Dive Brief:

• New York State Senate lawmakers on Thursday passed a bill providing additional pathways to becoming a licensed certified public accountant in the state, following an earlier vote by the House, according to the senate’s website.
• The legislation, which now awaits the signature of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, establishes new rules which enable candidates to become licensed with 120 college credit hours, two years of professional experience and the passage of the CPA exam, New York State Society of CPAs CEO Calvin Harris Jr. posted on his LinkedIn account. A bachelor’s degree is typically equivalent to 120 semester hours. 
• “This is what happens when advocacy is relentless, coalitions are united, and the mission is bigger than the moment,” Harris wrote on his LinkedIn account, noting that the “job’s not finished yet.”  

Dive Insight:

Since late last year at least 19 states — now including New York — have passed legislation to change their CPA licensure rules. Similar bills have so far been passed by lawmakers in Connecticut, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, Montana, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Alaska and Hawaii. Like the Empire State, some of those states’ bills must still be signed into law.

The initiatives gaining momentum across the country largely aim to remove or provide an alternative to the previously standard path to licensure that requires 150 hours of college credit, one year of professional experience, and passing the CPA exam. Proponents of the new laws in the accounting industry hope to ease an accounting talent shortage by removing the 150 hour requirement, which they say is a costly barrier that typically equates to a total of five years in college or graduate school.

The bills are not always sailing through without a fight. In Florida, a bill narrowly focused on the CPA licensure changes, CS/SB 160, was incorporated in a larger and controversial bill — now stalled — that aimed to broadly deregulate numerous professions including accounting. 

Shelly Weir, president and CEO of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants, said in an emailed response to questions Thursday that no new legislation will be reintroduced during the state’s extended legislative session that is expected to conclude early next week. 

“FICPA is looking forward to re-introducing the pathways legislation and working with the Legislature to advance that effort next year when session begins in January,” Weir said. 

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