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MNCPA PERSPECTIVES

Broadening the path to CPA licensure

January 31, 2023  |  Linda Wedul, CAE

Broadening the path to CPA licensure Last month, MNCPA members received an email that the MNCPA board approved moving forward with drafting legislation to broaden the path to CPA licensure in Minnesota. This was a significant decision and made after nearly two years of discussions. Conversations often focused on the decreasing number of accounting graduates taking the CPA exam and the declining number of students enrolling in an accounting degree program.
 
The decision was driven by member feedback, which has increased in frequency and intensity about the shrinking CPA pipeline. We heard many supportive comments about our licensure initiative. There are also questions about how this initiative will address practice mobility and substantial equivalency across state lines. There are risks to making changes and we will work to mitigate and reduce those risks as this process unfolds.
 
As we listen to comments from stakeholders, there are some points that we want to clarify.
  1. The MNCPA does not believe that legislation to broaden the licensing requirements is a magic solution and candidates will flock to the CPA exam. It is one part of a multi-layered campaign to promote the accounting profession and make it an attractive career choice to students.
  2. The MNCPA initiative does not eliminate 150-college credit hours with one year of work experience as a path to licensure. That should remain an option for candidates who have the means and time to take the additional credits.
  3. The MNCPA initiative does not lower the bar to become a CPA. More than 40 states allow candidates to sit the for the CPA exam with 120 college credits. The CPA exam, which all candidates must pass, is the unifying qualification to become a CPA. Additionally, all states have education, ethics and work experience with varying requirements.
  4. Each state determines their rules to become a CPA, maintain a CPA certificate and regulate the activities of CPAs. While there is a set of model rules, no state has fully adopted them and there currently exists a variety of differences between states. For example, some states require a candidate to have 150 college credits before sitting for the exam. Most allow sitting with only 120 college credits. Even with this difference, states are considered substantially equivalent.
The MNCPA is committed to upholding the reputation of CPAs and the financial stability they bring to small businesses, communities and families. Stay tuned as this conversation continues.
 

Learn more about this initiative

The MNCPA introduced legislation (HF 1749 and SF 1660) in February 2023 to consider broadening the pathways to CPA licensure. The legislation was advocated for and supported by the MNCPA board after years of discussion with members concerning the ongoing CPA pipeline concerns.

Learn more about broadening the pathways to CPA licensure.

 

Topics: Legislative & Government Affairs, Staffing, Succession, MNCPA Programs & Activities, Reputation

Linda Wedul, CAE

Linda Wedul is president and CEO of the MNCPA. She’s usually spotted at MNCPA events, introducing herself to members with a warm smile and memorable laugh. Mixed among the Footnotes, accounting journals, leadership books and three monitors in her office, you’d be surprised to see a dog kennel. Her unpaid job is volunteering as a foster family for service dogs in training through Can-Do-Canines. She and her husband have two adult children and live in Farmington. Linda can be reached at 952-885-5516 or lwedul@mncpa.org.

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