Pathways bill advances in the Minnesota Senate
March 14, 2025 | Corey Butler
Senate File 1536 passed its first hurdle Friday in the Minnesota Senate.
This MNCPA-backed bill creates
additional pathways to CPA licensure and automatic mobility. It was laid over by the Senate State and Local Government Committee for possible inclusion in the omnibus bill, which is a large bill that includes many smaller bills covering a range of policies.
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 who provide critical financial services and advice to communities, businesses and individuals.
“I hear this from nonprofits, townships, small cities in the districts that I represent that they are having a tough time finding CPAs to do the critical work they need in the community,” said Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, chief author of the Senate bill.
Watch the Senate committee hearing
Testimony supporting SF1536 was provided by a number of people, including Cap O’Rourke, executive director, 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.”
Boz Bostrom, CPA, MNCPA board chair and assistant professor at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University, brought an educator’s perspective to the Capitol.
“The demand for accountants continues to rise … but those taking CPA exams in the past six years have decreased by 30%,” he said.
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 Bostrom.
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.
The House companion bill,
HF 1458, will be heard 8:15 a.m. Tuesday, March 18, in the House State and Local Government Finance and Policy Committee. The bill is co-authored by seven representatives — a mix of Republicans and DFLers.
The MNCPA will continue to update you as these bills progress through the Minnesota Legislature.
Topics: Legislative & Government Affairs, MNCPA Programs & Activities
Corey Butler
Corey Butler is the MNCPA communications manager, working to enhance the professional reputations of members through content, media relations and public affairs. He's been with the MNCPA since 2013. Corey keeps busy outside of the MNCPA spending time with his wife and children, serving on his local school board, volunteering in his community and catching up on long-lost hobbies. Corey enjoys the works of John Steinbeck and Rankin/Bass Productions, and Paul Bunyan, Robin Hood and Santa Claus lore. You may reach him at 952-885-5530 or cbutler@mncpa.org.
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