Massachusetts Accounting Requirements

Effective January 1, 2007 to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination

In order to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination for the State of Massachusetts, a candidate must;

(1) be 18 years of age or older, AND

(2) have completed 120 of the 150 semester hours (or 180 of the 225 quarter hours) of college or university education from a nationally or regionally accredited institution as required for licensure certification by 252 CMR 2.07(2). AND

(3) include 21 semester hours of accounting courses including coverage in,
• financial accounting,
• auditing,
• taxation,
• management accounting. AND
(4) include 9 semester hours of business courses including coverage in,
• business law,
• finance,
• information systems. AND
(5) obtain a bachelor's degree.


Associate degree/junior college courses will be accepted only if transferred into a 4-year bachelor's degree program.

Candidates who have completed their education outside the U.S., must have their credentials evaluated by the Center for Educational Documentation (CED).

Center for Educational Documentation
P.O. Box 231126
Boston, MA 02123
p: (617) 338-7171
web site: www.cedevaluations.com

Education requirements for issuance of certificate as certified public accountant

(1) An applicant who is applying for a certificate as a Certified Public Accountant(CPA) for the State of Massachusetts is required by the Board to;

• submit an official Academic Evaluation For Certification Report from CPA Examination Service. (as evidence of meeting the following education requirements within three years of the date of which the applicant received notification that he or she has passed all four sections of the Uniform CPA Examination.)

(2) Education Requirements: A candidate for a Certificate as a Certified Public Accountant shall Complete 150 semester hours (225-quarter hours) of college or university education to include a bachelor's degree from a nationally or regionally accredited institution. For the purposes of determining equivalence of quarter hours, 4½-quarter hours will equal three credit hours. The Board will review successful completion of three-quarter hour courses; provided that the accounting and business course requirements total 36-quarter hours each.

The candidate must have completed the 150-hour education requirement for eligibility for a Certificate as a Certified Public Accountant in accordance with one of the following four provisions. Associate Degree/Junior College courses will be accepted only if transferred into a four year bachelor's degree program:

1. Earned a graduate degree in accounting from a program at a nationally or regionally accredited college or university that is further accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Programs not accredited by AACSB must be approved by the Board as having substantially equivalent educational program requirements. The Board, or an Educators Credential Committee appointed by the Board, will review the graduate accounting programs of a nationally or regionally accredited college or university to determine if such programs are substantially equivalent to AACSB standards, upon a written request from such college or university. The Educators Credential Committee will consist of at least three accounting educators selected by the Board from the faculty of nationally or regionally accredited educational institutions located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts;

2. Earned a graduate degree in accounting, business administration or law from a nationally or regionally accredited college or university. This degree must include 30 semester hours (45-quarter hours) of accounting at the undergraduate level, or 18 semester hours (27 quarter hours) of accounting at the graduate level. The accounting credits shall include coverage in financial accounting, auditing, taxation, and management accounting. In addition, the degree must include or be supplemented by, 24 semester hours (36 quarter hours) of business courses (other than accounting courses) at the undergraduate level or 18 semester hours (27 quarter hours) at the graduate level, or an equivalent combination thereof;

3. Earned at least a bachelor's degree in business from a nationally or regionally accredited college or university. This degree must include 30 semester hours (45-quarter hours) of accounting courses. The accounting credits shall include coverage in financial accounting, auditing, taxation, and management accounting. In addition, the degree must include, or be supplemented by, 24 semester hours (36-quarter hours) of business courses other than accounting courses. These business courses shall include coverage in the areas of business law, information systems, finance, and coverage in at least one of the areas of economics, business organizations, professional ethics, and/or business communication; or

4. Earned a bachelor's degree from a nationally or regionally accredited college or university. This degree must include, or be supplemented by, 30 semester hours (45-quarter hours) in accounting courses at the undergraduate level. The accounting credits shall include at least three semester hours in each of the subject areas of financial accounting, auditing, taxation, and management accounting. In addition, the degree must include, or be supplemented by, 24 semester hours (36-quarter hours) of business courses at the undergraduate level, to include at least three semester hours in the subject areas of business law, business information systems, professional ethics and finance. Courses in business management of organizations, economics, and/or business communication may be included for the business course requirements.

(3) To obtain an application for the Academic Evaluation for Certification Report, please visit our web site at www.nasba.org, click “EXAMS’, click, “CPA EXAM”, then select Massachusetts, then click “Licensure Report”.

For more information, click here to visit the Massachusetts State Board of Accountancy.

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