Would-be CPAs Alienated by Five-Year School Mandate, Survey Says

Potential accounting recruits are turned off by the extra year of school and tuition required to qualify for the CPA license, according to a report released Monday by the Center for Audit Quality.

Business majors and certain recent accounting graduates consider the mandatory 150 college credit hours a significant obstacle to pursuing either accounting as a major or to earning the CPA license, according to a survey of more than 1,800 college business students and recent graduates.

• Black and Hispanic students and graduates are more likely to consider the additional credit hours a significant barrier to ...