CPA Candidacy Certificate (Career)
APPLICATION CODE 349
For curriculum information, contact the Division of Foundational Learning—Room DH-239.
The main objective of this certificate is to support students in gaining professional education competence and to meet the required 51 credit hours in business and accounting to be eligible to sit for the Uniform CPA examination by the Maryland Board of Public Accountancy. The certificate is intended to prepare CPA candidates to pass the Uniform CPA exam. The Uniform CPA exam currently has four areas: Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Business Environment and Concepts (BEC), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), and Regulation (REG). Data analysis and technology are incorporated into several courses in the certificate. For information, visit https://www.aicpa.org/becomeacpa/cpaexam.html.
This curriculum has been approved by the Maryland Board of Public Accountancy. Candidates who wish to apply for the Uniform CPA exam in any other jurisdictions in the United States are advised to submit this curriculum for approval before exam registration.
Students who have applicable coursework outside of Howard Community College (HCC) and need to have credit applied to the certificate must follow HCC’s Credit for Prior Learning Procedure to be granted credit.
After completion of the program the professional will be prepared to work in diverse accounting areas in various industries.
Candidates from Other Countries who wish to sit for the Uniform CPA exam
Candidates who have earned a bachelor’s degree from an institution outside of the United States and need to have credit applied to the certificate, must follow HCC’s Credit for Prior Learning Procedure for International College and University Credit to be granted credit.
In addition, candidates must have their international transcripts evaluated to determine whether their degree is acceptable by the Maryland Board of Public Accountancy. The Maryland Board requires international transcripts to be evaluated by NASBA International Evaluation Service (NIES). Applicants must request a course-by-course evaluation. NASBA does not evaluate for college admissions or provide reports for the purposes of transfer credit.
Group I - Accounting and Ethics
Students must complete 30 credits (nine 3-credit courses in accounting, plus one 3-credit course in ethics).
1. Auditing and Attestation
A minimum of 3 credits required.
2. Cost Accounting
A minimum of 3 credits required.
3. U.S. Federal Income Tax
| ACCT 235 | Federal Taxation of Individuals | 3 |
| ACCT 237 | Federal Taxation of Corporations, Partnerships, Estates, and Trusts | 3 |
A minimum of 3 credits required.
4. Financial Accounting
A minimum of 9 credits required.
5. Ethics Education
A minimum of 3 credits required.
6. Other Accounting
| ACCT 112 | Principles of Accounting II | 3 |
| ACCT 179 | Quickbooks for the Professional | 3 |
| ACCT 190 | Certified Bookkeeper Review Course | 3 |
| ACCT 201 | Accounting Work Experience I | 3-4 |
| ACCT 202 | Accounting Work Experience II | 3-4 |
A minimum of 3 credits required.
Group II - Business Related
Students must complete 21 credits in 5 of the following 9 subject areas. (Students must complete a minimum of 3 credits in each of the 5 subject areas they choose.)
1. Statistics
2. Economics
| ECON 101 | Principles of Economics (Macro) | 3 |
| ECON 102 | Principles of Economics (Micro) | 3 |
3. Management
4. U.S. Business Law
5. Marketing
6. Business Communications
7. Computer Information Systems
| CMSY 163 | Introduction to Firewalls and Network Security | 3 |
| CFOR 250 | Computer Network Forensic Technology | 3 |
8. Corporation or Business Finance
Courses in this subject area are not currently offered at HCC.
9. Quantitative Methods
Courses in this subject area are not currently offered at HCC.
Total Credit Hours: 52
To sit for the CPA Exam, an applicant must hold a bachelor's degree and have successfully completed a minimum of 51 credit hours (see details below) according to Maryland Board of Public Accountancy. HCC's Statistics course is a 4-credit course; therefore, our certificate requires 52 total minimum credit hours.
- Group I - Accounting: a minimum of 27 credit hours (9 courses, 3 credits each) in accounting subjects and 3 credit hours (1 course, 3 credits) in ethics.
- Group II - Business: a minimum of 22 credit hours (6 courses, 3 credits each and 1 course, 4 credits) in business.
Individuals who pass the CPA Exam need a minimum of 150 semester hours of college education to fulfill the education requirements to obtain a CPA license.
A graduate should be able to
- Meet the requirements and qualifications to sit for the Uniform CPA exam, as well as improve professional competence.
- Identify, measure, record, analyze, and properly communicate financial information relating to public, private, government, and non-profit organizations.
- Analyze concepts and principles underlying financial and managerial accounting and their applications in the accounting process, including tax strategies and auditing services.
- Integrate and cross-relate accounting and business disciplines to make and provide informed decisions.
- Identify challenges to principles and practices in recent years and the impact and responses made to these challenges.