By ALLISSA KLINE
Business First

Daemen College senior Peter Loney has two choices if he wants to be a certified public accountant.

He could complete 120 hours of accounting coursework and graduate in May with a bachelor's degree.

Or he could spend two additional semesters at college - and at least $6,700 each semester - to complete 150 hours of coursework and earn a master's degree.

Loney is choosing the latter.

"I wanted to get a master's degree anyway," said Loney, a forward on the men's basketball team who expects his financial-aid package to cover about half of the additional tuition costs next fall. "I think I'll definitely be more prepared with the 150-hour degree as opposed to the 120-hour degree."

This is the last year students like Loney have a choice. As of Aug. 1, 2009, accounting students who want to sit for the CPA exam must complete 150 hours of coursework, up from 120, before they can take the test. That means many students will have to attend college for five years to earn 150 credit hours.

The approaching change in CPA licensure requirements has benefits and drawbacks. Some say it will better prepare accounting students for the business world, making them more well-rounded and business-savvy. Others wonder if another year of education will be worth the added costs and time it takes to complete the 150-hour requirement, and if that additional year will deter students from enrolling in accounting programs.

Right now, it's a toss-up, Niagara University accounting professor Al Oddo said.

"Is it worth the extra money and investment of time that you put in?" Oddo asked. "From the firms' perspective, do they get a better employee who'll contribute more? Will they have to pay these people more? Is the extra salary going to be worth it in the long term?"

Local colleges and universities that offer accounting programs tend to favor the additional schooling.

Accounting professor Susan Hamlen, who chairs the University at Buffalo School of Management's department of accounting and law, said several of this year's seniors are choosing to obtain 150 hours of coursework, even though they could graduate with 120 hours and still qualify to sit for the exam.

"This gives students a much better background, and it gives them a chance to specialize in a particular area," Hamlen said. "Being able to make professional judgments is a huge part of the career ... and these students are going to get much more experience and be able to make much better judgments down the line."

Some local CPA firms aren't convinced, however, that extra classes are necessary.

An additional year of academia "doesn't prepare anybody that much better," Bob Glaser, managing partner at Freed Maxick & Battaglia CPAs PC, said. "You can't beat a year of work, which is real-world experience, and you can't duplicate that in a classroom."

Charlie Fadale of the Dopkins & Co. CPA firm disagreed, saying more education pays off in later years.

"When these students first join us, students with 150 or 120 hours, they perform about the same," Fadale said. "But a number of years down the road, those with more educational background will be better consultants."

The CPA licensure change for New York state takes effect after a decade-long phase-in. First approved in 1998, it will bring New York state in line with 47 other states that already have adopted the requirement, said Dan Dustin of the state Board of Public Accountancy.

Colleges with accounting programs began preparing several years ago for the change in coursework hours. At many colleges, students could choose to obtain 120 or 150 hours of coursework.

After next August, however, all programs must involve 150 hours and will usually result in master's degrees. The advanced degrees could affect starting salaries at CPA firms, said David Moynihan, president-elect of the state Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Students "are going to expect more in salaries when they come out," Moynihan said. "The issue will be, I don't think a lot of firms will look at them as more valuable. They don't necessarily see them as incrementally that more valuable because they have an extra year of education."

Unlike Loney, UB senior Michael Steenberge isn't sticking around to complete another 30 hours of coursework. Although he considered staying to earn a master's degree, the Rochester native now plans to graduate in May with a bachelor's degree, study for and take parts of the CPA exam next summer and begin a job next fall with PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York City.

Steenberge said he doesn't know if he wants to be a CPA for life, so it doesn't make sense right now to get an advanced degree in the field.

"Who knows when I get into the field if I'll love it?" Steenberge said. "What if the fit isn't for me?"

Most senior accounting majors at Canisius College also are planning to graduate in May rather than stay another year, said Joe O'Donnell, chair of the college's accounting department.

"They've taken the approach, ‘I want to beat the deadline,' " O'Donnell said.

Next year, the college expects a significant increase in the number of students interested in the combined bachelor's and master's of business administration degree, O'Donnell said.

"I think that will be very attractive to them," he said.

Time, ultimately, will tell whether the new requirement makes a difference for those who want to be CPAs, Glaser said.

"I think the plus side is that the brightest and best (students) get better educated," he said. "On the other hand, it might take students away who don't want to go to school another year. Time's going to have to look at that."