CPA Exam Preparation: Regulation

Effective: Spring 2020
Certificate of Proficiency Program Map
🖶 Printer Friendly Report

This program map from the 2024-2025 catalog year represents one possible pathway to complete this program. Your pathway may vary depending on your transfer plans and also previous college credit, including AP Test scores, concurrent enrollment courses and high school articulated courses.

I'm ready to get started. What do I do next?

  1. Review this program map to get an overview of the required courses
  2. Meet with a counselor to develop your customized student education plan www.chabotcollege.edu/counseling
  3. Use DegreeWorks, an online student education planning tool, to track your progress toward graduation www.chabotcollege.edu / admissions / degreeworks
Program Description

CPA candidates must possess any Bachelor's degree. Additionally, the candidates must satisfy specific educational requirements (see the CalCPA website http://www.dca.ca.gov/cba/applicants/tip_sheet.pdf).

All of these educational requirements can be completed at a community college after the candidates complete their BA/BS degree. The classes within this certificate are counted towards the educational requirement for the CPA license. The certificate also prepares a candidate for one of the four parts of the CPA exam: Regulation.

The certificate itself is neither required for the CPA exam nor guarantees the student's eligibility for the CPA exam. However, it provides a guideline on what classes best prepare the candidate for the CPA exam.


What can I do with this major?

This program focuses on the Regulation component of the CPA exam. It provides a guideline for CPA candidates on which courses will best prepare them for the exam. Future CPAs have amazing prospects in three main areas: public accounting, private accounting, and government/non-profit accounting. Current projections for the Bay Area (from the EDD website) for accountants and auditors are: 17.9% annual increase in the number of jobs, and the median salary of $79,258. The CPA license in general increases salaries for these jobs by 10-15%.


Learning and Career Pathway
  • Business, Economics & Information Technology

Icon Key

= Critical Course = Prerequisite for Other Courses = Prerequisite Required = Required for Major GE = General Education

BUS 1A is the prerequisite course for BUS 3A and BUS 6 which are required for this certificate. If you took BUS 1A (Financial Accounting) at a college other than Chabot or Las Positas, please see a counselor to obtain a prerequisite override. www.chabotcollege.edu/counseling

Required Core

13 units

BUS 3B
Taxation of Business Entities

3 units
A study of current Federal income tax law as it relates to sole proprietorships, corporations (C corps, S corps), and partnerships (General and Limited Partnerships, Limited Liability Companies, and Limited Liability Partnerships. California tax law differences will be highlighted. A student does NOT need to complete BUS-3A to enroll in this class.
Course Details:
  1. Prerequisite: BUS 7
    2. or
  2. Prerequisite: BUS 1A

BUS 3A
Taxation of Individuals

3 units
Preparation of Federal and California income tax returns for individuals through the absorption and application of income tax law, theory, practice. Completion of various tax forms, including Form 1040 (Individual), Schedules A (Itemized Deductions), B (Interest and Dividends), C (Profit or Loss from a Business), and D (Capital Gains and Losses). Other topics include depreciation, tax credits, tax planning, and tax research.
Course Details:

BUS 6
Accounting Ethics

3 units
A comprehensive study of ethical issues that accountants must address in the various sectors of accounting. Topics include general principles of ethics applied to accounting, personal responsibilities, the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, tax/audit/accounting issues, confidentiality, independence, conflicts of interest, discreditable acts, whistleblower duties, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Course Details:
  1. Prerequisite: BUS 1A

BUS 10
Business Law

4 units
Fundamental legal principles pertaining to business transactions. Introduction to the legal process. Topics include sources of law and ethics, contracts, torts, criminal law, intellectual property, agency and employment law, and business organizations.
Course Details:
Total Units: 13 units
This program map is not a guarantee of course availability or financial aid applicability.