Our ongoing work across key issues

Editor’s note: This new recurring column looks at the AICPA’s advocacy on behalf of members and the profession. The author is executive vice president, Advocacy, for the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, representing AICPA and CIMA.

Advocacy remains a defining function of the AICPA and CIMA, helping to shape policy decisions that affect accountants, their clients and companies, and the broader public interest. Across tax, accounting and auditing, global standard setting, and state-level legislative arenas, the AICPA and CIMA continue to engage policymakers and regulators on issues that influence how the profession serves the economy. While recent advocacy wins — such as preserving the ability for pass-through entities to deduct state and local taxes, allowing 529’s to be used for post-secondary education (such as CPA Exam prep, taking the CPA Exam and CPE), and narrowing BOI/AML rules — underscore the impact of this work, much of the focus today is on sustained, forward-looking engagement as implementation challenges and new proposals emerge.

TAX: NAVIGATING COMPLEXITY AND IMPLEMENTATION

U.S. tax policy continues to evolve rapidly, and AICPA tax advocacy is increasingly centered on implementation, administrability, and taxpayer service. Following significant federal tax legislation enacted in 2025, the AICPA has concentrated on working with various government agencies, including Treasury and the IRS, by submitting comment letters and meeting with agency officials to clarify rules, request transition relief, and recommend practical guidance. The goal is to reduce ambiguity and ensure that new and revised provisions are administrable for taxpayers and practitioners.

A central theme in U.S. tax advocacy is improving IRS processes and service. The AICPA has long supported the IRS’s efforts to modernize its systems, and we continue to advocate for policies that reflect the AICPA’s Guiding Principles of Good Tax Policy, which emphasize simplicity, transparency, and fairness, among other principles. Legislative efforts such as the proposed Taxpayer Assistance and Service (TAS) Act reflect these priorities by seeking to strengthen taxpayer rights, improve dispute resolution, and enhance the effectiveness of the IRS’s independent oversight functions. Beyond these initiatives, the AICPA continues to advocate on issues such as disaster tax relief, research-and-development expenditures, employee benefits, pass-through entities, international tax-related issues, and information reporting, which similarly reflect an emphasis on reducing compliance burdens while maintaining integrity in the tax system. As regulatory projects and new legislative proposals continue to emerge, the AICPA remains focused on providing technical input grounded in member experience.

ENGAGING IN GLOBAL ADVOCACY

As business becomes increasingly complex and global, the AICPA and CIMA participate in discussions with various international standard setters that support high-quality delivery of accounting and assurance services, including the international audit, assurance, and ethics standards boards and the international financial reporting and sustainability boards.

Engagement with these various standard-setting boards, executives from other major capital market accountancy organizations, major market regulators, and the International Federation of Accountants allows the profession’s U.S. and global perspectives to inform global policy.

Current global advocacy priorities include the development and implementation of international audit, assurance, ethics, and independence standards that are fit for purpose in a dynamic and technology-driven environment, including quality management and sustainability assurance frameworks. The AICPA and CIMA work to align international standards with the realities of practice, while supporting convergence that reduces complexity — all in a way that protects the public interest. These efforts are ongoing and iterative, reflecting the long timelines associated with global standard setting and adoption.

DEFENDING LICENSURE AND MODERNIZING PATHWAYS

During the first quarter, the AICPA’s state advocacy team focused on partnering with state CPA societies to address legislative and regulatory challenges affecting the profession. This included supporting states in adopting additional pathways to CPA licensure and countering proposals that would have undermined CPA licensure and professional standards.

CPA licensure flexibility advanced, with more than 30 states passing new education pathways by adding a bachelor’s degree option to licensure with two years of supervised experience. Additionally, the joint AICPA and NASBA Uniform Accountancy Act Committee reviewed topics including the definition of attest, the use of the CPA title, and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). The AICPA and NASBA also formed a CPE task force to evaluate and recommend updates to the profession’s continuing education framework. This work will continue this year.

A SUSTAINED PRESENCE ON CAPITOL HILL

At the federal level, legislative advocacy remains a constant, long-term effort. Advocacy priorities often span multiple sessions of Congress, particularly when legislation requires technical refinement or faces shifting political dynamics.

Current legislative advocacy aims to ensure that accounting expertise is recognized in policymaking. This includes support for legislation such as the proposed Simplify Automatic Filing Extensions Act, which seeks to provide a safe harbor when filing individual tax extensions, as well as continued engagement on education policy issues involving the U.S. Department of Education. The AICPA has emphasized the importance of aligning education policy with workforce needs, including through recognition of accounting as a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) field.

The AICPA strongly supports bipartisan, bicameral legislation (H.R. 2911/S. 3784) to allow the addition of accounting education to STEM curricula for K-12 students, which would help reinforce the relationship between accounting and technology while exposing more students to potential careers in accounting, growing the profession’s pipeline.

The AICPA recently reaffirmed its strong, long-standing support of the proposed Fiscal State of the Nation Act. If approved, the bill would require budget committees from both chambers of Congress to schedule an annual presentation by the comptroller general of the United States to examine the audited financial statement of the executive branch. This bipartisan legislation would promote greater fiscal transparency and help key policymakers focus on some of the most important aspects of the consolidated financial statements.

A 2025 survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the AICPA showed that Americans want Congress to have the best information when making important fiscal decisions for our country. According to the survey, 81% of Americans agree they would support an annual report to Congress provided by the comptroller on the audited financial statements of the nation, with 38% indicating they strongly agree.

LOOKING AHEAD

Across all areas, advocacy is increasingly about persistence and partnership. Implementation of recent laws and standards will continue to require input from the profession, while new proposals are already emerging at the federal, state, and international levels. For CPAs, these efforts underscore how advocacy supports not only professional interests but also the public interest by promoting quality, transparency, and trust in financial information. As the policy landscape evolves, the AICPA and CIMA’s advocacy work remains a core element of how the profession’s voice is heard.

To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Jeff Drew at Jeff.Drew@aicpa-cima.com.