To qualify as a candidate for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination, the following requirements must be fulfilled (as quoted from the State of Florida website):
1. A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, unless one is using the provisions of the foreign rule.
The Board accepts degrees from schools accredited by the following associations : Middle States Association, New England Association, North Central Association, Northwest Association, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Association of Independent Schools and Colleges who have been approved by the Florida State Board of Independent Colleges and Universities, and Canadian Schools who have been approved by their provincial educational bodies.
2. The accounting education program must consist of 36 semester hours of upper division accounting courses including coverage of tax, auditing, financial, and cost accounting. The business education program must consist of 39 semester hours of upper division general business courses with some exceptions. One micro-economics, one macro-economics, one statistics, one business law, and one introduction to computers course may be lower division. As part of the general business hours, applicants are required to have a total of six semester hours of business law courses which must cover contracts, torts, and the Uniform Commercial Code. Excess upper division accounting courses may be used to meet the General Business requirement. Elementary accounting classes are never acceptable for credit. Courses for non-accounting majors and any M.B.A. courses that are equivalent to elementary accounting are not accepted for this requirement.
Examination Dates
April - May
July - August
October - November
January - February