How to start faster in the accounting field. To become an accountant, you may be required to earn a bachelor’s degree, especially if you’re seeking to qualify to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).. However, earning a bachelor’s degree isn’t the only first step you can take into this career field. Like any career in accounting, the first step is acquiring a formal education. We used real-time job analysis software from Burning-Glass.com to do a little investigating of our own. After analyzing more than 500 forensic accountant jobs posted over the past year, we found that 99 percent of them required a bachelor's degree or higher.*. In order to become certified, you must have a three or four-year post-secondary degree and at least two years of professional internal auditing experience. (For those with an advanced degree and/or significant professional experience, some of these requirements may be waived or reduced. 4) Forensic Accounting Certifications. How to start faster in the accounting field. To become an accountant, you may be required to earn a bachelor’s degree, especially if you’re seeking to qualify to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).. However, earning a bachelor’s degree isn’t the only first step you can take into this career field. Work towards a master’s degree after obtaining your undergraduate degree. The end goal is to become a certified public accountant, so you will usually need at least 150 semester hours to be able to take the CPA exams, which usually will require masters level work. You can opt for a masters degree in accounting, tax or general business.