In addition to the 63 credit hour A.A.S. degree program, Oakton also offers four accounting certificates: one is a 42 credit hour certificate in accounting with concentrated study in accounting principles, intermediate accounting, cost accounting, federal taxes and advanced accounting; the second is a 16 credit hour certificate in bookkeeping; the third is a 20 credit hour certificate in income tax preparation; and the fourth is a 25 credit hour professional accounting-CPA preparation certificate. See the links at the left to get a better description of each certificate. 

For students working toward the CPA examination, the Board of Examiners accepts all accounting and business law courses offered by Oakton. For students planning to transfer, senior level institutions usually accept ACC 153 and ACC 154 only.

In order to sit for the CPA exam, candidates must have the following:

1. A bachelors degree in any field (this does not need to be in accounting)
2. 150 semester hours of college credit
3. 24 hours of accounting credit (as part of the 150 total hours)
4. 24 hours of business courses other than accounting (as part of the 150 total hours)

There are separate requirements for candidates with graduate degrees in accounting or business. 

There are two main resources to find out more about CPA Exam.

Board of Examiners:
Please visit www.illinois-cpa-exam.com or call them at 217-531-0950.
This site has information about the education requirements for the exam, credentials evaluation, and the the exam itself.

Illinois CPA Society:
Please visit www.futurecpa.org
This website has the most recent information for students interested in the CPA exam as well as careers in accounting.

For more information, see the Frequently Asked Questions link at the left or contact the department chair, Leslie Van Wolvelear at lvanwolv@oakton.edu or (847) 376-7135.