The Rio Grande Valley Chapter of the Texas Society of CPAs would like to welcome all students who are interested choosing a dynamic career that offers a diverse range of job opportunities, competitive salaries, and the potential for rapid career growth.  Accounting is the one degree that lets you do just about anything you want in the business world, opening doors in every kind of business coast to coast and across the seas!  Explore this page to discover local chapter activities for Students and Young CPAs , the benefits of TSCPA student affiliate membership, information and applications for our Scholarships, the latest information on the Becker CPA Review Course , CPA Exam information and other topics which we believe would be of interest to students.   

To represent the interests of students and Young CPAs, the following members  attend our Chapter Board Meetings:

   Chairpersons – Educational Institutions

       John Darcy -  Professor – UT-Pan American

       Glen D Moyes – Professor – UT-Pan American

       Carol Collinsworth – Accounting Chair – UT-Brownsville

   Chairperson – Students and Young CPAs

       Nora Gutierrez- ngutierrez@calpine.com

 The chair persons – Educational Institutions head our committees to bring speakers into the schools, act as a liaison to the university accounting students and keep us informed of events at the colleges.

Ø      Volunteer opportunity: The TSCPA will give free membership to one accounting student at each college who will actively recruit new student members.  Contact Nora Gutierrez at ngutierrez@calpine.com  if interested!

 The Chairperson – Students and Young CPAs is always a new CPA who has had recent college experience and has an understanding of the concerns of our Young CPA members and students.  The Chairperson heads a committee to suggest ideas and programs to our Board that they believe would be of interest to this group! The chairperson also establishes ties to the students with an e-mail link and will answer questions and pass on information of interest to students.

Ø      Volunteer opportunity: Join Nora’s committee and help shape the future of our organization by suggesting and implementing programs.

  On a State level, Chris Filoteo recently accepted an appointment to the Young CPA Task Force.  This task group is formed with young CPAs who we believe will be the future leaders of our organization. This task force was formed to better understand the young CPA and students and to provide the types of programs and professional resources they need.

 CHAPTER ACTIVITIES:

 Available to all students:

The chapter offers opportunities to all accounting students to have a stack of their resumes displayed and distributed at each scheduled seminar.  See our CPE page for seminar dates.  To have your resume displayed,  send a stack of resumes in an envelope and mail to:

                                   Rio Grande Valley Chapter TSCPA
                                   943 N. Expressway Suite 15-161
                                   Brownsville TX 78520

 Alternately, if you are attending a seminar, you may place your stack directly on the table yourself. The resumes will continue to be displayed until you notify the Executive Director at director@rgvcpa.org that you no longer wish them to be displayed, or they run out.

 The Rio Grande Valley Chapter of the TSCPA jointly sponsored with STC the introduction of a live Becker CPA Review course offered at the Pecan Campus of STC.  This course is reputed to be the best course available in the United States with double the passing rate of any other course.  The initial class was introduced January 27, 2007 at a cost of $2,570.00 per student, including books. Click for a schedule of the next course offering.  The TSCPA offers a $250.00 voucher to student members registering for the full course and Becker offers financing options.  In addition, the Chapter holds a fundraiser each year to fund this program. 

Ø      Volunteer opportunity: Spread the word to the students and the community on the availability of this review course.

Ø      Volunteer opportunity: Help raise money for scholarships by participating in the fund-raising event.

Students that assist the Chapter in fundraising are eligible for scholarships that bypass the selection process and are not subject to the GPA minimums.  See the scholarship section for more information!

 Available to student members only:

Student members may have their resume posted to the Chapter web site if e-mailed to director@rgvcpa.org. The resume should be sent as an attachment on Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel

 The Chapter also offers the opportunity to all students to place position wanted, help wanted, internship wanted and other similar ads on the Chapter Web site at no cost to the participant.. Ads may be placed “blind” by contacting the director and providing contact information to forward responses.

 The resume or ad should be e-mailed to director@rgvcpa.org  as an attachment on Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel

 The Chapter updates a member directory each year. Students who are current members as of 8/31 of each year are included in this directory. To protect the members from use by spammers, the directory is distributed to members and associate members only.

 Student associate members are welcome to participate in all chapter activities including a scholarship luncheon held once a year.  These activities  will allow you to meet and mingle with local CPAs and learn about job openings, client referrals, philanthropic opportunities, and professional news. Local chapter involvement provides an excellent chance to network, hone your leadership skills and rub shoulders with the movers and shakers in your business community.

 Student associate members will receive all chapter newsletters. Information about special CPE programs and scholarship opportunities are included in these publications. 

 Student members may also list their membership in the TSCPA on their resume.

 SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES:

 Becker CPA Review Course Scholarships

 The Rio Grande Valley Chapter of the TSCPA Education Foundation has established a program to provide scholarship assistance to candidates who plan to take the live Becker CPA Review Course offered at STC.  Scholarships are available in amounts of $2,000, $1,000 or $500.  To be considered for any of these scholarships, the student must be a “qualified applicant”, by meeting the following standards:      

      Have completed/or be on track to complete the 150 hours of college credits  required to sit for the CPA exam by the time the Becker course is completed.  

      Have completed/or be on track to complete the required number of accounting courses necessary to sit for the CPA exam by the time the Becker course is completed. 

     Have completed/or be on track to complete the ethics course required to sit for the CPA exam by the time the Becker course is completed. 

The scholarships will be selected by the Chapter scholarship on a monthly basis as long as funds are available.  Eligibility for these scholarships will be determined by economic need, a minimum scholastic accounting GPA of 3.5 and a minimum overall GPA of 3.0. There is no deadline for mailing in applications with all supporting documentation; however, fundraising activities are held only once a year – so the earlier you apply the better your chances of receiving a scholarship.  The chapter year is on a fiscal year that starts June 1 and ends on May 31.  Supporting documentation includes a transcript and if you are seeking our maximum scholarship amount, attachments to demonstrate economic need. Click for a Becker CPA Review Course Scholarship form

Students that assist the Chapter in raising funds may bypass the scholarship committee, GPA requirements and application process. To be eligible for these scholarships, you must be sponsored by a member CPA who will determine if you are a “qualified applicant”. The fundraising activities change each year, so check with the Chairperson – Students and Young CPAs to get more information.  For the year 6/01/2007 – 5/31/2008, the chapter held a raffle with a prize that included 4 days/3 nights in Las Vegas + $1500. The package include round trip for two on Allegiant Air and an upgraded lakeside view room at the Bellagio.  The chapter netted $10,800 from the raffle for the Becker CPA Review Course scholarships.  

 A student may combine “assisting the Chapter” program with the “application program” but may not be awarded more than $2,000 under the combined program.  

Scholars, who have only one or two more exam parts to pass, are encouraged to register for selected classes under the live Becker CPA Review Course and apply for a partial scholarship of $500.00   

Graduate/Undergraduate Scholarship Program  

The Rio Grande Valley Chapter of the TSCPA has established a program to provide scholarship assistance to undergraduate and fifth year students who plan to become Certified Public Accountants and enter the accounting profession.  Students at the University of Texas –Pan American and the University of Texas – Brownsville are eligible to apply.  The primary purpose of these scholarships is to award academic excellence; however financial need as determined by the Chapter may be considered.  “Qualified applicants”, must meet minimum academic and enrollment standards. The application deadline with all supporting documentation is October 15, 2008.  The selected candidates will receive their scholarships at our annual General Meeting/Scholarship Luncheon on December 5, 2008 at the new McAllen Civic Center.  Click for a Graduate/Undergraduate Scholarship form.  

STATE MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS: 

Check out the TSCPA Student Lounge at www.tscpa.org to access details about member benefits, job postings, and student member news.  This site will allow you to post your resume, take advantage of several premium career tools like personalized assistance for putting together a career plan and having a place to store all your job search contacts, purchase discounted magazine subscriptions, access scholarship information and enter special TSCPA student contests.   

For information about TSCPA’s student and candidate membership program, e-mail Melinda Bentley mbentley@tscpa.net or phone 800-428-0272 x 279 /   972-687-8579.

 CPA LICENSE REQUIREMENTS:

Every state and U.S. territory has somewhat different requirements for becoming a licenses CPA. In Texas the requirements to apply and take the exam include:

           Minimum Education Requirements- Baccalaureate degree with 150 semester hours with a  minimum of 30 upper division semester hours in accounting above the principles level and 21 upper division hours of related business courses plus 3 hours ethics course Only accounting subjects tested on the CPA Exam are counted, e.g. International Accounting does not count as required accounting hours

            Residency Requirements: None. US citizenship is not required.

            Age Requirements:  No minimum

Additional requirements must be met for certification and licensing.

The CPA Exam

The Uniform CPA consists of four parts as follows:

Financial Accounting & Reporting is a 4 hour exam that includes 3 Multiple-Choice testlets and 2 Simulation testlets. This section covers skills and knowledge of generally accepted accounting principles for business enterprises, not-for profit organizations and governmental entities.  The test content will include concepts and standards for financial statements, typical items in financial statements, specific types of transactions and events, accounting and reporting for government entities and accounting and reporting for non-government and not-for-profit entities.

