Dive Brief:

• Arkansas is moving ahead to provide an alternative way to become a certified public accountant that doesn’t require 150 college credit hours, according to Marsha Moffitt, executive director and CEO of the Arkansas Society of CPAs. Typically equal to five years of post-secondary education, the 150 hour college credit requirement has been viewed by critics as a costly barrier that prevents many students from pursuing a career in accounting. 
• Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Nov. 10 signed off on a draft change to the state’s CPA licensing rules after the Arkansas State Board of Accountancy voted to move forward with adding the additional CPA certification route that requires a bachelor’s degree with an accounting concentration, plus two years of professional experience and passing the CPA exam, Moffitt wrote in an email.
• Provided that the BOA doesn’t need to make any revisions after a 30-day comment period, the rule package will ultimately go to the Arkansas Legislative Council for review and, if approved, it will be effective 10 days after the rule changes are filed with the Secretary of State’s office, she said. “It’s looking like the new pathway will not be effective before February 1st and could possibly take longer,” Moffitt said.

Dive Insight:

Arkansas is on track to join at least 24 states that have either passed new laws or revised rules to offer an alternative path to CPA licensure that requires just four years of college along with an extra year of experience. 

The broad bid to change the CPA licensing requirements, typically by providing alternative routes, is driven by an accounting industry push to attract a new generation of CPA candidates and address the accounting talent shortage. The initiative has gained momentum this year after initially drawing opposition from some who feared it could lower the industry’s standards. But many supporters have noted that the current system only gained hold in the 1980s after Florida upped its credit requirements.   

Moffitt wasn’t clear on exactly when Arkansas’ new CPA pathway could be effective, but she is confident that they will be put in place. “The change will happen, and we do not foresee opposition to it,” she said in an email. “But it could not happen without Governor approval. We did not anticipate any push-back from her since adding the additional pathway helps to reduce workforce barriers and allows CPA candidates to enter the workforce sooner after graduation.” 

Once the new CPA pathways rules are effective, Moffitt said Arkansas CPA candidates will be able to choose from three licensure paths on top of passing the CPA exam. In addition to the newest path, candidates can also still take the existing route which requires a bachelor’s degree, plus 30 college credit hours (in total 150 hours) and one year of experience. Meanwhile, a third path open to prospective CPAs would require a master’s plus one year of experience, she said.

Gov. Sanders’ office declined to respond to a request for comment.

Keep up with CPA licensure changes by accessing CFO Dive’s tracker on the topic here.