Dive Brief:
- Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee signed legislation (Senate Bill 3076) into law this week that adds an alternative path to becoming a certified public accountant that doesn’t require 150 hours of college credit, typically five years of schooling, according to a legislative status report on the bill.
- The Ocean State’s move comes just over three months after the bill was introduced and brings to 44 the total number of states and territories, including Puerto Rico, that have eased CPA certification rules since early last year, according to Robert Pawlewicz, associate professor of accounting at the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia.
- “I'm not sure exactly what about [the] RI legislature made their process move so quickly…MA, MI, and DC are moving at a glacial pace,” Pawlewicz said in an email Friday. But “in the aggregate, the opening of the 120-credit hour pathway to a CPA license has moved at an unbelievable pace.”
Dive Insight:
With the new law now in place, Rhode Island has updated the state’s public accountancy act to be consistent with the ninth edition of the Uniform Accountancy Act issued by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, according to Billtrack50.com, a legislative tracking platform.
Dubbed the “bachelor’s plus two,” the alternative path to licensure included in the UAA updated last summer requires candidates to complete both a bachelor’s degree which typically requires 120 credit hours and two years of professional experience, as well as pass the CPA exam.
For decades the standard licensure pathway required candidates to complete 150 hours of college credit, one year of professional experience and also pass the CPA exam.
The initiative to add the option has gained nationwide momentum since early last year as the accounting industry has sought to address an accounting shortage by easing the educational requirements for licensing.
A person who answered the phone at McKee’s office Friday declined to comment on the bill, and a spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Keep up with CPA licensure changes by accessing CFO Dive’s tracker on the topic here.