           Auditing and Attestation is a 4.5 hour exam that includes 3 Multiple-Choice testlets   and 2 Simulation testlets. This section covers knowledge of auditing procedures, generally accepted accounting standards and other standards related to attest engagements and skills needed to apply that knowledge. The test content will include planning the engagement, internal controls, obtaining and documenting information, reviewing the engagement and evaluating information, and preparing report communications.

           Regulation is a 3 hour exam that includes 3 Multiple-Choice testlets and 2 Simulation testlets. This section focuses on skills and knowledge of federal taxation, legal responsibilities, and business law. The testable content will include ethics and professional responsibility, business law, federal tax procedures and accounting issues, federal taxation of property transactions, and federal taxation of individuals and entities.

           Business Environment and Concepts is a 2.5 hour exam that includes 3 Multiple-Choice testlets.  [Note: Simulation testlets are expected to be added to this test as early as 2008]. This section covers knowledge of the general business environment, and business concepts that are basic to accounting.  The test content will include business structure, economic concepts, financial management, information technology and planning and measuring.

A simulation is similar to a case study that will test for knowledge and skills using real-life work situations.  These exercises allow the examiners to go in-depth in a particular subject area. The simulations account for approximately 30% of the candidates score with 1/3 or 10% related to the candidates demonstration of effective writing skills.

Since April 5, 2004 the Uniform CPA Examination has been offered in a computer-based format.  Once you apply to sit for the exam, approved candidates are sent a Notice to Schedule (NTS) by mail, e-mail, or fax. Candidates must have the NTS to schedule an actual test date at the Prometric Test Center. Generally, candidates must sit for their first exam within six months of receiving the NTS. Exams must be scheduled at least five days in advance of your choice of date. However, it is best to contact Prometric at least 45 days in advance to get your first choice of date and time.  The exam is available at any time except March, June, September and December. There is no filing deadline. You may schedule and take each section of the CPA Exam only once during a two month period.

The Prometric Test Center for the Rio Grande Valley is located in McAllen.

Driving Directions: Our Center is located on the corner of 2nd street (Col. Rowe) and Savannah (Ridge) inside the Inter National Bank Building Suite 440 across from the Embassy Suites Hotel. From West: Take Expressway 83 East. Take the 2nd street/McColl street exit. Make a right turn next to the McAllen Medical Center. Follow Road to 2nd Street (Col. Rowe) and at the street light go straight and make a right. We are located inside the Inter National Bank Building suite 440. From East: Take Expressway 83 West. Take the 2nd street/10th street exit. Keep right, at street light, take a right on 2nd street(Col. Rowe) going (South) on the overpass. At the second street light go straight and take a left as we are inside the Inter National Bank Building suite 440.

Visit www.prometric.com/cpa 24-hours before your scheduled exam to confirm your appointment. On the day of your scheduled exam, you must bring your Notice To Schedule (NTS) and your primary photo identification (which exactly matches the name you are scheduled under) with you to the test center.  You will not be allowed, under any circumstances, to sit for your examination without these documents.

You should be aware that introductory examination screens operate under time limits. If those limits are exceeded, the session will automatically terminate and it will not be possible to restart the exam.   While there is adequate time to review the screens and respond, there is not time for you to take notes, leave the testing room, or do anything other than reading and responding to the screens.

Additional information is available at www.prometric.com/cpa.

The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy (TSBPA) is the state regulatory agency for public accounting in Texas. The TSBPA is the agency to contact with all questions regarding CPA licensing and examination.

Texas State Board of Public Accountancy
333 Guadalupe Tower III, Suite 900
Austin, TX 78701-3900
Telephone: 512.305.7800 FAX: 512.305.7854
Web site: www.tsbpa.state.tx.us   Email: exam@tsbpa.state.tx.us

 VALLEY Accounting Programs:

To sit for the CPA exam, the student must choose an accounting program that meets the requirements of the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy. To determine the accreditation and specific accounting programs offered in the Valley, contact the Accounting Departments of the following Universities:

 The University of Texas - Brownsville
80 Fort Brown
Brownsville, TX 78520
Accounting Phone: 956-544-3837
Admissions Phone: 956-544-8254 (800-850-0160)
www.utb.edu

 The University of Texas - Pan American
Department of Accounting & Business Law
1201 W. University Drive,
BA-211
Edinburg, TX 78539-2999
Accounting Phone:
956-381-2406
Admissions Phone:
956-381-2201
www.panam.edu

 INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS:

 The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) can assist international students who have questions about qualifying to sit for the CPA Exam, how current foreign credits will transfer, or about equivalency issues. The  NASBA in the state or U.S. territory where you are interested in becoming licensed  is the state regulatory agency to contact.

National Association of State Boards of Accountancy
150 4th Avenue, Suite 700
Nashville, TN 37219
Telephone: 615.880.4200 FAX: 615.880.4290