Broadening pathways to CPA licensure update
| February/March 2025 Footnote
The Minnesota Legislature convened last month for the start of its new two-year biennium. With it came an air of uncertainty as the power of balance between DFLers and Republicans is still being decided in both the House and Senate.
No matter how the Legislature’s final makeup looks in the coming weeks, the MNCPA has been working to get its bill authors and supporters in line and will reintroduce a bill to broaden the pathways to CPA licensure. Since the MNCPA introduced the first bill in the nation in early 2023 to address the CPA pipeline, more than two dozen states — both state societies and boards of accountancy — across the U.S. started their own conversations about making changes. In January, Ohio signed into law a bill that adds new pathways to licensure, while also cementing automatic mobility. In recent weeks, Florida, Oregon, Maryland, Indiana, Texas, Utah and Virginia all introduced similar legislation to Ohio.
The 2025 Minnesota bill includes updated language, mirroring peer bills in the other states. Among those are adding pathways by allowing candidates to earn a bachelor’s degree with two years’ work experience or a master’s degree with one year of experience. These two pathways would be in addition to the current 150-credit rule. The bill also calls for automatic mobility with other states, addressing one of the bigger hurdles in this monumental conversation.
State societies and boards of accountancy are not the only entities in this discussion. A joint proposal from NASBA and the AICPA calls for a CPA competency-based experience pathway framework, though the MNCPA, like most other states in their exposure draft comments, said this approach adds additional administrative overhead and complicates what can be a more efficient, equitable process.
Additionally, there is proposed new language for the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA), model language for states boards to use as a guide in modifying state statutes and rules. Similarly, Minnesota and a majority of other states offered critical feedback to this proposal, saying it misses the mark and doesn’t include automatic mobility.
Lastly, if you haven’t seen the MNCPA Broadening Pathways to CPA Licensure webpage, now is the perfect time to get familiar with it. In addition to explaining the pipeline challenges, sharing the timeline of how we got here and hosting the MNCPA’s comment letters, the page also tracks progress in other states. It’s an easy one-stop shop to stay current on the pathways discussion as it develops throughout the country, and particularly in Minnesota.
Visit the Broadening Pathways to CPA Licensure page:
www.mncpa.org/cpa-pathways
