Dive Brief:

• The Council of the District of Columbia, in a unanimous vote Tuesday, advanced bill (26-494), which will establish an alternative path to becoming a certified public accountant that requires a bachelor’s degree, two years of experience and passing the CPA exam. 
• The move, which must still be reviewed by District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and then Congress before becoming law, positions the district to join a large majority of states that have established the less costly third route to certification in an effort to reverse a decline in students choosing to go into the profession.
• Like many other jurisdictions that have put new rules on the books, the district’s third pathway requires an extra year of professional experience in place of 150 college credits — typically the equivalent of five years of post-secondary education.

Dive Insight:

Since early last year, about 44 states in addition to Puerto Rico have put similar CPA licensing changes on their books, according to Robert Pawlewicz, accounting department chair at the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business.

He expects Michigan and Massachusetts to get their CPA pathways legislation on the books this year and for North Dakota, Florida, Maine and Wyoming to do so by the end of next year.

“All told, we have seen progress at amazing speed with regard to the 120-credit hour pathway (especially with the [American Institute of Certified Public Accountants] signing on and the change to the UAA), and I don't see anything derailing the last few states from following suit,” Pawlewicz said in an email. 

While any laws Washington, D.C. passes must be reviewed by the mayor and then Congress, Pawlewicz doesn’t expect U.S. lawmakers to hold up the bill since their constituent states have mostly made the change already. 

The bill was backed and introduced by Bowser, according to the legislative website and a November letter penned by the mayor to Phil Mendelson, chair of the Council of the District of Columbia. 

“The cost of education, particularly obtaining a master’s degree, has been a deterrent for some who may otherwise want to become a licensed CPA. Further, there has been a decline in licensed CPAs across the country, including in the District,” Bowser wrote in the letter. “This legislation would address this.” 

A spokesperson for Bowser declined to comment on the bill beyond the mayor’s letter detailing it.