CPA licensure update: Uniform Accountancy Act changes proposed

The AICPA and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) are seeking input on proposed changes to the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) that would pave the way for states to adopt an additional pathway for CPA licensure.

The UAA provides state legislatures and boards of accountancy with a national model designed to protect the public, as well as mobility and the rigor of CPA licensure.

The changes are being proposed to accommodate state adoption of the CPA Competency-Based Experience Pathway, a program currently open for public comment that, if approved, would increase flexibility for CPA candidates by adding a series of professional and technical competencies that can be achieved in lieu of the final 30 credit hours in the current 150-credit-hours model.

The AICPA and NASBA boards of directors each approved for exposure changes to the UAA that would:

• Specify the education required to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination;  

• Define the requirements for an additional pathway for licensure as a CPA;  

• Retain mobility for those licensed under a pathway defined in the UAA; and  

• Provide a mechanism for those who are licensed under a pathway that is not defined in the UAA but who later meet the mobility requirements defined in the UAA.

Separately, NASBA’s board of directors approved for exposure UAA Model Rule changes updating the definitions to reflect the additional pathway for licensure and the experience required for the issuance of an initial certificate under the proposed additional pathway.

The AICPA and NASBA are seeking comments on the proposed UAA changes through Dec. 30.

Comments on the CPA Competency-Based Experience Pathway are being accepted through Dec. 6.

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