Dive Brief:
- State legislatures in Vermont, Missouri and Louisiana passed legislation last month effectively easing the educational requirements for becoming a certified public accountant, according to their respective state legislature websites.
- Missouri’s bill (SB 1233) was sent to Gov. Mike Kehoe to be signed on May 28; Louisiana’s legislation (HB 548) was sent to be signed by Gov. Jeff Landry on May 26 and Vermont’s bill (H.588) was passed by the House and Senate on May 19.
- All three pieces of legislation must still be signed into law by their state’s governor, according to The Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants, which has been closely tracking the legislation that is providing new pathways to certification.
Dive Insight:
The moves bring to approximately 43 the number of states that have passed so-called CPA pathways laws or changed certification rules as part of a broad licensing revamp.
The new laws don’t necessarily eliminate the requirement that CPAs complete 150 college credit hours, but rather provide an alternative path that doesn’t include credits that typically require a fifth year of college.
By substituting an extra year of experience instead of the additional 30 credit hours, the alternative certification pathway being adopted generally requires candidates to complete a bachelor’s or 120 credit hours, two years of professional experience and to pass the CPA exam.
Dubbed the “bachelor’s plus two,” it was also backed by the American Institute of CPAs and National Association of State Boards of Accountancy.
The states that have yet to pass such laws include Wyoming, North Dakota, Maine, Florida, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Michigan, according to the MSCPA.
Keep up with CPA licensure changes by accessing CFO Dive’s tracker on the topic here.
