Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a)
Requirements Applicable Before January 1, 2001
1) As provided in Section 3 of the Act, to be
admitted to take the examination given before January 1, 2001, a candidate for
the Illinois Uniform Certified Public Accountant examination must have
successfully completed at least 120 semester hours of acceptable credit. Of the
semester hours accepted by the Board, at least 27 semester hours shall be in
the study of accounting, auditing and business law, provided not more than 6
semester hours shall be in business law. Candidates may apply to take the
Illinois CPA examination during their final term, semester or quarter, but must
meet the educational requirements at the time the examination is
given.
2) Acceptable credit
recognized by the Board is:
A) credit earned
from a college or university that is a candidate for or is accredited by a
regional accrediting association that is a member of the Commission on
Recognition of Postsecondary Accreditation (CORPA);
B) credit earned at a business school or
college of business within the educational institution that is accredited by
the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB); or
C) Association of Collegiate Business Schools
and Programs (ACBSP).
b) Requirements Effective January 1, 2001
through June 30, 2013
1) To be admitted to
take the examination from January 1, 2001 through June 30, 2013, a candidate
for the Illinois CPA examination must have successfully completed at least 150
semester hours of acceptable credit and earned a baccalaureate or higher
degree. The semester hours accepted by the Board must include an accounting
concentration or its equivalent. A candidate will be deemed to have met the
education requirement if, as part of the 150 semester hours of education or
equivalent as determined by the Board, he or she has met any one of the four
conditions listed in subsections (b)(1)(A) through (D). With each of the
conditions listed, accounting hours do not include business law, and no more
than six semester hours of accounting may be obtained through internships or
life-experience.
A) Earned a graduate degree
with a concentration in accounting from a program that is accredited in
accounting by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board.
B) Earned a graduate degree from a program
that is accredited in business by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board
and completed at least 24 additional semester hours in accounting at the
undergraduate level or 15 semester hours at the graduate level or equivalent
combination thereof, including courses covering the subjects of financial
accounting, auditing, taxation, and management accounting.
C) Earned a baccalaureate degree from a
program that is accredited in business by an accrediting agency recognized by
the Board and completed 24 semester hours in accounting at the undergraduate or
graduate level, including courses covering the subjects of financial
accounting, auditing, taxation, and management accounting, and completed at
least 24 additional semester hours of business courses, or substantially
equivalent (other than accounting) courses, at the undergraduate or graduate
level.
D) Earned a baccalaureate or
higher degree from an accredited educational institution or other institution
recognized by the Board, including at least 24 semester hours of accounting at
the undergraduate and/or graduate level with at least one course each in
financial accounting, auditing, taxation, and management accounting and
completed at least 24 additional semester hours in business courses or
substantially equivalent (other than accounting) courses at the undergraduate
or graduate level.
2)
For purposes of subsection (b)(1), the formula for conversion of quarter hours
to semester hours is to multiply quarter hours by two-thirds.
3) Authorization to Test
A) Except as otherwise provided in subsection
(b)(3)(B), proof of satisfactory completion of all educational requirements
must be received by the Board before the Board issues an authorization to
test.
B) First time candidates who
apply for the examination will be granted provisional approval of in-progress
courses taken at domestic institutions. Candidates granted provisional approval
shall be allowed 120 days from the date of taking the first section of the
examination to provide evidence that all requirements have been completed. No
grades will be released to the candidate until all final official credentials
are received with degree posted, if required, and eligibility verified by Board
staff. If final transcripts verifying completion of all courses for eligibility
to sit are not received by the Board within 120 days after taking the first
examination section of the computer-based examination, grades for all
examination sections authorized with provisional approval will be
voided.
c)
Requirements Effective July 1, 2013 through December 31, 2020
1) Examination Qualifications
A) From July 1, 2013 through December 31,
2020, an applicant must provide proof of successful completion of:
i) 150 semester credit hours, as defined, of
college or university study;
ii) a
baccalaureate or higher degree; and
iii) the requirements set out in subsection
(c)(3).
B) Applicants
who have taken the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination at least
once before July 1, 2013, may take the examination under the qualifications in
effect when the examination was first taken.
