Accounting Courses – After January 1, 2024 to take the CPA Exam

The Board requires that an applicant complete no fewer than 21 semester hours or quarter hour equivalents of upper-level accounting courses to take the CPA Exam. The courses may be completed in one of the following ways.

1. Hold a baccalaureate or higher degree from a Board-recognized institution of higher education as defined in511.52 and present a valid transcript from that institution that shows degree credit for no fewer than 21 semester hours of upper division accounting courses as defined.
2. Hold a baccalaureate or higher degree from a Board-recognized institution of higher education as defined in511.52, and after obtaining the degree, complete the requisite 21 semester hours of upper division accounting courses from four–year degree–granting institutions or accredited community colleges, provided that all such institutions are recognized by the Board and that the accounting programs offered at the community colleges have been reviewed and accepted by the Board.

The Board will accept at least 21 passing semester credit hours of accounting courses without repeat from the courses listed below. The courses must meet the Board's standards by containing sufficient business knowledge and application to be useful to candidates taking the CPA Examination. A Board-recognized educational institution must have accepted the courses for purposes of awarding a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent, and they must be shown on an official transcript. The subject matter content should be derived from the Uniform CPA Examination Blueprints and cover some or all of the following courses.

Accounting courses that are recognized by the Board.

Category 1 - A minimum of 12 semester hours with at least three semester hours in each of the following accounting course content areas is required.

• Financial accounting and reporting for business organizations or intermediate accounting
• Financial statement auditing
• Taxation
• Accounting information systems or accounting data analytics

Category 2 - A minimum of 9 semester hours in addition to the 12 semester hours listed in category 1 that were not used to meet the required coursework listed in category 1, are required from the following listed accounting courses.

• Accounting data analytics
• Accounting research & analysis
• Accounting theory
• Advanced accounting
• Auditing & attestation services
• Financial accounting and reporting for business organizations or intermediate accounting
• Financial planning
• Financial statement analysis
• Fraud examination
• Governmental & non-profit entity accounting
• Internal accounting control & risk assessment
• International accounting
• Management information systems (must be cross-listed as accounting)
• Managerial or cost accounting (excluding introductory level courses)
• Mergers & acquisitions
• Taxation

NOTE: Six additional semester hours of upper level accounting coursework from Category 2, including two semester hours of accounting/tax research and analysis, are required for CPA certification

Accounting courses that are not recognized by the Board.

(1) elementary accounting
(2) principles of accounting
(3) financial and managerial accounting
(4) introductory accounting courses
(5) accounting software courses
(6) any CPA review course offered by an educational institution or a proprietary organization
(7) CPE courses
(8) ethics courses
(9) 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

The board is the final authority regarding the evaluation of an applicant's education and has received assistance from the reporting institution in the State of Texas, the University of Texas at Austin, in evaluating:
( 1) an institution of higher education;
(2) organizations that award credits for coursework taken outside of a traditional academic
environment and shown on a transcript from an institution of higher education;
(3) assessment methods such as credit by examination, challenge exams, and portfolio assessment; and
(4) non-college education and training.
( c) The following organizations and assessment methods may not be used to meet the requirements of this chapter:
(1) American Council on 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.

Links

Recognized Courses in Accounting/Tax Research and Analysis and Accounting/Business Communications