Thread: What courses satisfy 24 semester units of accounting for CPA?

I am a resident of California, and the requirements to sit for the exam is 24 semester units of accounting courses, but I really don't know which courses will satisfy the requirement. I've taken financial and mangerial accounting (8 units total) and not sure if they count or not. I'm planning on taking payroll (2 units), accounting internship (4 units), intermediate accounting (3 units), bookeeping (3 units), accounting - gov't and nonprofit entities (3 units), federal and california tax (4 units). All those classes are for this upcoming semester at a community college. There's also cost accounting (3 units), quickbooks (1.5 units), mas 90 (3 units) and intermediate tax (4 units)for the spring semester too. I am planning on asking the accounting department of my school too. I was wondering if someone knows which classes qualify or not as it would really help so I'm not wasting my time taking unnecessary classes. Thanks!

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Business Related Law Courses

My regret; I failed to understand accounting 101 et. al. was 33% (pardon the Masonic pun) of my
profession. 67% is understanding entity formation, operations and taxation attributes.
Emphasize:
Com.Col. Paralegal Courses in: Corporations (3 un.), Partnerships (3 un.), Trusts (3un.) and Taxation (un.).

Now let take my hair down. The old fashioned CPAs in our office (they're the people who said "Limited Liability
Corporation" until 2003) are falling off like flies under a malathion chopper. They are utterly
clueless (ala Andersen and Lehman).

"S Corporations are the entity of choice". "OK, Thanks grandpa." "Hey kid, show me how to convert this
Excel sheet into html."

If you can answer this trick question, you are ready:
An express trust, with 3 trustees and multiple shareholders, owning a single member LLC, operating an active business* aside
from the LLC, reports an FY net profit of $100,000 it files IRS Form:
1040
1041
1065
1120
1120S

Helse's answer provided Friday (trick answer, "all of the above" and "it depends")

*caution: trust, business trust vs partnership argument; note: US Supreme Court chokes on trust tax issues; GREY GOO ALERT

Express Trusts classified as "grantor trusts" do not file a federal tax return. Income reported on "grantor's" return.
Express Trusts recognized as a separate entity file form 1041
Express Trusts classified as Partnerships file 1065*
Express Trusts classified as Association file form 1120
Express Trusts classified as Associations may elect to be treated as an S Corp

Trust beneficiaries (or share certificate holders; aka mutual fund investors) may be granted powers
to CONTROL trustees. Powers may amount to associate status or partner status, similar to a Joint Stock
Company. [Trusts may issue "stock"? - Hello, your mutual funds]

Example: Trust #1 grants power to vote and remove trustee upon special call and meeting. If I own 51%
of trust voting power (certificated or uncertificated shares), I control the board of trustees. If I possess
a power to vote straw men into trustees position, the trustees become my agents.

see: Morrissey v Commissioners for Wall St, State St or Silicon Valley eligibility.

*Check the box - Applicable to partnership entities.

Before taking any more classes, check the requirements for your state. California has some of the highest requirements. Each state will tell you which classes qualify and which do not. They will also let you know which colleges and universities have courses which qualify. Unfortunately, if your community college is not among them, none of the courses you take will help qualify you to become an accountant. Also, if your community college is not accredited or does not give a bachlor's or master's degree in accounting, you are wasting your time. Most employers will not recognize the classes you have taken. Taking classes from a well known college will get you much further than classes from a community college, especially with the larger firms. You may want to look into things before going any further. Check http://www.becker.com/accounting/cpaexamreview/state/ for more info about your state. Also, contact your state office. They can give you more specific information.

Caitlind Alexander, Author, 101 FAQs About Becoming an Accountant