Section Ac 302.02 - CPA Certificate Applicant Education(a) Each applicant submitting an application for certification as a CPA shall submit documents demonstrating compliance with the following education requirements in effect in New Hampshire at the time the applicant successfully completed the exam as follows: (1) For applicants who successfully completed the exam before January 1, 2005, the applicant shall have had at least a baccalaureate degree from an educational institution accredited pursuant to Ac 302.02(b) with at least 24 semester hours in business, including at least 12 semester hours in accounting; and(2) For applicants who successfully completed the exam on or after January 1, 2005, the applicant shall have had at least a baccalaureate degree from an educational institution accredited pursuant to (b) below and at least 120 semester hours of education with at least 24 semester hours in business, including at least 12 semester hours in accounting.(3) Applicants for certification on or after July 1, 2014, shall have at least a baccalaureate degree that includes at least 120 hours pursuant to Ac 302.02(f) from an educational institution accredited pursuant to Ac 302.02(b), and an additional 30 semester hours of education which shall meet the criteria in Ac 302.02. The total required semester hours of education shall consist of not less than 30 hours in accounting and 24 hours in business courses accredited pursuant to 302.02(b).(b) An educational institution shall be considered by the board to be accredited if: (1) Approved by a member of a regional or national accrediting agency that is recognized by the United States Department of Education; or(2) Approved by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools (AACSB).(c) A candidate shall be considered by the board as having graduated from an accredited educational institution if, at the time the educational institution granted the applicant's degree, it was accredited pursuant to (b) above.(d) If the educational institution was not accredited at the time the applicant's degree was received, but was accredited at the time the application was filed with the board, the institution shall be deemed to be accredited for the purpose of (c) above, provided that the educational institution:(1) Certifies that the applicant's total educational program would qualify the applicant for graduation with a baccalaureate degree during the time the institution has been accredited; and(2) Furnishes the board with college catalogue course numbers and descriptions that demonstrate that the pre-accreditation courses are substantively equivalent to their analogous post-accreditation courses.(e) If an applicant's degree was received at an accredited educational institution pursuant to (c) or (d) above, but contained course work taken at a non-accredited institution, such courses shall be deemed to have been taken at the accredited educational institution from which applicant's degree was received, provided the accredited educational institution either: (1) Has accepted such courses by including them in its official transcript; or(2) Has certified to the board that it will accept such courses for credit toward graduation.(f) A graduate of a 4-year degree-granting educational institution not accredited at the time applicant's degree was received or at the time the application was filed shall be deemed by the board to be a graduate of an accredited educational institution if all of the following are true:(1) A credentials evaluation service approved by the board certifies that the applicant's degree is equivalent to a degree from an accredited educational institution;(2) An accredited educational institution has accepted the applicant's non-accredited baccalaureate degree for admission to a graduate business degree program;(3) The accredited educational institution certifies that the applicant has been accepted into the graduate program; and(4) The applicant has satisfactorily completed at least 120 semester hours, including at least 24 semester hours of business of which 12 shall be in accounting from the baccalaureate or post baccalaureate education.(g) The board shall deny an application for initial certification if the board determines by a preponderance of the evidence that the applicant has not met the education requirements set forth in RSA 309-B:5, III, and this section.N.H. Admin. Code § Ac 302.02
#1663, eff 12-17-80; ss by #2475, eff 9-13-83; ss by #3061, eff 7-18-85, EXPIRED: 7-18-91
New. #5365, eff 3-27-92; ss by #6721, INTERIM, eff 3-27-98, EXPIRED: 7-25-98
New. #6903, eff 12-4-98, EXPIRED: 12-4-06
New. #8810, INTERIM, eff 1-25-07, EXPIRED: 7-25-07
New. #9051, eff 12-27-07; amd by #10054, eff 1-1-12; amd by #10373, eff 7-2-13
Amended by Volume XXXV Number 01, Filed January 8, 2015, Proposed by #10746, Effective 1/1/2015, Expires1/1/2025.