Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) An applicant shall meet the board's
accounting course requirements in one of the following ways:
(1) Hold a baccalaureate or higher degree
from a board-recognized institution of higher education as defined by §
511.52 of this chapter (relating
to Recognized Institutions of Higher Education) and present valid transcript(s)
from board-recognized institution(s) that show degree credit for no fewer than
21 semester credit hours of upper division accounting courses as defined in
subsection (e) of this section; or
(2) Hold a baccalaureate or higher degree
from a board-recognized institution of higher education as defined by §
511.52 of this chapter, and after
obtaining the degree, complete the requisite 21 semester credit hours of upper
division accounting courses, as defined in subsection (e) of this section, from
four-year degree granting institutions, or accredited community colleges,
provided that all such institutions are recognized by the board as defined by
§
511.52 of this chapter, and that
the accounting programs offered at the community colleges are reviewed and
accepted by the board.
(b) Credit for hours taken at
board-recognized institutions of higher education using the quarter system
shall be counted as 2/3 of a semester credit hour for each hour of credit
received under the quarter system.
(c) The board will accept no fewer than 21
semester credit hours of accounting courses from the courses listed in
subsection (e)(1) - (14) of this section. The hours from a course that has been
repeated will be counted only once toward the required 21 semester hours. The
courses must meet the board's standards by containing sufficient business
knowledge and application to be useful to candidates taking the UCPAE. A
board-recognized institution of higher education must have accepted the courses
for purposes of obtaining a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent, and they
must be shown on an official transcript.
(d) A non-traditionally-delivered course
meeting the requirements of this section must have been reviewed and approved
through a formal, institutional faculty review process that evaluates the
course and its learning outcomes and determines that the course does, in fact,
have equivalent learning outcomes to an equivalent, traditionally delivered
course.
(e) The subject-matter
content should be derived from the UCPAE Blueprints and cover some or all of
the following:
(1) financial accounting and
reporting for business organizations that may include:
(A) up to nine semester credit hours of
intermediate accounting;
(B)
advanced accounting; or
(C)
accounting theory;
(2)
managerial or cost accounting (excluding introductory level courses);
(3) auditing and attestation
services;
(4) internal accounting
control and risk assessment;
(5)
financial statement analysis;
(6)
accounting research and analysis;
(7) up to 12 semester credit hours of
taxation (including tax research and analysis);
(8) financial accounting and reporting for
governmental and/or other nonprofit entities;
(9) up to 12 semester credit hours of
accounting information systems, including management information systems
("MIS"), provided the MIS courses are listed or cross-listed as accounting
courses, and the institution of higher education accepts these courses as
satisfying the accounting course requirements for graduation with a degree in
accounting;
(10) up to 12 semester
credit hours of accounting data analytics, provided the institution of higher
education accepts these courses as satisfying the accounting course
requirements for graduation with a degree in accounting (while data analytics
tools may be taught in the courses, application of the tools should be the
primary objective of the courses);
(11) fraud examination;
(12) international accounting and financial
reporting;
(13) at its discretion,
the board may accept up to three semester credit hours of accounting course
work with substantial merit in the context of a career in public accounting,
provided the course work is predominantly accounting or auditing in nature but
not included in paragraphs (1) - (12) of this subsection (for any course
submitted under this provision, the Accounting Faculty Head or Chair must
affirm to the board in writing the course's merit and content); and
(14) at its discretion, the board may accept
up to three semester credit hours of independent study in accounting selected
or designed by the student under faculty supervision (the curriculum for the
course shall not repeat the curriculum of another accounting course that the
student has completed).
(f) The board requires that a minimum of two
semester credit hours in research and analysis relevant to the course content
described in subsection (e)(6) or (7) of this section be completed. The
semester credit hours may be obtained through a discrete course or offered
through an integrated approach. If the course content is offered through
integration, the institution of higher education must advise the board of the
course(s) that contain the research and analysis content.
(g) The following types of introductory
courses do not meet the accounting course definition in subsection (e) of this
section:
(1) elementary accounting;
(2) principles of accounting;
(3) financial and managerial
accounting;
(4) introductory
accounting courses; and
(5)
accounting software courses.
(h) Any CPA review course offered by an
institution of higher education or a proprietary organization shall not be used
to meet the accounting course definition.
(i) CPE courses shall not be used to meet the
accounting course definition.
(j)
Accounting courses completed through an extension school of a board recognized
educational institution may be accepted by the board provided that the courses
are accepted for a business baccalaureate or higher degree conferred by that
educational institution.
(k)
Credits awarded for coursework taken through the following organizations and
shown on a transcript from an institution of higher education may not be used
to meet the requirements of this chapter:
(1)
American College Education (ACE);
(2) Prior Learning Assessment
(PLA);
(3) Defense Activity for
Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES);
(4) Defense Subject Standardized Test (DSST);
and
(5) StraighterLine.
