150 hours: committees study issues as requirement draws closer.

• Author: Allen, Bruce C.
• Position: CapitolBeat

California adopted legislation in 2009 that will implement a 150-scmesler-hour requirement for every candidate seeking to be licensed as a California CPA after Jan. 1,2014.

This change made California a substantially equivalent stale and enabled our CPAs to participate in the mobility provisions adopted by virtually every other state. CPAs from substantially equivalent states, such as California, are able to provide most services in other states without getting a license from the other state, providing notice to the state or paying a fee to the state as long as they obey the laws of the other state and are subject to discipline from that state if something goes wrong.

However, California added unique elements to its 150-hour provisions and CalCPA is working on getting the law implemented in a way that is workable for the profession, educational institutions and candidates for licensure.

California Just a Little Different

Candidates currently applying for the CPA Exam are required to have a bachelor's degree along with a specified number of units in business and accounting from an accredited college. Under the new law, the same conditions will apply to qualify for entry to the exam. Candidates will still be required to have a bachelor's degree with 24 semester units in accounting and 24 semester units in business prior to sitting for the exam. But in addition, every candidate will be required to meet a 150-semester-hour requirement prior to licensure.

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More than two-thirds of CPA candidates already meet this requirement and therefore need only complete one year of experience, versus the two years required for those who have only the bachelor's.

Accounting Education, Ethics Curriculum Committees Study the Issue

As part of the 150-hour mandate adopted by the California Legislature, two committees the Accounting Education Committee and Ethics Curriculum Committee were established under the jurisdiction of the California Board of Accountancy to define qualifying courses for 30 units of the 150 hours.

Members of the Accounting Education Committee are appointed by the CBA and include primarily college professors. They are busy defining 20 qualifying units of additional accounting education that is to be required.

At this point, the committee is leaning toward requiring that licensing candidates have six additional units of upper division accounting for a total of 30 units in accounting. The other units will need to be upper...