2) Definitions
A) "Board" or "IBOE" - Illinois Board of
Examiners.
B) "Semester Credit
Hours" or "SCH" - accredited college or university semester credit
hours.
C) "150 SCH" - minimum
number of credit hours earned and posted to the applicant's official college or
university transcripts.
D)
"Conversion of Quarter Credit Hours to SCH" - quarter credit hours may be
converted to SCH by multiplying quarter credit hours by two-thirds.
E) "Internship" - faculty approved and
appropriately supervised short-term work experience, usually related to
student's major field of study, for which the student earns academic credit as
posted to the applicant's official college or university transcripts.
F) "Life Experience" - college level life
experience posted on a college or university transcript as academic credit that
has been assessed by appropriate faculty and/or staff of that institution as
earned competence. Those areas addressed in the review of life experience
should, at a minimum, contain the context of the experience in relation to work
and studies and a detailed description of the experience.
G) "Colleges" or "Universities" -
Board-recognized institutions of higher education accredited by a national or
regional accrediting association recognized by the Council for Higher Education
Accreditation (CHEA), the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) and/or any
accreditation organization approved by the Board. Recognition means the
accrediting organization is certified as legitimate and competent. An
individual program within a larger accredited institution may be separately
accredited by a professional or specialized organization. Business schools
recognized by the Board are accredited by AACSB - The International Association
of Management Education or the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and
Programs (ACBSP).
H) "Integration
of Subject Matter" - program of learning in which certain subjects that may be
discrete courses in some colleges or universities are integrated or embedded
within related courses. Colleges or universities that use an integrated
approach to cover multiple course subjects will need to provide evidence of the
required coverage. Acceptance of integration of any subject matter is subject
to Board approval. Proof of coverage may be provided through specific
evaluation by a national accrediting organization recognized by CHEA, such as
AACSB or ACBSP, in which evidence is provided to assure the Board that the
respective subjects adequately cover the desired content.
I) "Ethics" - program of learning that
provides a framework of ethical reasoning, professional values and attitudes
for exercising professional skepticism and other behavior that is in the best
interest of the public and profession. At a minimum, an ethics program should
provide a foundation for ethical reasoning and the core values of integrity,
objectivity and independence.
J)
"Graduate Accounting Credit Hours" - hours earned in courses classified by the
college or university as post-secondary level courses leading to a master's
degree. For purposes of meeting the accounting hours requirement, one graduate
SCH is equivalent to 1.6 SCH earned at the
undergraduate level.
K) "Applicant"
- person who has applied to sit for the Uniform Certified Public Accountant
Examination.
L) "Research and
Analysis in Accounting" or "R&A" - may be a stand-alone course or
integrated into a related course or courses. If integrated in a related course
or courses, colleges and universities will determine the amount of R&A that
will be credited within the related course toward satisfying the R&A
requirement.
M) "Business
Communication" or "BC" - may be a stand-alone course or integrated into a
related course or courses. If integrated in a related course or courses,
colleges and universities will determine the amount of BC that will be credited
within the related course toward satisfying the BC requirement.
N) "Authorization to Test" or "ATT" - issued
to candidates approved by the Board of Examiners to take the Certified Public
Accountant (CPA) Examination.
O)
"National Association of State Boards of Accountancy" or "NASBA" - the national
organization for all State Boards of Accountancy.
3) Examination Admittance
An applicant will be deemed to have met the educational
requirement (see subsection (c)(4)) if, as part of the 150 SCH of education, or
equivalent as determined by the Board, the applicant has met any one of the
following three conditions:
A) Earned a
graduate degree from an accounting program that is accredited in accounting by
an accrediting agency recognized by the Board (see subsection
(c)(2)(G));
B) Earned a graduate
degree from a business or accounting program that is accredited in business by
an accrediting agency recognized by the Board (see subsection (c)(2)(G)) and
completed at least 30 SCH in accounting as described in subsection (c)(4) at
the undergraduate or graduate level;
C) Earned a baccalaureate or higher degree
(except as defined in (c)(3)(A) or (B)) from an accredited education
institution recognized by the Board (see subsection (c)(2)(G)) and:
i) completed 30 SCH in accounting, as
described in subsection (c)(4), at the undergraduate level, or the equivalent
at the graduate level; and
ii)
completed at least 24 SCH in business other than accounting, as described in
subsection (c)(5), at the undergraduate or graduate level.
