Bachelor of Science, Accounting (Four-Year Plan)
Additional Requirements for Sitting for the CPA Exam
In Florida, there are different requirements for taking the CPA Exam and for becoming a
licensed CPA. In order to be eligible to sit for the CPA Exam, a candidate needs to have earned
120 total semester hours including 24 semester hours in upper-division accounting courses (with
coverage of auditing, cost accounting, financial accounting, and taxation) and 24 semester hours
of upper-division general business courses (with coverage of business law). To become a licensed CPA a candidate needs to pass the CPA exam, have one year of work experience commencing after the completion of the 120 semester hours from an accredited university, and earn 30 additional academic semester hours (for a total of 150 semester hours). In addition to earning the 150 total semester hours, candidates also need to have completed an additional 6 semester hours (bringing the total to 30 semester hours) in upper-division accounting courses (with coverage of auditing, cost accounting, financial accounting, and taxation) and an additional 12 semester hours (bringing the total to 36 semester hours) of upper-division general business courses (with coverage of business law).
The School of Business in the Jannetides College at Southeastern University offers the necessary
30 additional semester hours as well as the 6 extra upper-division accounting and 12 upper-
division general business semester hours. All students/CPA candidates should meet with their
accounting faculty advisor to plan for the additional credits of university work.The requirements listed above are subject to change. It is up to the CPA candidate to stay current with what is required. The State of Florida requirements can be found on the following two webpages: http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/certified-public-accounting/education-
requirements/ and http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/certified-public-
accounting/licensure/. Students planning to start their career in public accounting and/or earn the
CPA credential outside of the State of Florida should contact their local State Board of
Accountancy for specific requirements.