Educational Requirements
If you want to become a CPA in California, you have to meet all education and experience requirements as defined by the California Board of Accountancy. The Board has made changes to the educational requirements for CPA licensure in California, effective January 1, 2014, but the current educational requirements still stand. To sit for the Uniform CPA Exam, candidates need to have a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited college or university, as well as 24 semester hours in accounting and 24 hours of business-related courses. For more information on accounting and business-related courses that count toward the educational requirements, see the CBA’s Uniform CPA Examination Handbook.
Salary
California has long been a top employer of accountants in the United States. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 121,590 accountants working in the state of California in 2011. The BLS states that Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale metropolitan area is a major employer of accountants; approximately 35,840 people held accounting jobs here in 2011. In the same year, California accountants made an average annual salary of $74,910, and accountings working in the Salinas, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, and San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City metro areas had the highest average earnings in the state.
CPA Licensing in California
California candidates currently have two pathways in which they can earn a CPA license. The first pathway is designed for people who will practice only in California, and it requires the following:
- Bachelor’s degree
- 24 semester hours in accounting-related subjects and an additional 24 semester hours in business-related subjects
- Passing the Uniform CPA Exam
- Two years of general accounting experience supervised by an actively licensed CPA
- Passing the California Professional Ethics Exam
The second pathway to CPA licensure in California provides more professional mobility for accountants who may want to practice in another state. The majority of states will recognize this license, which requires the following:
- Bachelor’s degree
- 24 semester hours in accounting-related subjects and an additional 24 semester hours in business-related subjects
- 150 semester unites of education
- Passing the Uniform CPA Exam
- One year of general accounting experience supervised by an actively licensed CPA
- Passing the California Professional Ethics Exam
Continuing Education Requirements
California CPAs have to complete 80 hours of continuing professional education within the two-year period following each biennial license renewal. Newly licensed CPAs must complete 20 hours of continuing education for each full six months between the effective date of the license and its first renewal date. CPAs are also required to complete a Board-approved regulatory review course every six years.
Accounting Jobs in California
California has many exciting opportunities for accountants, especially within government agencies, professional and business services, manufacturing, education and health services, and technology services. California accountants may also work in large banks and other publicly traded companies, such as big-name corporations Wells Fargo and Northrop Grumman.