4) Accounting Course Requirements
A) Research and Analysis in accounting
courses are those courses commonly included in the accounting curriculum. The
required 30 SCH in accounting must include:
i)
Financial accounting;
ii)
Auditing;
iii) Taxation;
iv) Management accounting; and
v) Research and Analysis (at least two
SCH).
B) Internships and
life experience credits included in the 30 SCH in accounting are limited to a
maximum of three SCH.
C) A maximum
of three SCH of accounting internships and/or life experience credit hours may
be included in the 30 SCH in accounting. Additional business internship and/or
life experience credit hours may be used to meet a maximum of three SCH in
business internships or life experience. An additional six SCH of internship
and/or life experience credit hours may count toward satisfying the
non-accounting or non-business hours required to sit for the CPA
examination.
5) Business
Course Requirements
A) Business courses are
those courses commonly included in the business curriculum.
B) Internships and life experience credits
included in the 24 SCH in business are limited to a maximum of three
SCH.
C) A maximum of three SCH of
business internships and/or life experience credit hours may be included in the
24 SCH in business. An additional six SCH of internship and/or life experience
credit hours may count toward satisfying the non-accounting or non-business
hours required to sit for the CPA examination.
D) The 24 SCH in business must include two
SCH in business communication and three SCH in business ethics. The subject
matter may be discrete courses or integrated throughout the undergraduate or
graduate accounting curriculum or business curriculum. For example, if a three
SCH course in accounting includes one SCH in business ethics, two SCH may count
toward accounting requirements and one SCH may count toward the business ethics
requirement.
6)
Evaluation of International Credentials
NASBA is the only organization authorized by the Board to
conduct international credential evaluations on behalf of the Board.
Evaluations of international credentials completed by outside agencies other
than IBOE or NASBA are not accepted. Factors that are considered when
evaluating foreign educational credentials are:
A) The official status of the institution
that issued the credentials;
B) The
type of education that the credential represents: secondary, tertiary,
academic, technical, vocational, pre-professional, in-service, or part of a
certificate, diploma or degree program;
C) The authenticity of the
credential;
D) The role the
credential plays in the educational system of the country from which it
came;
E) The recognition of the
credential in the country where the candidate is from; and
F) The U.S. equivalent of the quantity and
quality of education the credential represents.
7) Authorization to Test
A) Except as otherwise provided in subsection
(c)(7)(B), proof of satisfactory completion of all educational requirements
must be approved by the Board before the Board will issue an authorization to
test.
B) First time candidates who
apply for the examination in their final term will be granted provisional
approval of in-progress courses taken at domestic institutions. The Board must
receive all final transcripts from provisional candidates, including degree
posted (if required), within 150 days after the date of taking the first
section of the examination. If final transcripts verifying completion of all
courses for eligibility to sit are not received by the Board within 150 days
after taking the first examination section of the computer-based examination,
grades for all examination sections authorized with provisional approval will
be voided.
C) Provisional
Candidates
i) Provisional candidates
completing required courses in the spring term must complete at least one
section of the CPA examination by October 1 of the same year or the provisional
status will be revoked.
ii)
Provisional candidates completing required courses in the summer term must
complete at least one section of the CPA examination by January 1 of the
following year or the provisional status will be revoked.
iii) Provisional candidates completing
required courses in the fall term must complete at least one section of the CPA
examination by April 1 of the following year or the provisional status will be
revoked.
iv) Provisional candidates
completing required courses in the winter term must complete at least one
section of the CPA examination by July 1 of the same year or the provisional
status will be revoked.
