Minnesota pathways bills move closer to law
April 11, 2025 | Geno Fragnito
The clock is ticking as the Minnesota House and Senate on Thursday advanced the MNCPA-backed legislation for
additional pathways to CPA licensure and automatic mobility.
House File 1458 was included as part of the House omnibus bill as it moves to the Ways and Means Committee.
Senate File 1536 was inserted into the Senate omnibus bill, which now heads to the Senate Finance Committee. An omnibus bill is a large bill that includes many smaller bills covering a range of policies, a now-common tool used in the Minnesota Legislature most years.
Both pathways bills have broad bipartisan support.
Stephanie Markert, CPA, MNCPA member and principal with CliftonLarsonAllen LLP in the firm’s Minneapolis office, previously told the House committee that passing this bill is critical for the profession’s future and meeting the community’s needs.
“The demand for CPA services is growing while the supply of CPAs is shrinking,” she told the committee.
While we were hopeful the bills advanced to the full House and Senate were individual bills, being included in the omnibus bill is still a positive step forward.
Watch the House committee hearing
Declining high school graduation sizes, increasing demand for CPAs, increasing retirements and a declining number of candidates sitting for the CPA exam are converging to severely restrict the number of CPAs available to provide critical financial services and advice to communities, businesses and individuals.
Testimony supporting SF 1536 was provided by a number of people this legislative session, including Cap O’Rourke, executive director of the Minnesota Association of Small Cities.
“We have this growing issue of communities not being able to access CPAs and get their services taken care of,” he told the committee.
Minnesota State Auditor Julie Blaha agreed.
“The shortage of CPAs and finance staff is at a crisis point in the U.S. right now,” she said. “At least once a week, we get a panic call from a local entity who cannot find an auditor to meet statutory requirements.”
Watch the Senate committee hearing
What the bills do
The legislation would create
additional pathways to CPA licensure by allowing for a bachelor’s degree along with two years of general work experience or a master’s degree with one year of general work experience; this would join the current path of 150 hours and one year of general work experience. None of the education and experience paths would change the requirement to pass the CPA exam. A candidate must pass the exam to become licensed — the ultimate bar to enter the profession.
“Students are recognizing that the CPA is the gold standard, but many simply can’t afford to take that extra year, time or money in order to earn those extra credits,” said Boz Bostrom, outgoing MNCPA board chair and an accounting professor at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University.
An extra year of on-the-job training is more valuable than the additional credits, he said.
The legislation also includes automatic mobility and changing the regulations to make the Minnesota Board of
Accountancy the entity determining substantial equivalency, not NASBA’s National Quality Appraisal Service (NQAS).
“This bill is crucial for licensing, workforce development and public protection,” said testifier Samantha Metcalf, CPA, managing principal of Minneapolis’ CliftonLarsonAllen LLP’s office.
What’s next
The session adjourns May 19. The House and Senate must come to an agreement on their omnibus bills, which happens through a conference committee, before receiving a full vote in either chamber. It will be a busy month ahead.
Elsewhere, Ohio, Utah and Virginia
signed into law this year additional pathways. Legislators in Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Montana and New Mexico have passed similar legislation that awaits their respective governors’ signatures to become law. More than two dozen other states have introduced legislation or plans to do so in the coming years.
The MNCPA will continue to update you as these bills progress through the Minnesota Legislature.
We need your help today
While the committees’ actions this week are a great step toward our bill passing this session, legislators still need to hear from you about this important legislation. Please contact your representatives and senators and ask them to support
HF 2783 and
SF 3045, which now contain CPA licensure changes to support the talent pipeline, businesses and public protection.
Learn more about this CPA pathways initiative
Do you want to learn more about this effort? You can keep up with the evolving conversation by visiting the MNCPA’s webpage about the broadening pathways to CPA licensure initiative.
VISIT CPA PATHWAYS PAGE
Topics: Legislative & Government Affairs, MNCPA Programs & Activities
Geno Fragnito
Geno Fragnito is the MNCPA government relations director, advocating on behalf of the CPA profession. His days consist of last-minute meeting changes, building relationships with lawmakers, helping CPAs navigate state government, and putting in more than 15,000 steps per day walking the halls of the Capitol. Geno unwinds with a little golf and traveling with his family. If he weren’t a lobbyist, Geno would perfect his cast and be a professional fisherman. Geno can be reached at 952-885-5550 or gfragnito@mncpa.org.
Blog Posts by this author
