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Lessons · Accounting · the education requirement, and the rule changing under it

The education requirement, and the rule that is changing underneath it

A state has traditionally required a total of college credit larger than a bachelor's degree alone provides. More than half of US jurisdictions have now enacted an alternative that trades part of that extra credit for additional supervised experience, and each state decides for itself whether to adopt one.

Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.

In beta. This lesson was written for Hone and has not yet been checked by a qualified accountant. Practice material, not professional advice. What that means.

What it is for

This is the requirement most often quoted from somebody else, and it is the requirement most likely to be out of date while being quoted. A figure from a cousin who qualified five years ago may be wrong because they qualified in another state, and it may now be wrong because they qualified under another rule in the same state. Plans built on the old figure can buy a year of study the new pathway would not have asked for; plans built on the new one in a state that has not adopted it fail at the application.

How to think about it

Read your own state board's current requirement rather than any summary of it, including this one, and read it again before you commit money to a course. Ask specifically whether your state has adopted an experience-based pathway, and if so when it takes effect, because enacted and in force are not the same date. Boards set these rules and change them, so any figure you plan around has to come from your own board's page rather than from here or from somebody who qualified in a different year.

Worked example

The traditional requirement
College credit beyond what a bachelor's degree alone provides.
The newer pathway
A bachelor's degree plus additional supervised experience in place of some of that extra credit.
Who chooses between them
Each state, separately. There is no national switch.
Enacted is not yet in force
A state can have passed a pathway that does not open until a later date.
Which is why no number appears here
Any figure printed today would be wrong for some readers within the year.

Your turn

Name who decides the education requirement.

The education requirement is set by each

The trap

Taking the number from a relative. Here it can be wrong even when they qualified in your own state, because more than half of jurisdictions have enacted a different pathway since, and a pathway can be enacted without yet being in force. Boards set these rules and change them, so any figure you plan around has to come from your own board's page rather than from here or from somebody who qualified in a different year.

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