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Certified Public Accounting

Start your path to a career as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) at TCC.

Are you ready for an exciting and rewarding career?

Start your CPA journey at TCC!

A Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is an accounting professional who has earned this designation through a combination of education, experience and licensing. A CPA provides a wide range of accounting services including:

preparing financial statements
tax preparation
auditing
forensic accounting
financial consulting

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How to Become a CPA

There are multiple starting points to earning your CPA designation:
Most Direct Route
Start by earning an Associate of Arts (AA) in Business DTA degree which covers the first two years of a bachelor degree. This degree offers a comprehensive curriculum that covers these major areas:

Financial Accounting

Managerial Accounting

Business Law

Business Statistics

Economics

AA in Business

Alternate Route
Start by earning an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in Accounting which is designed to teach employable skills for entering the accounting field immediately.

Upon graduating with an AAS, you can work in the field and complete the additional required courses at TCC that satisfy entry requirements for an accounting bachelor program at a university.
OR

If you are partway through your AAS studies, you can decide to stay on the AAS track or cross over to an AA in Business. Speak to a TCC advisor to find out how.

AAS in ACCOUNTING
If you already have a degree that is unrelated to accounting or you are currently pursing one, no problem! Contact us to discuss other options.
Once you have satisfied entry requirements, you can transfer to a university to complete your bachelor degree with an accounting major OR accounting concentration which includes:
- 36 quarter credits of accounting subjects of which at least 23 quarter credits must be at the upper-level or graduate-level (an upper-level course is a course that frequently requires completion of a lower-level course as a prerequisite), and
- 36 quarter credits of business administration subjects at the undergraduate or graduate level
TCC students often transfer to the following universities that will accept all of your TCC credits and enroll you as a third-year student (junior). For any school that you are interested in, be sure to speak with your TCC academic advisor and the intended university’s admissions team to confirm transfer credits.

TCC holds Direct Transfer Agreements (DTAs) with 14 public and private universities in Washington:
Public Universities:

Central Washington University

Eastern Washington University

The Evergreen State College

University of Washington

Washington State University

Western Washington University

Private Universities:

Gonzaga University

Heritage University

Pacific Lutheran University

Saint Martin's University

Seattle Pacific University

Seattle University

Walla Walla University

Whitworth University
Sit for the CPA exam. To be eligible for the CPA exam, you must have completed a bachelor degree (180 quarter credits) that meets the following criteria, as also described above:
- 36 quarter credits of accounting subjects of which at least 23 quarter credits must be at the upper level or graduate level (an upper-level course is a course that frequently requires completion of a lower level course as a prerequisite), and
- 36 quarter credits of business administration subjects at the undergraduate or graduate level
(Note: You may choose to sit for the CPA exam before or after completing the 45 additional quarter credits to reach a total of the 225 college credits, described in Step 4, required for a CPA licensure. Step 3 and 4 can be done in either order.)
Complete an additional 45 quarter credits of college-level courses for a total of 225 quarter credits.

(Note: you may choose to complete these additional credits before or after sitting for the CPA exam. Step 3 and 4 can be done in either order, but both must be completed before Step 5.)

Every business needs an accountant

Accountants and CPAs are in high demand and have a high earnings potential, especially with the CPA designation. CPAs can work in a variety of settings:

Public Accounting Firms
Small and Large Businesses
Government Agencies
Non-profit Organizations

Explore accounting careers through TCC's Career Explorer.

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Contact Us!

Begin your CPA journey by reaching out for more information.

Email Us