It’s April 14th. Today is the day I received my Accounting Certificate from UCLA Extension for completing 76 units! It’s an exciting accomplishment. Not much to brag about, but it’s a stepping stone. I’ve put in a lot of hard work into this program and it feels good to be moving forward onto better and even more exciting things, such as passing my CPA exams and growing as a professional. It definitely gave me the knowledge and confidence that I needed to advance.

It took me 1 year and 3 months or 5 quarters to complete 13 classes. Here is a break down by CPA exam topics:

Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR)

• Intermediate Accounting A (X120A)
• Intermediate Accounting B (X120B)
• Intermediate Accounting C (X120C)
• Advanced Accounting A (X124A)
• Advanced Accounting B (X124B)

Business Environment and Concepts (BEC)

• Management Accounting (XL122)

Auditing and Attestation (AUD)

• Financial Auditing (X423)
• Internal Auditing (X423.2)
• Ethics in Accounting (X423.422)

Regulation (REG)

• Federal Income Taxation (X127)
• Taxation of Corporations (X427.8)
• Partnership Taxation (X427.9)
• Business Law (XL108)

I took all of the classes on campus in the evenings. I had an option to take most of these courses online, but I prefer a classroom setting. It gave me a better opportunity to meet new people and made the class experience more interactive.

I chose this program for two reasons:

#1: The program is recognized by the California State Board of Accountancy as a qualified provider of coursework to sit for the CPA examination.

#2: I majored in economics and mathematics in college and was interested in finding a program equivalent to an undergraduate accounting major. So that once I am done, I could apply for a graduate program for students with prior accounting background.

The bottom line:

Pros: I would recommend this program to people who are already working in the accounting profession and are interested in becoming CPAs, but don’t have enough credits to satisfy the 150 credits licensure requirement.

Cons: It is probably not a good option for those who are looking to break into the accounting field, since the program is not designed to assist with job placement. It does offer an internship option for a class credit for those who are interested, but other than that there are no recruiting events on campus for the Extension students. A Master’s degree would be a better route.