AICPA, NASBA approve new CPA licensure path

The boards of directors of the AICPA and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) approved an expansion of accountancy’s model legislation to include an additional path to CPA licensure.

The approved amendments to the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) add the option to earn CPA licensure with a bachelor’s degree, two years of professional experience, and passage of the CPA Exam.

The UAA will continue to allow CPA licensure with one year of experience, passage of the CPA Exam, and either a bachelor’s degree with 30 additional credit hours or a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree. All paths require an accounting concentration at either the undergraduate or graduate level.

The new pathway, proposed in March, will be included in an amended UAA to be released early this summer.

Changes to the UAA also include:
 

• A shift from state-based mobility to an individual-based practice privilege that maintains a CPA’s ability to practice across state lines with one license.
• The addition of safe-harbor language that allows CPAs who were licensed under differing education, experience, and exam requirements as of Dec. 31, 2024, to continue to have practice privileges under mobility.

“By aligning our model legislative framework with the laws recently adopted in certain states, we’re encouraging removal of outdated barriers and reaffirming our commitment to a truly mobile CPA profession,” Sue Coffey, CPA, CGMA, CEO–Public Accounting of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, said in a news release. “Businesses today demand seamless practice across state lines, and this action provides legislators and regulators with a model under which CPAs can meet that need without disruption. This is how we protect the public while keeping the profession strong, relevant, and ready for what’s next.”

The UAA, jointly published by the AICPA and NASBA, provides state legislatures and state boards of accountancy with a national model that can be adopted in whole or in part to meet the needs of each individual jurisdiction. The updated UAA, according to the news release, maintains that oversight and disciplinary authority over licensees continues with state boards of accountancy.

“NASBA and boards of accountancy remain committed to maintaining public protection while implementing these changes to the UAA,” NASBA President and CEO Daniel J. Dustin, CPA, said in the release. “We will continue to work closely with state boards as the new pathway and changes to CPA mobility are implemented.”

According to the release, the AICPA and NASBA will continue to assist CPAs with navigating practice mobility as states enact legislation.

The new pathway incorporates a broader role for professional experience to be determined at the jurisdiction level. Individual states will need to formally enact legislation and/or adopt rules and regulations, depending on the jurisdiction, before candidates can pursue this path. To date, 14 states have done so.

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

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