D) Only one provisional ATT will be issued
per candidate and no changes to the courses in progress may be made once
received and approved by the Board.
d) Requirements Effective January 1, 2021
through December 31, 2022
1) Examination
Qualifications
A) Beginning January 1, 2021
through December 31, 2022, an applicant must provide proof of successful
completion of:
i) 150 semester credit hours,
as defined, of college or university study;
ii) a baccalaureate or higher degree;
and
iii) the requirements set out
in subsection (d)(3).
B)
Applicants who have taken the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination
at least once before January 1, 2019, may take the examination under the
qualifications in effect when the examination was first taken.
2) Definitions
A) "Board" or "IBOE" - Illinois Board of
Examiners.
B) "Semester Credit
Hours" or "SCH" - accredited college or university semester credit
hours.
C) "150 SCH" - minimum
number of credit hours earned and posted to the applicant's official college or
university transcripts.
D)
"Conversion of Quarter Credit Hours to SCH" - quarter credit hours may be
converted to SCH by multiplying quarter credit hours by two-thirds.
E) "Internship" - faculty approved and
appropriately supervised short-term work experience, usually related to the
student's major field of study, for which the student earns academic credit as
posted to the applicant's official college or university transcripts.
F) "Life Experience" - college level life
experience posted on a college or university transcript as academic credit that
has been assessed by appropriate faculty and/or staff of that institution as
earned competence. Those areas addressed in the review of life experience
should, at a minimum, contain the context of the experience in relation to work
and studies and a detailed description of the experience.
G) "Colleges" or "Universities" -
Board-recognized institutions of higher education accredited by a national or
regional accrediting association recognized by the Council for Higher Education
Accreditation (CHEA), the U.S. Department of Education (USDE), and/or any
accreditation organization approved by the Board. Recognition means the
accrediting organization is certified as legitimate and competent. An
individual program within a larger accredited institution may be separately
accredited by a professional or specialized organization. Business schools
recognized by the Board are accredited by The International Association for
Management Education (AACSB) or the Accreditation Council for Business Schools
and Programs (ACBSP).
H)
"Integration of Subject Matter" - program of learning in which certain subjects
that may be discrete courses in some colleges or universities are integrated or
embedded within related courses. Colleges or universities that use an
integrated approach to cover multiple course subjects will need to provide
evidence of the required coverage. Acceptance of integration of any subject
matter is subject to Board approval. Proof of coverage may be provided through
specific evaluation by a national accrediting organization recognized by CHEA,
such as AACSB or ACBSP, in which evidence is provided to assure the Board that
the respective subjects adequately cover the desired content.
I) "Ethics" - program of learning that
provides a framework of ethical reasoning, professional values and attitudes
for exercising professional skepticism and other behavior that is in the best
interest of the public and profession. At a minimum, an ethics program should
provide a foundation for ethical reasoning and the core values of integrity,
objectivity and independence.
J)
"Graduate Accounting Credit Hours" - hours earned in courses classified by the
university as post-secondary level courses leading to a master's degree. For
purposes of meeting the accounting hours requirement, one graduate SCH is
equivalent to 1.6 SCH earned at the
undergraduate level.
K) "Applicant"
- person who has applied to sit for the Uniform Certified Public Accountant
Examination.
L) "Business
Communication" or "BC" - may be a stand-alone course or integrated into a
related course or courses. If integrated in a related course or courses,
colleges and universities will determine the amount of BC that will be credited
within the related course toward satisfying the BC requirement.
M) "Authorization to Test" or "ATT" - issued
to candidates approved by the Board of Examiners to take the Certified Public
Accountant (CPA) Examination.
N)
"National Association of State Boards of Accountancy" or "NASBA" - the national
organization for all State Boards of Accountancy.
3) Examination Admittance
An applicant will be deemed to have met the educational
requirement if, as part of the 150 SCH of education, or equivalent as
determined by the Board, the applicant has met any one of the following three
conditions:
A) Earned a graduate degree
from an accounting program that is accredited in accounting by an accrediting
agency recognized by the Board (see subsection (d)(2)(G));
B) Earned a graduate degree from a business
or accounting program that is accredited in business by an accrediting agency
recognized by the Board (see subsection (d)(2)(G)) and completed at least 30
SCH in accounting as described in subsection (d)(4) at the undergraduate or
graduate level;
C) Earned a
baccalaureate or higher degree (except as defined in (d)(3)(A) or (B)) from an
accredited education institution recognized by the Board (see subsection
(d)(2)(G)) and:
i) completed 30 SCH in
accounting, as described in subsection (d)(4), at the undergraduate level, or
the equivalent at the graduate level; and
ii) completed at least 24 SCH in business
other than accounting, as described in subsection (d)(5), at the undergraduate
or graduate level.
