Dive Brief:

• The Washington State Board of Accountancy has adopted new rules establishing an alternative route to getting a certified public accountant license that doesn’t require candidates to complete 150 hours of college credit — which typically equates to five years of post-secondary education or college, according tot he Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants.
• The new path substitutes an additional year of experience for the extra year of college that has previously been required, paving the way for students to become certified by obtaining a bachelor’s degree, passing the CPA exam and completing two years of work experience. The change is poised to take effect as early as next month, or 31 days following the filing of the rule change, according to Mike Nelson, manager of government affairs for the WSCPA.
• “There’s obviously excitement among current students and [CPA] candidates,” Nelson said in an interview Friday, noting that the new pathway requirements could go into effect around the Thanksgiving holiday. If that timing holds, “students can get a nice little break and go back to school realizing that as soon as they graduate with a bachelor’s degree they can take the [CPA] test.” 

Dive Insight:

Washington brings to at least 23 the number of states that have put new rules or laws in place providing alternative routes for obtaining a CPA license that do not include 150 college credit hours — a requirement that has been seen by critics as a contributor to an accounting talent shortage. New York has passed CPA pathways legislation but it is still awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature, according to the legislature’s website. 

“I’m happy to see it,” Robert Pawlewicz, an assistant professor in accounting at the University of Richmond, said of Washington state’s action, in an email Friday. “I have WA as the 24th state, including NY, even though the bill there has yet to be signed into law...MI started their bill in the state legislature in September so they will likely finish this year, as well.”  

Washington is one of a handful of states that made the final change through its board of accountancy rather than directly through the state legislature. Still, it required action by Washington lawmakers last year, which passed legislation (HB 1920-2023-2024) modifying the state’s public accountancy act, according to Nelson. 

Previous to the legislative changes, the BOA controlled CPA licensing rules related to education and the exam but not the experience component, Nelson said. Once the law transferred control of the third piece to the BOA, it was able to make the change to add new licensing pathways. 

“We were aware that changes were probably on the horizon so we had talked to our legislature about making it so all three of the [requirements] were under the Board of Accountancy,” Nelson said, noting that that action was done to speed up the process since it can be slower getting changes through Washington’s part-time legislature. “You have a short window to do anything.” 

In all Washington’s new rules provide for three paths to the CPA. In addition to the new route requiring two years of experience, through 2035 the state will effectively retain the existing 150-hour pathway, albeit slightly revised, according to a WSCPA blog post. It will now require candidates to complete a bachelor’s degree plus 30 semester hours, one year of experience and passing the CPA exam. A third path would entail a graduate degree such as a master’s, one year of work experience and passing the CPA exam. 

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