Implementing the New 150-Hour Requirement

By Ronald J. Huefner, CPA

Now that New York has adopted a 150-hour education requirement for admission to the CPA examination, attention turns to implementation. Schools must have programs in place by 2004, and candidates will be required to meet the new standard by 2009.

Several New York state colleges and universities already offer fifth-year programs. The 150-hour requirement has existed in some states since the mid-1980s, and many New York schools provide programs above the required 120 hours to enable their graduates to compete in the national job market. Furthermore, rather than reengineer the entire five-year sequence, the approach taken by most schools is to add a fifth-year program to the long-existing four-year bachelor of science degree in accounting. Virtually all of these programs should be in place within the next year or two, well ahead of the 2004 timetable. With such arrangements already underway, many schools view this timetable as unduly long.

How will schools and students meet the new requirements? It is likely that several paths will emerge. A master's degree is not required, thus providing a good deal of flexibility in accumulating the 150 credits and the necessary distribution. Distribution requirements are fairly broad. The new regulations require a minimum of 33 credits in accounting, 36 in general business, and 60 in liberal arts and sciences. Further, the combined credits in accounting and business cannot exceed 90, and the credits in liberal arts and sciences cannot exceed 80. There are a few specific subject-area requirements within these categories, but they are not very constraining. The result should be a greater variety of student programs than now exists under the highly specified 120-hour regulations.

Experience in other states suggests that a common pattern will be a four-year bachelor of science in accounting program, followed by a one-year master's in accounting. Several of the larger schools in New York already have master's programs in place, as do a few smaller schools. Many smaller schools are likely to partner with larger institutions to register combined programs: a four-year bachelor of science at College A plus a one-year master's at University B. The State Education Department has indicated that it will register such joint programs, thereby aiding smaller colleges that wish to maintain their four-year accounting programs without having to provide graduate-level education.

Many students will find alternative paths to the 4/1 program described above, especially given the flexibility of the new curriculum. Some will simply add a few additional undergraduate courses to their bachelor of science degree. This route may be especially appealing for those who have well in excess of the standard 120 hours at the time they receive the bachelor's degree. This route may also attract students who choose to enter the job market upon receiving their bachelor's, adding their remaining requirements on a part-time basis while working.

Presently, the educational background of one CPA candidate looks much like that of another, as all schools have fundamentally the same curriculum. The new regulations introduce some welcome flexibility, which will enable schools--and students--to create more distinctive educational packages. *