4) Accounting Course Requirements
A) The required 30 SCH in accounting must
include:
i) Financial accounting;
ii) Auditing;
iii) Taxation; and
iv) Management accounting.
B) Internships and life experience
credits included in the 30 SCH in accounting are limited to a maximum of three
SCH.
C) A maximum of three SCH of
accounting internships and/or life experience credit hours may be included in
the 30 SCH in accounting. Additional accounting internship and/or life
experience credit hours may be used to meet a maximum of three SCH in business
internships or life experience. An additional six SCH of internship and/or life
experience credit hours may count toward satisfying the non-accounting or
non-business hours required to sit for the CPA examination.
5) Business Course Requirements
A) Business courses are those courses
commonly included in the business curriculum.
B) Internships and life experience credits
included in the 24 SCH in business are limited to a maximum of three
SCH.
C) A maximum of three SCH of
business internships and/or life experience credit hours may be included in the
24 SCH in business. An additional six SCH of internship and/or life experience
credit hours may count toward satisfying the non-accounting or non-business
hours required to sit for the CPA examination.
D) The 24 SCH in business must include two
SCH in business communication and three SCH in business ethics. The subject
matter may be discrete courses or integrated throughout the undergraduate or
graduate accounting curriculum or business curriculum. For example, if a three
SCH course in accounting includes one SCH in business ethics, two SCH may count
toward accounting requirements and one SCH may count toward the business ethics
requirement.
6)
Evaluation of International Credentials
NASBA is the only organization authorized by the Board to
conduct international credential evaluations on behalf of the Board.
Evaluations of international credentials completed by outside agencies other
than IBOE or NASBA are not accepted. Factors that are considered when
evaluating foreign educational credentials are:
A) The official status of the institution
that issued the credentials;
B) The
type of education that the credential represents: secondary, tertiary,
academic, technical, vocational, pre-professional, in-service, or part of a
certificate, diploma or degree program;
C) The authenticity of the
credential;
D) The role the
credential plays in the educational system of the country from which it
came;
E) The recognition of the
credential in the country where the candidate is from; and
F) The U.S. equivalent of the quantity and
quality of education the credential represents.
7) Authorization to Test
A) Except as otherwise provided in subsection
(d)(7)(B), proof of satisfactory completion of all educational requirements
must be approved by the Board before the Board will issue an authorization to
test.
B) First time candidates who
apply for the examination in their final term will be granted provisional
approval of in-progress courses taken at domestic institutions. The Board must
receive all final transcripts from provisional candidates, including degree
posted (if required), within 150 days after the date of taking the first
section of the examination. If final transcripts verifying completion of all
courses for eligibility to sit are not received by the Board within 150 days
after taking the first examination section of the computer-based examination,
grades for all examination sections authorized with provisional approval will
be voided.
C) Provisional
Candidates
i) Provisional candidates
completing required courses in the spring term must complete at least one
section of the CPA examination by October 1 of the same year or the provisional
status will be revoked.
ii)
Provisional candidates completing required courses in the summer term must
complete at least one section of the CPA examination by January 1 of the
following year or the provisional status will be revoked.
iii) Provisional candidates completing
required courses in the fall term must complete at least one section of the CPA
examination by April 1 of the following year or the provisional status will be
revoked.
iv) Provisional candidates
completing required courses in the winter term must complete at least one
section of the CPA examination by July 1 of the same year or the provisional
status will be revoked.
e) Requirements Effective January 1, 2023
1) Examination Qualifications
A) Beginning January 1, 2023, an applicant
must provide proof of successful completion of:
i) 120 semester credit hours, as defined, of
college or university study;
ii) a
baccalaureate or higher degree; and
iii) the requirements set out in subsection
(e)(3).
