NextGen

More States Pass Legislation to Add Pathways to CPA Licensure

 

Illinois and Minnesota have adopted legislation to advance additional pathways to CPA licensure. New Jersey's assembly has also approved a similar bill that has now been sent to the Senate. Currently, there are at least 27 states that have either adopted or have pending legislation creating additional pathways to licensure. 

The legislation to establish additional CPA licensure pathways to address the pipeline shortage has passed the Illinois House and Senate, according to the Illinois CPA Society (ICPAS).

House Bill (HB) 2459 was first introduced in March by Reps. Natalie Manley (D-Joliet), and Amy Elik (R-Edwardsville). Afterwards, the legislation gained several co-sponsors and was unanimously passed out of the House in early April.

“As states in the Midwest and across the nation move forward with their own legislation to protect and grow their CPA ranks, passage of this legislation is an important step in keeping Illinois’ CPAs at the forefront of the national business landscape; protecting the needs of our state’s businesses, nonprofits, and units of government; and ensuring there’s a pipeline of next-generation accounting talent ready to step up to serve,” ICPAS President and CEO Geoffrey Brown noted. “We thank the legislation’s sponsors, co-sponsors, and other supporters who were instrumental in advancing this important initiative for the accounting profession in our state.”

The legislation amends the Illinois Public Accounting Act to create two additional pathways to CPA licensure in Illinois, which include:

• Obtaining a bachelor’s degree with an accounting concentration, completing at least two years of relevant work experience and passing the CPA exam.

• Obtaining a master’s degree with the required accounting concentration, completing at least a year of relevant work experience, and passing the CPA exam.

The bill  does not get rid of the state’s legacy licensure pathway that requires would-be CPAs to complete 150 credit hours of qualifying education, complete one year of relevant work experience, and pass the CPA exam to become licensed in Illinois, which is the path that has been in place since 2001.

It also ensures that out-of-state CPAs can serve clients in Illinois without obtaining an Illinois license if their issuing state’s licensure requirements are equivalent to Illinois’ and safeguards Illinois CPAs will have the same practice privileges throughout state borders.

Meanwhile, on May 20, Minnesota’s bill to create additional pathways to CPA licensure was passed with bipartisan support as part of the State Government Conference Committee’s omnibus bill, Senate File 3045. On May 23, Gov. Tim Walz signed the bill.

In New Jersey, the state's assembly has approved a bill that would modernize state licensing requirements to become a CPA. Bill A-5598, sponsored assemblyman Sterley Stanley (D-18) and Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (R-25), was approved 78-0 on May 22 and now advances to the Senate for consideration.  

According to the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA), which also supported the legislation, 66 percent of 187 companies that responded to a recent NJCPA survey stated they were having a hard time searching for accounting talent in the past 12 months. Of those businesses, 47 percent said this has posed a moderate or high risk to their operations.