The Brown & White

As of Aug. 1, 2009 the state of New York will increase its requirement to take the Certified Public Accountant exam from 120 to 150 college credits, according to The CPA Journal Online.

Due to the change, an increased number of Lehigh's accounting students, who might otherwise have otherwise entered the job market after graduating, are applying to the university's five-year master's program.

Professor Parveen Gupta of the accounting department said students should be alerted by the change because many students are from the New York area and hope to work at New York accounting organizations upon graduation.

Seniors can technically take the exam before August with a total of 120 credits, but many professors do not advise this.

"The problem for students, aside from meeting the requirements of different states, is to have mobility," said James Largay, professor of accounting. "If you decide to move to a different jurisdiction and you don't meet the educational requirement, you've got courses to take."

Professor Kenneth Sinclair of the accounting department said he agrees with Largay.

"If students get transferred to New Jersey at some point, or they find a spouse in some other state in the country and that state has a 150-hour rule, which is very likely because most do, then they still have a problem," Sinclair said.

Since gaining 150 credits in four years is difficult without overloading, many accounting students are forced to stay another year, which may mean applying for the master's program. The program admits just 30 students a year, but receiving your master's is not necessary to take the exam, Largay said.

Accounting majors have differing opinions on the best approach to take after New York increased the requirement.

Harrie Cohen, '10, said she does not plan on staying for a fifth year. Cohen said she came to Lehigh with multiple transfer credits, so she will be able to graduate in four years.

"To stay another year wouldn't really be worth it to me," Cohen said. "I just want to get out and start working. Most of what they do, I'm going to learn on the job anyway."

Zuleika Haldeman is currently enrolled in the master's program but said she agrees with Cohen.

"The credits are not useful for being a CPA," Haldeman said.

"I'm looking at it more from a person with experience's point of view," she said. "Probably for a person that's straight out of undergrad school, it might be a little bit more helpful. But I'm not sure if they're actually getting as much out of it because they don't have the real world application to fall back on."

Other accounting students find the master's program to be advantageous.

"It allows you to get that extra skill set before you even start, so you do have a leg up on the competition," David Freund, '08, said. "I think it's going to be beneficial later in life. It gives you that 150 in a good way, and it's not just fluff. It's real business or accounting focused."

Montana Clelland, '09, said she plans on applying to the master's program, but admits the results depend on how a person approaches the graduate classes.

"If you're just going to graduate in four or five years just to get the 150 credits, you're not gaining the extra knowledge that could help you in the profession," Clelland said.

Sinclair said the combination of Lehigh's course variety and the quality of teaching adds value, not just credits, to a student's education.

"I tell students they can do this one of two ways," Largay said. "They can do the check-the-box approach or they can do the value-added approach. We're recommending the value-added approach."