B) Applicants
who have taken the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination at least
once before January 1, 2021, may take the examination under the qualifications
in effect when the examination was first taken.
2) Definitions
A) "120 SCH" - minimum number of credit hours
earned and posted to the applicant's official college or university
transcripts, beginning January 1, 2023.
B) "Applicant" - person who has applied to
sit for the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination.
C) "Authorization to Test" or "ATT" - issued
to candidates approved by the Board of Examiners to take the Certified Public
Accountant (CPA) Examination.
D)
"Board" or "IBOE" - Illinois Board of Examiners.
E) "Business Communication" or "BC" - may be
a stand-alone course or integrated into a related course or courses. If
integrated in a related course or courses, colleges and universities will
determine the amount of BC that will be credited within the related course
toward satisfying the BC requirement.
F) "Colleges" or "Universities" -
Board-recognized institutions of higher education accredited by a national or
regional accrediting association recognized by the Council for Higher Education
Accreditation (CHEA), the U.S. Department of Education (USDE), and/or any
accreditation organization approved by the Board. Recognition means the
accrediting organization is certified as legitimate and competent. An
individual program within a larger accredited institution may be separately
accredited by a professional or specialized organization. Business schools
recognized by the Board are accredited by The International Association for
Management Education (AACSB) or the Accreditation Council for Business Schools
and Programs (ACBSP).
G)
"Conversion of Quarter Credit Hours to SCH" - quarter credit hours may be
converted to SCH by multiplying quarter credit hours by two-thirds.
H) "Ethics" - program of learning that
provides a framework of ethical reasoning, professional values and attitudes
for exercising professional skepticism and other behavior that is in the best
interest of the public and profession. At a minimum, an ethics program should
provide a foundation for ethical reasoning and the core values of integrity,
objectivity and independence.
I)
"Graduate Accounting Credit Hours" - hours earned in courses classified by the
university as post-secondary level courses leading to a master's degree. For
purposes of meeting the accounting hours requirement, one graduate SCH is
equivalent to 1.6 SCH earned at the
undergraduate level.
J)
"Integration of Subject Matter" - program of learning in which certain subjects
that may be discrete courses in some colleges or universities are integrated or
embedded within related courses. Colleges or universities that use an
integrated approach to cover multiple course subjects will need to provide
evidence of the required coverage. Acceptance of integration of any subject
matter is subject to Board approval. Proof of coverage may be provided through
specific evaluation by a national accrediting organization recognized by CHEA,
such as AACSB or ACBSP, in which evidence is provided to assure the Board that
the respective subjects adequately cover the desired content.
K) "Internship" - faculty approved and
appropriately supervised short-term work experience, usually related to the
student's major field of study, for which the student earns academic credit as
posted to the applicant's official college or university transcripts.
L) "Life Experience" - college level life
experience posted on a college or university transcript as academic credit that
has been assessed by appropriate faculty and/or staff of that institution as
earned competence. Those areas addressed in the review of life experience
should, at a minimum, contain the context of the experience in relation to work
and studies and a detailed description of the experience.
M) "National Association of State Boards of
Accountancy" or "NASBA" - the national organization for all State Boards of
Accountancy.
N) "Semester Credit
Hours" or "SCH" - accredited college or university semester credit
hours.
3) Examination
Admittance
An applicant will be deemed to have met the educational
requirement if, as part of the 120 SCH of education, or equivalent as
determined by the Board, the applicant has met any one of the following three
conditions:
A) Earned a graduate degree
from an accounting program that is accredited in accounting by an accrediting
agency recognized by the Board (see subsection (e)(2)(F));
B) Earned a graduate degree from a business
or accounting program that is accredited in business by an accrediting agency
recognized by the Board (see subsection (e)(2)(F)) and completed at least 30
SCH in accounting as described in subsection (e)(4) at the undergraduate or
graduate level;
C) Earned a
baccalaureate or higher degree (except as defined in (e)(3)(A) or (B)) from an
accredited education institution recognized by the Board (see subsection
(e)(2)(F)) and:
i) completed 24 SCH in
accounting, as described in subsection (e)(4), at the undergraduate level, or
the equivalent at the graduate level; and
ii) completed at least 12 SCH in business
other than accounting, as described in subsection (e)(5), at the undergraduate
or graduate level.
