Public Accountancy

Laws, Rules & Regulations

Recent Amendments to the Education Regulations
Guidelines/Questions and Answers

October 5, 2006

This document is designed to respond to frequently asked questions regarding the recent amendments to the education requirements for licensure as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) contained in the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education. This document is not a substitute for reading the provisions of law, rule or regulation. For further information, a list of contacts is provided below.

General Information

1. What changes are included in the amendments?

The amendments reduce some of the specificity in New York State's education requirements for licensure as a CPA. They also serve to remove barriers to licensure in New York State for applicants who have completed accredited out-of-state accountancy programs and certified public accountants who are licensed in other states. Specifically the amendments:

• Delete from the Commissioners Regulations a requirement that all applicants for licensure as a CPA complete, as part of their licensure-qualifying education, at least 60 semester hours of liberal arts and sciences course work. Instead, provisions in the Regents Rules that set liberal arts and sciences requirements by the type of degree conferred would prevail;
• Delete the requirement that any applicant being reviewed for compliance with the 150 semester hour education requirements complete a course in quantitative methods;
• Specify that an applicant for licensure can meet the education requirements for licensure by completing a baccalaureate or higher degree from an accounting program that is accredited by an acceptable accrediting body. The Department has determined that the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is an acceptable accrediting body. This adds a fourth way to meet the education requirements to the three that already exist: 1) completion of a baccalaureate or higher degree program in accountancy that is registered by the Department; 2) completion of a baccalaureate or higher degree program that the Department determines to be substantially equivalent to a registered program; or 3) 15 years of public accounting experience in lieu of meeting the education requirements.

2. When do these amended rules take effect?

All of the new provisions listed above take effect on October 5, 2006.

Education Review for Applicants for an Initial License or Licensure by Endorsement

3. As an applicant for initial licensure or licensure by endorsement, I need to have my education reviewed and approved. Do these amendments change the documentation I need to submit as part of my application?

No. You will continue to follow the existing general procedures to have your education evaluated:

• If you received any of your education outside of the U.S. or if you already passed the CPA exam in another U.S. jurisdiction, use NYS Form 2 and have the Registrar at your college/university send your transcripts to the NYS Education Department for review.
• If you received your post secondary education entirely within the U.S. and you have not already passed the Uniform CPA Exam in another U.S. jurisdiction you should have the Registrar at your college/university submit your transcripts to CPA Exam Services (CPAES) for review. Please use the forms and information for NYS applicants that are available on NASBA's web site (www.NASBA.org) to have your transcripts sent to CPAES.

4. How will my education be reviewed under these amendments?

These amendments are intended to simplify the education review process for NYS applicants and to eliminate the need for course-by-course transcript review for graduates of certain qualified accounting programs. The following review procedures apply:

• If you graduated from a NYS-registered, licensure qualifying program, your college/university Registrar will complete Part A of the NYS form 2 or the corresponding CPAES form. Staff at the State Education Department or CPAES will verify the registered program information and approve your education without transcript review. If the registered program information provided by the Registrar is inaccurate or the program was not registered when you graduated, your transcript will be placed in the queue for course-by-course transcript review.
• If you graduated from an Accounting program that is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), your college/university Registrar will provide information about the accreditation in Part B or Part C of the NYS form 2 or corresponding CPAES form. Staff at the State Education Department or CPAES will verify this information and approve your education without transcript review. If the accredited program information provided by the Registrar is inaccurate or the program was not accredited when you graduated, your transcript will be placed in the queue for course-by-course transcript review.
• If you do not hold a degree from a NYS-registered or AACSB-accredited accounting program, your transcript(s) will be evaluated on a course-by-course basis to determine whether you meet the NYS education requirements. Please see the detailed description of options for meeting the NYS Education requirements.

5. I didn't graduate from a NYS-registered program or an AACSB accredited program. Do these amendments change the course work I need to make sure I have completed?

Yes. While the total semester hours of education you need to complete and the required number of semester hours in accounting and business course work have not changed, some course specificity has been eliminated. Specifically:

• Applicants under either the 120 semester hour or the 150 semester hour education options will no longer be required to have a least 60 semester hours of liberal arts and sciences course work.
• Applicants who are being reviewed under the 150 semester hour requirements will no longer be required to take a course in Quantitative Methods.

6. I am applying for licensure by endorsement of a CPA license issued by another State. How do these amendments change the education requirements to which I am subject?

All applicants for licensure must meet the State's requirements for education, examination and experience. Your education will be reviewed under the same requirements as any applicant for initial license. However, pursuant to these amendments, the State Board may waive minor deficiencies in meeting those requirements if you have at least 4 years of post-licensure public accounting experience within the last 10 years (as certified by a U.S.-licensed CPA on form 4B).

Impact on Licensure-Qualifying Programs

7. Our college has a 150 semester-hour accounting program that is registered by NYS as licensure-qualifying. Can we simply apply these amendments to our approved program?

If you are satisfied with the existing, approved curriculum, no changes are necessary. If, however, you would like to amend any aspects of your approved program, you should contact the Office of Professional Education Program Review (PEPR) at:

For Additional Information

For additional information regarding these Rules, please contact: