Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Exam Resources

 This page includes several resources for CPA eligibility requirements, exam application process, and important organizations.

CPA Exam Process

Current Students

Important Organizations 

 

CPA Exam Process

The Illinois Board of Examiners is the state board of accountancy in Illinois. The IBOE approves all candidates planning to sit for the CPA Exam.


Current Students

The Illinois Board of Examiners approved GSU accounting curriculum as meeting the CPA Educational Requirements.

Undergraduate Accounting Students

Current undergraduate GSU Accounting students meet the Illinois CPA Educational Requirements except for the 150 semester hour requirement. To meet the additional hours, students may take additional elective courses, take for-credit CPA Review courses at approved institutions, add an additional minor; take additional classes at a community college, or enter a graduate degree program in accounting business or any discipline.

Undergraduate Business Students

Current undergraduate business majors at GSU meet the business requirements to sit for the CPA exam in Illinois, but do not meet the 30 semester hours in accounting, choosing the accounting minor and taking the entire accounting core would help students meet the accounting coursework requirement. The 33 hour Master of Science in Accounting would also meet the 30 semester hours in accounting and 150 total semester hour requirement to sit for the CPA.

Non-Business Students

Non-business students at GSU could meet the CPA educational requirements by pursuing the Master of Science in Accounting or switching to the BS in Accounting program.

Graduate Students

Master of Science in Accounting

Current students achieving the Master of Science in Accounting meet the CPA educational requirements to sit for the CPA exam. Students may request a credentials evaluation in their final semester and sit for the CPA exam prior to completing the degree program. Please refer to the Illinois Board of Examiners website for more Information.

MBA & MSMIS 

MBA and MSMIS students may choose to take additional accounting courses to meet the 30 undergraduate semester hours or 18.75 graduate semester hours of accounting required.

 


Important Organizations 

 

Am I Eligible to Sit for the CPA Exam?

Contact an advisor for a free unofficial credentials evaluation to determine what additional coursework may be needed in order to be eligible to sit for the CPA exam in Illinois. We will help design a customized set of courses to help you meet state eligibility requirements. You will need to provide unofficial copies of transcripts or lists of coursework. GSU's BS and MS degrees in Accounting meet eligibility requirements.