Becoming a CPA in Colorado

Obtained a baccalaureate degree

You must have completed a baccalaureate degree or higher from a regionally accredited institution.

Completed 120 credit hours or more in specific areas

You must have completed 120 hours of total, non-duplicative higher education courses with the following accounting-specific qualifications:

• At least 27 semester hours of non-duplicative accounting coursework with grades of C or higher.
• 21 of these hours (excluding introductory accounting courses) in areas such as:

Accounting Ethics
Accounting Information Systems
Accounting Research and Analysis
Accounting Theory
Auditing and Attestation Services
Financial Accounting and Reporting of Business Organizations
Financial Accounting and Reporting for Government and Not-for-Profit
Financial Statement Analysis
Fraud Examination
Internal Controls and Risk Assessment
Managerial or Cost Accounting
Taxation
Tax Research and Analysis

• A 3-semester hour, or more, auditing course concentrating on U.S. GAAS
• At least 21 semester hours of non-duplicative coursework in business administration in areas such as:

Behavior of Organizations, Groups, and Persons
Business Communications
Business Ethics
Business Law
Computer Information Systems
Economics
Finance
Legal and Social Environment of Business
Management
Marketing
Quantitative Applications in Business
Statistics

No more than 6 of these semester hours can be in any single subject area.

Of these semester hours, 12 must be in courses above the introductory level in business administration. All coursework must address the subject areas, but it need not be taken with the business or accounting department.

You can qualify to sit for the exam in Colorado without a bachelor’s degree if you have 120 credit hours with the correct courses and you are enrolled at a college or university that requires a minimum 150 hours for graduation and does not offer a baccalaureate degree but instead confers a masters or higher degree, or grants the baccalaureate degree
on completion of a combined degree program.

Sent your transcript(s) to CPAES

Send your transcripts from all institutions of higher learning that count towards your credit requirements to CPAES in Nashville – NOT the Colorado State Board of Accountancy. Email transcripts to etranscript@nasba.org.

• Meet the education requirements, including 150 hours of education.
• Pass the Uniform CPA Examination.
• Take the AICPA Ethics course and pass the AICPA Ethics Examination with a score of 90 percent or better within 2 years preceding your application.
• Meet the experience requirements.

Also, you must complete 2 hours of Colorado Rules and Regulations within 6 months preceding your application or after you are granted your Colorado license.