Easiest routes to CPA and other accounting qualifications

[nykorn]

I have a BA in an unrelated subject, so all I need is those final few credits of finance related skills.

I can get a titulo propio worth around 30 US credits, equivalent to a regionally accredited US Bachelor's according to NACES, in a Finance-focused subject which includes Accounting and Budgeting modules, to hopefully account for the Accounting credits they want. Then a second propio being an MBA to account for the 24 credits of Management courses they want. I also have accredited post-secondary education that contained an accounting class. The validity of these are questionable in regards to the evaluation service the CPA uses as no one has tried it. All this would cost around $400 for the two propio degrees, and $275 to $500 for the foreign degree evaluation.

I don't know if there is any other cheaper way to get the Education portion completed at a price tag of $1,000 or less. The cheapest MBA I saw, which I am not sure qualifies you for the CPA exam, is at Hellenic which I'm told is $3,000.

I have had a clerk / reception role where I dealt with finances in a very minor way - just setting prices, billing people and sending off the bill to the owner of the company. That page linked above states "Employment experience must occur in a work environment that provides the opportunity to utilize skills generally used in business, accounting, and auditing including: Accounting for transactions, Budgeting, Data analysis, Internal auditing, Preparation of reports to taxing authorities, Controllership functions, Financial analysis, Performance auditing.". This sounds like it means that you didn't necessarily have to had actually learned or mastered all of those skills, it just had to have been possible to learn them on the job. I can still log into my old account and get screenshots proving the system teaches me those skills, to show to the CPA to sign off on.

Additionally they will accept non-paid roles that utilize these skills, so someone could volunteer for something like treasurer of a club that uses those skills to get the "work experience" section down.

It sounds like the fastest way for me to qualify for the CPA exam would be to:
- Be in Washington state.
- Gather proof that my previous clerk role utilized the above skills.
- Show the proof I gathered to a licensed CPA to sign off on.
- Submit that with my academic qualifications and pray they accept two titulo propio.

Or does anyone have any other suggestions?
Are there free online courses from Europe which would count towards the CPA?