accounting courses even if they are covered in a three course sequence, are titled "introductory," "fundamentals" or "principles" and even if they are offered at the graduate level. All accounting courses and not less than 21 semester or 32 quarter hours of general business courses must be at the upper division level. For the purpose of paragraph 61H1-27.002(2)(b), F.A.C., all general business courses, including accounting courses in excess of the 36 hours required, must be taken at the upper division level, except for Introductory Macro and Micro Economics, Business Law, Introductory Statistics, Introduction to Computer Information Systems, and any written or oral communication course described in paragraph 61H1-27.002(2)(b), F.A.C. Lower level general business courses, other than those listed above, posted to transcripts after August 31, 1989 will not count. Standardized tests, such as CLEP, are not acceptable for accounting or general business courses; however, advanced placement (AP) courses will be counted if the applicant has been granted college credit for those AP courses by their degree-granting institution.

(5) Re-applicants whose original application for the CPA examination was approved prior to August 2, 1983, may elect to satisfy subsection 61H1-27.002(1), F.A.C.

(6) For purposes of subsection 61H1-27.002(2), F.A.C., and Section 473.306, F.S., a baccalaureate degree will not be considered as meeting the statutory requirement for a major in accounting or its equivalent unless all credit hours accepted by the college or university as part of the degree requirement are listed as courses in the catalogues of all institutions attended.

(7) If an applicant takes duplicate courses, only one of these courses will be counted. For purposes of this rule, all CPA Examination Review courses will be deemed to be duplicate courses.

(8) Individuals who are currently licensed in good standing, with at least five (5) years of work experience in the practice of public accountancy in the United States are exempt from the requirements in subsections 61H1-27.002(1) -(3), which are in excess of a baccalaureate degree or higher conferred by an accredited college or university with a major in accounting or its equivalent. All experience that is used as a basis for waiving the requirements in excess of a baccalaureate degree must be while licensed by another state or territory in the United States. This experience shall include providing any type of service or advice involving the use of accounting, attest, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, or consulting skills. This experience shall be verified by a licensed certified public accountant in good standing with a state or territory of the United States. Individuals performing the certification must be licensed and in good standing both during the applicant's work experience and at the time of verification.

(9) Individuals who are currently licensed in good standing, with at least five (5) years of work experience in the practice of public accountancy or its equivalent in countries approved by the International Qualifications Appraisal Board of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (IQAB) and whose educational degrees are from accredited institutions as set forth in subsection 61H1-27.001(1), F.A.C., shall be deemed to have met the requirements set forth in subsections 61H1-27.002(1) -(3), F.A.C. All experience that is used as a basis for waiving the requirements in subsections 61H1-27.002(1) -(3) must be while licensed by another state or territory in the United States or while licensed in the practice of public accounting or its equivalent in a foreign country that the IQAB has determined has licensure standards that are substantially equivalent to the those in the United States. This experience shall include providing any type of service or advice involving the use of accounting, attest, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, or consulting skills. This experience shall be verified by a licensed certified public accountant in good standing with a state or territory of the United States or a chartered accountant in good standing recognized by the IQAB, both during the applicant's work experience and at the time of verification.