Professional Accountancy Advanced Certificate (ATC)

• The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (TSBPA) awarded Lone Star College the designation to offer Qualifying Educational Credit for the CPA Examination. Fifteen of the accounting courses meet the TSBPA's definition of upper-division accounting courses required to take the CPA exam.
• Program Highlights
• The Qualifying Educational Credit designation allows individuals who have already earned a baccalaureate or higher degree from a Board recognized educational institution to earn 30 advanced accounting hours as well as 9 hours in upper-level related business courses to sit for the CPA exam in Texas.
• Additional upper-level college hours may be needed to fulfill the business and 150-hour educational requirements as designated by the TSBPA.
• To obtain the Advanced Technical Certificate in Professional Accountancy the individual should take no less than 24 semester hours of accounting and certain related business courses from LSC toward fulfilling the certificate requirements.
• Credentials and Careers
• Completion of the Professional Accountancy program will qualify the graduate to take the CPA exam in Texas. A licensed CPA can hold positions from staff accountant and financial analyst to CFO.
• Transferability
• Courses in the program are approved the TSBPA requirements only and may not be transferable to other CPA state boards or universities.
• Contact the CPA Program Chair at LSC-ATCProfessionalAccountancy@lonestar.edu for more specific information.
• Please consult with a program advisor for more information about transferability.

• A bachelor's degree (any field) is required for admission to the Advanced Technical Certificate program.
• ACCT2301 - Principles of Financial Accounting, or equivalent.
• ACCT2302 - Principles of Managerial Accounting, or equivalent.
• After LSC general admission, the CPA/ATC program requires that full-time accounting faculty provides academic advising and orientation about the certificate program in accounting to the student.

• Prerequisite: Baccalaureate degree
• This award requires 36 credit hours in total.
• Lone Star College reports 672 contact hours for this award.
• Where the course list shows "Choose N credit hours", those courses are the options for one elective slot, not additional requirements.

• Prepare financial statements in an appropriate U.S. GAAP format, including the following, income statement, balance sheet, statement of cash flows, and statement of shareholders' equity.
• Identify the role and scope of financial and managerial accounting and use of accounting information in the decision-making process of managers.
• Prepare commonly filed federal tax documents and reports.

• Tuition shown is the in-district rate of $111.00 per credit hour for 36 credit hours.
• Out-of-district Texas residents pay $249.00 per credit hour ($8,964.00); international and out-of-state students pay $313.00 per credit hour ($11,268.00).
• Lab fees vary by course and liability insurance, uniforms and supplies vary by program, so Lone Star College publishes no all-in total for this award. Tuition above excludes them.
• Financial aid and payment plans are available to most students.
• Application fee: none. Lone Star College applications are free.

• The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (TSBPA) lists licensure requirements on their website https://www.tsbpa.state.tx.us/ .
• Certificate requirements are listed on our website https://www.lonestar.edu/programs-of-study/accounting-cpa.htm .

Background check required for licensure only. Any costs associated will be at the applicant's expense.

The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (TSBPA)

• ACNT2345 - Technical Writing for Accountants meets the TSBPA's requirements for a discrete (standalone) course in accounting communications or business communications.
• ACNT2337 - International Financial Reporting meets the one hour requirement in accounting research and analysis for the state board.
• ACNT1393 - Special Topics in Taxation or ACNT2336 - Financial Statement Analysis meet the TSBPA's requirements for a discrete (stand-alone) course in accounting research and analysis.