4) Accounting Course Requirements
A) The required 24 SCH in accounting must
include:
i) Auditing; and
ii) Taxation.
B) Internships and life experience credits
included in the 15 SCH in accounting are limited to a maximum of three
SCH.
C) A maximum of three SCH of
accounting internships and/or life experience credit hours may be included in
the 15 SCH in accounting. Additional accounting internship and/or life
experience credit hours may be used to meet a maximum of three SCH in business
internships or life experience. An additional six SCH of internship and/or life
experience credit hours may count toward satisfying the non-accounting or
non-business hours required to sit for the CPA examination.
5) Business Course Requirements
A) Business courses are those courses
commonly included in the business curriculum.
B) Internships and life experience credits
included in the 12 SCH in business are limited to a maximum of three
SCH.
C) A maximum of three SCH of
business internships and/or life experience credit hours may be included in the
12 SCH in business. An additional six SCH of internship and/or life experience
credit hours may count toward satisfying the non-accounting or non-business
hours required to sit for the CPA examination.
D) The 12 SCH in business must include two
SCH in business communication and three SCH in business ethics. The subject
matter may be discrete courses or integrated throughout the undergraduate or
graduate accounting curriculum or business curriculum. For example, if a three
SCH course in accounting includes one SCH in business ethics, two SCH may count
toward accounting requirements and one SCH may count toward the business ethics
requirement.
6)
Evaluation of International Credentials
NASBA is the only organization authorized by the Board to
conduct international credential evaluations on behalf of the Board.
Evaluations of international credentials completed by outside agencies other
than IBOE or NASBA are not accepted. Factors that are considered when
evaluating foreign educational credentials are:
A) The official status of the institution
that issued the credentials;
B) The
type of education that the credential represents: secondary, tertiary,
academic, technical, vocational, pre-professional, in-service, or part of a
certificate, diploma or degree program;
C) The authenticity of the
credential;
D) The role the
credential plays in the educational system of the country from which it
came;
E) The recognition of the
credential in the country where the candidate is from; and
F) The U.S. equivalent of the quantity and
quality of education the credential represents.
7) Authorization to Test
A) Except as otherwise provided in subsection
(d)(7)(B), proof of satisfactory completion of all educational requirements
must be approved by the Board before the Board will issue an authorization to
test.
B) First time candidates who
apply for the examination in their final term will be granted provisional
approval of in-progress courses taken at domestic institutions. The Board must
receive all final transcripts from provisional candidates, including degree
posted (if required), within 150 days after the date of taking the first
section of the examination. If final transcripts verifying completion of all
courses for eligibility to sit are not received by the Board within 150 days
after taking the first examination section of the computer-based examination,
grades for all examination sections authorized with provisional approval will
be voided.
C) Provisional
Candidates
i) Provisional candidates
completing required courses in the spring term must complete at least one
section of the CPA examination by October 1 of the same year or the provisional
status will be revoked.
ii)
Provisional candidates completing required courses in the summer term must
complete at least one section of the CPA examination by January 1 of the
following year or the provisional status will be revoked.
iii) Provisional candidates completing
required courses in the fall term must complete at least one section of the CPA
examination by April 1 of the following year or the provisional status will be
revoked.
iv) Provisional candidates
completing required courses in the winter term must complete at least one
section of the CPA examination by July 1 of the same year or the provisional
status will be revoked.
8) Notwithstanding the provisions of the
Section 1400.90(e)
pertaining to educational requirements to sit for the examination before
completion of the applicant's baccalaureate degree, in order to be certified as
a CPA under this Section, all candidates must:
A) satisfactorily complete the examination;
and
B) provide proof of completion
of:
i) 150 semester credit hours, as defined,
of college or university study;
ii)
a baccalaureate or higher degree; and
iii) the requirements set out in Section
1400.90(d)(3).