CPA Exam FAQ

Yes, you need to direct this question to the specific state board. Most students plan to apply for licensure with the state of California. Contact the California Board of Accountancy.

Note: No professor, counselor, college administrator, or institution has the authority to validate if a course qualifies for CPA exam units. Only the state board of accountancy has true authority to confirm which classes qualify. Contact them and document your phone conversation.

The National Association of State Boards of Accounting (NASBA) publishes annual data related to performance on the uniform Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam. Each year Santa Monica College students sit for the CPA exam. 

In 2016, a total 31 unique candidates from SMC passed 43.1% of the CPA exam sections, outperforming the average pass rates for all California community colleges (CCC; 34.8%), CSUs (36.2%), and the private and for-profit institutions (42.5%). When compared to the average performance of candidates from the UCs, candidates from SMC performed at a lower rate (UC: 48.3%). However, candidates from SMC outperformed when compared to candidates from three of the eight UC institutions with CPA candidates: UC Riverside (35.7%), UC San Diego (40.9%), and UC Santa Cruz (42.9%).

• Applicants
• CPA Exam FAQ

You will need to meet these educational requirements to obtain a California CPA license:

1. Baccalaureate degree or higher

2. A total of 150 semester units including:

   • 24 semester units of accounting subjects

   • 24 semester units of business-related subjects

   • 20 semester units of accounting study

   • 10 semester units of ethics study

For more information, visit the California Board of Accountancy.

Call the California Board of Accountancy for assistance. Make sure to document your phone conversation.

Also, note there are some classes at SMC that fit the educational requirement, but are either not tested or not heavily tested on the CPA exam.

Below is a list of classes that cover topics heavily tested on the CPA exam. It is highly recommended that you complete all of the classes listed below before taking the CPA exam.

Acct 1: Introduction to Financial Accounting
Acct 2: Corporate Financial and Managerial Accounting
Acct 10A: Intermediate Accounting
Acct 10B: Intermediate Accounting
Acct 10C: Intermediate Accounting
Acct 12: Auditing
Acct 15: Individual Income Taxes
Acct 16: Taxation of Corporations, Partnerships, Estates and Trusts
Acct 6: Accounting Consolidations
Acct 7: Advanced Accounting: SSpecial Topics
Bus 5: Business Law

In addition, SMC offers many other general business courses that can be used to meet the CPA licensure educational requirements that count towards the 24 semester units for business related subjects.

Check with the specific state board you plan to apply for licensure with and document your phone conversation. Contact the California Board of Accountancyand check out their tipsheet.

No, because you do not need a SMC accounting certificate to take the CPA exam. However, in the process of preparing for the CPA exam, many students end up taking most of the accounting classes needed to obtain a SMC accounting certificate. Thus, some students eventually go on to obtain a SMC accounting certificate.

Absolutely yes. Unless you master the material covered in principles of accounting (Acct 1 and 2), you will have a hard time understanding and absorbing the material covered in the upper division accounting classes. Those classes build off of your Accounting 1 and 2 foundation.

The upper division accounting classes build off of your Accounting 1 and 2 foundation. Generally speaking, students start to forget the majority of what they learned after 2 years—especially the journal entries and calculations. After 4 years, they usually have forgotten a significant portion. Thus, if you took your Accounting 1 and 2 classes more than 4 years ago, it is highly recommended to retake them again here at SMC. You can enroll in SMC's accelerated 8 week format Accounting 1 and 2 courses. These accelerated courses are ideal for those students who already took principles of accounting many years ago, but need to retake them again for a good refresher.