Frequently Asked Questions

These courses are for local and state government accounting and financial reporting professionals and others responsible for the oversight and administration of a local, state, authority or special purpose government’s finances.

• Local government finance professionals and paraprofessionals who want to enhance their career skills and professional development opportunities through the Georgia Local Finance Officer Certification Program offered through the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
• State government finance professionals and paraprofessionals who are seeking to complete the Primary Governmental Accounting Series offered through the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
• Accounting professionals preparing for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam.
• Accounting professionals who want to earn continuing professional education required for all CPAs.
• Credentialed individuals (CGFM & CPFO) that require continuing professional education
• Governmental professionals with previous private sector experience who want to gain governmental accounting knowledge.

University of Georgia, Carl Vinson Institute of Government, is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website.

Yes! Your government can enroll multiple employees. However, at this time, no group discounts are offered.

Three months are allowed from the time that you register for each course. A one-month extension can be granted for a nominal fee ($50 US). You can make your one-month extension request and payment using the extension request form. Please note that you will be required to register again, and then on the second page you can choose the 30-day extension option. Upon receipt of your extension request payment, 30 days will be added to your original course expiration date.

Former students have reported spending nearly 2.5 study hours per lesson.

You must begin with lesson 1 and progress through each lesson as presented. Your successful completion of the exercises at the conclusion of each lesson will allow you to progress (and access the online assessment tools) to the next lesson. After lesson five, you must successfully pass a mid-term assessment before proceeding to lesson five. Once you have successfully completed all of the lessons, the mid-term assessment, and the practice exercises you will have access to the final online course examination.

In order to earn credit for the courses and earn your CEUs or CPE, the courses must be taken in its entirety. The lessons in this course are not sold separately.

The mid-term assessment and final examination are both a part of the online course. Once you have completed all the lessons, you will have access to the mid-term and final examinations.

Introductory Governmental Accounting Parts I and II and Intermediate Governmental Accounting meet the requirements for Georgia governmental employees (state and local) for the Financial Management Certificate/Certification Programs. In addition, these courses are recognized by many state organizations and local governments as a position requirement.

Self-tests, textbook readings and end-of-lesson quizzes are included in the online course and provide all the review necessary to successfully complete the final assessment.

The mid-term and final assessment results are graded online, and you will receive immediate results. The University will officially notify you of your course outcome within four weeks of your final assessment date via e-mail.

Introductory Governmental Accounting, Part I is the first of a three-course program designed primarily for state and local governmental employees who require knowledge of governmental accounting. The other two courses are Introductory Governmental Accounting Part II and Intermediate Governmental Accounting. The courses fulfill the requirements for State of Georgia employees enrolled in the Primary Governmental Accounting Series Certificate Program and Georgia local government employees who are enrolled in the Local Government Financial Management Certification Program. The courses can also serve as a continuing education activity for accounting professionals, such as CPAs. In addition, the courses are an excellent review for those who are studying to sit for the CPA exam.

You will receive 1.8 continuing education units (CEUs). 22 CPE hours are awarded upon successful completion of the course. To meet CPE documentation requirements, University of Georgia CEU transcripts are available at any time upon written request. In addition, upon successful completion of all three courses a Certificate of Completion from the University of Georgia is awarded to all enrollees who are not employed by either the State of Georgia or any Georgia local government.

Local government employees (in the State of Georgia) will receive a certificate as outlined in the Local Government Finance Officer Certification Program. Employees of the State of Georgia will receive a certificate as outlined in the State Financial Management Certificate Program.

You will have 90 minutes to complete the mid-term and final assessment for Introductory Governmental Accounting, Part I. Once you have completed the assessment, saved and submitted your answers, you will receive immediate notification of your assessment grade. A passing grade of no less than 70% is required. If you do not receive a grade of 70% or higher, you are eligible to take the assessment one additional time at no additional cost. The 55 questions in each timed assessment/exam are selected from a test bank and each assessment/exam is different.

Introductory Governmental Accounting, Part II is the second of a three-course program designed primarily for state and local governmental employees who require knowledge of governmental accounting. The other two are Introductory Governmental Accounting, Part I, and Intermediate Governmental Accounting. The courses also fulfill the requirements for State of Georgia employees enrolled in the State Financial Management Certificate Program and Georgia local government employees who are enrolled in the Local Government Finance Officer Certification Program. The courses can also serve as a continuing educational activity for accounting professionals, such as CPAs. In addition, the courses are an excellent review for those who are studying to sit for the CPA exam.

Successful graduates of Introductory Governmental Accounting, Part II will receive 2.75 continuing education units (CEUs) from the University of Georgia. 23 CPE hours are awarded upon successful completion of the course.

You will have 90 minutes to complete the midterm and final assessment for Introductory Governmental Accounting, Part II.Once you have completed the assessments, saved and submitted your answers, you will receive immediate notification of your assessment grade. A passing grade of no less than 70% is required. If you do not receive a grade of 70% or higher, you are eligible to take the midterm and final assessment one additional time at no additional cost. The 60 questions in the timed assessment are selected from a test bank, and each assessment is different.

Intermediate Governmental Accounting is the third of a three-course program designed primarily for state and local governmental employees who require knowledge of governmental accounting. The other two are Introductory Governmental Accounting, Part I and Part II. The courses also fulfill the requirements for State of Georgia employees enrolled in the State Financial Management Certificate Program and Georgia local government employees who are enrolled in the Local Government Financial Management Certification Program. The courses can also serve as a continuing education activity for accounting professionals, such as CPAs. In addition, the courses are an excellent review for those who are studying to sit for the CPA exam.

Successful graduates of Intermediate Governmental Accounting will receive 1.8 continuing education units (CEUs) from the University of Georgia. 22 CPE hours are awarded upon successful completion of the course. To meet CPE documentation requirements, University of Georgia CEU transcripts are available at any time upon written request.

In addition, upon successful completion of all three courses, a Certificate of Completion from the University of Georgia is awarded to all enrollees who are not employed by either the State of Georgia or any Georgia local government.

Local government employees (in the State of Georgia) will receive a certificate as outlined in the Local Government Finance Officer Certification Program. Employees of the State of Georgia will receive a certificate as outlined in the State Financial Management Certificate Program.

You will have 102 minutes to complete the final examination. Once you have completed the exam, saved and submitted your answers, you will receive immediate notification of your exam grade. A passing grade of no less than 70% is required. If you do not receive a grade of 70% or higher, you are eligible to take the examination one additional time at no additional cost. The 55 questions in the timed exam are selected from a test bank and each exam is different.

All course materials are provided in the registration fee.

The online course content, tools and resources are optimized for a desktop or laptop computer. While the online platform is designed to be mobile responsive, we strongly recommend the use of a desktop or laptop computer.

Your live-online course sessions will be held via Zoom; direct Zoom links are placed within the online classroom. We recommend that you download and install Zoom onto your desktop or laptop before the first online session.

That’s up to you. It all depends on how much time you can devote to study. Students have up to a year to complete the course, but some students graduate in six months or even less.

A one-time, six-month extension can be granted for a nominal fee ($50 US). You can make your six-month extension request and payment. Upon receipt of your extension request payment, six months will be added to your original course expiration date.

You must successfully earn a score of 70% or higher on each of the two required exams.

If you do not attain at least 70% on the first attempt, you can retake that exam a maximum of two times. We allow three attempts for each exam.

The online course content, tools, and resources are best optimized for a desktop or laptop computer. While the online platform is designed to be mobile responsive, we strongly recommend the use of a desktop or laptop computer.