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+--- Thread: Cheapest Degree in Accounting or Business to qualify for CPA exam? (/Thread-Cheapest-Degree-in-Accounting-or-Business-to-qualify-for-CPA-exam)
Cheapest Degree in Accounting or Business to qualify for CPA exam? - nykorn - 11-30-2024
I started looking at how to qualify to take the CPA exam and become state certified. It looks like I'd have to get a Master's in something like Accounting so am wondering where would be cheapest. The CPA exam doesn't require accredited education. I'd be in WA state.
Requirements to take the CPA exam:
- A Bachelor's in any field (I have one)
- At least 24 semester hours (36 quarter hours) or the equivalent in accounting subjects of which at least 15 must be at the upper or graduate level. They define this as "courses which have a prerequisite".
- 24 semester hours (36 quarter hours) or the equivalent in business administration subjects at either the undergraduate or graduate level.
As I see it I currently have 3 options.
1) Attempt to use two ENEB degrees (1 MBA + 1 Financial Markets & Asset Management) and see if that along with my Bachelor's get accepted.
2) Get an entirely new degree which satisfies all the Business and Accounting credit requirements by itself.
3) Take some certificate courses or single courses in Business and Accounting without getting a full degree.
It's a long shot that #1 would get accepted, and if I were to do #3 it would be silly to not go all the way and just get another degree unless it were significantly cheaper, so I'm interested in knowing what's cheapest for #2 unless there's something like free courses that would qualify me for #3. I'm a US resident and have European citizenship so I can also get degrees from Europe as long as they are online and not timezone-based with attendance requirements.
So far for the cheapest full degree, I found Master of Business Administration with the Finance specialization from Sikkim Manipal University at a total cost of $1,375 USD (only $1,238 if you pay the entire tuition upfront). However I can't even tell if they accept people who are not residents of India. I don't know about their accreditation or if it would be accepted by the CPA. And it's not self-paced, so it would take a full 2 years to finish. https://www.onlinemanipal.com/us-ca/online-mba-in-finance-smu
RE: Cheapest Degree in Accounting or Business to qualify for CPA exam? - lisarox - 11-30-2024
Looks like Washington is a NASBA state and NASBA does accept foreign credits. They have to be evaluated by NASBA International Evaluation Service (NIES).
RE: Cheapest Degree in Accounting or Business to qualify for CPA exam? - nykorn - 12-01-2024
(11-30-2024, 08:54 PM)lisarox Wrote: Looks like Washington is a NASBA state and NASBA does accept foreign credits. They have to be evaluated by NASBA International Evaluation Service (NIES).
Yes that's it, they do accept foreign credits, if they're evaluated and pass the evaluation. The same as you can use foreign credits to get a WA state teaching license as long as they pass a NACES evaluation.
I haven't yet looked in depth (I tried briefly, but didn't find anything) to see if I can find any discussions on which foreign school's courses were accepted by NASBA. But maybe there is something like a Finnish school without mandatory attendance of lectures, whose courses would be free for European citizens and which would be accepted by NASBA... Or maybe there is a really cheap American school out there. My assumption is since the CPA accepts unaccredited institutions they might be more lenient than I expect.
RE: Cheapest Degree in Accounting or Business to qualify for CPA exam? - kakasahib - 12-01-2024
(12-01-2024, 12:31 PM)nykorn Wrote:(11-30-2024, 08:54 PM)lisarox Wrote: Looks like Washington is a NASBA state and NASBA does accept foreign credits. They have to be evaluated by NASBA International Evaluation Service (NIES).
Yes that's it, they do accept foreign credits, if they're evaluated and pass the evaluation. The same as you can use foreign credits to get a WA state teaching license as long as they pass a NACES evaluation.
I haven't yet looked in depth (I tried briefly, but didn't find anything) to see if I can find any discussions on which foreign school's courses were accepted by NASBA. But maybe there is something like a Finnish school without mandatory attendance of lectures, whose courses would be free for European citizens and which would be accepted by NASBA... Or maybe there is a really cheap American school out there. My assumption is since the CPA accepts unaccredited institutions they might be more lenient than I expect.
I am not sure but suggestion and where other in this forum can clarify. but I believe UMPI BBA With Accounting does satisfy the CPA exam. Remember not all CPA have master so you may want to look at UMPI and Thomas Edison State
like I said I could be 100% wrong where other senior members can provide more in-depth information.
Thannks
RE: Cheapest Degree in Accounting or Business to qualify for CPA exam? - wow - 12-01-2024
Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think you need to get a master's degree. Just need to have a combination of credits that includes at least 15 postgraduate credits. You could take five postgraduate courses without completing a degree, and have the rest be undergraduate.
RE: Cheapest Degree in Accounting or Business to qualify for CPA exam? - lisarox - 12-01-2024
Master's degree is dependent on the state. I am in California, which is not a NASBA state. We currently do not require a Master's degree, but we require the 150 credits.