Illinois lawmakers passed legislation that provides alternative licensure paths to become a certified public accountant, with the state Senate on Thursday unanimously passing House Bill 2459 by a vote of 58-0, according to the Illinois General Assembly’s website. The bill still needs to be signed by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. 

Similar to many other states aiming to draw more people into the profession, the Illinois bill offers a new licensure route that doesn’t include a requirement for 150 hours of college credit. Under the rules in the legislation, a CPA candidate could get licensed by completing a bachelor’s degree with an emphasis on accounting and two years of experience, along with passing the CPA exam. 

The bill, which amends the Illinois Public Accounting Act, is set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2027, a full year later than similar legislation in Ohio and six months after Iowa’s pathway bill’s start date. The later date allows time to establish new administrative rules needed to implement the changes, according to Martin Green, senior vice president and legislative counsel for the Illinois CPA Society, which supports the changes. “We wanted to do it right,” he said in an interview. 

Since late last year, at least 17 states and counting have passed legislation to change their CPA licensure rules. That growing list includes Ohio, Virginia, Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa, Montana, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii and now Illinois.  

The intent behind the legislative changes is an aim to remove or provide an alternative to the previously standard path to licensure that requires 150 hours of college credit, one year of professional experience, and passing the CPA exam. Proponents of the new laws in the accounting industry hope to ease an accounting talent shortage by removing the 150 hour requirement, which they say is a costly barrier that typically equates to a total of five years in college or graduate school. 

Some states, like Illinois, are leaving the existing set of requirements in place but providing two other options, including getting a master’s degree with a concentration in accounting, completing one year of relevant work experience and passing the exam, as well as the bachelor’s degree route. There are some signs that the effort could be putting pressure on states that want their accounting profession to remain competitive. 

“As states in the Midwest and across the nation move forward with their own legislation to protect and grow their CPA ranks, passage of this legislation is an important step in keeping Illinois’ CPAs at the forefront of the national business landscape; protecting the needs of our state’s businesses, nonprofits, and units of government; and ensuring there’s a pipeline of next-generation accounting talent ready to step up to serve,” ICPAS President and CEO Geoffrey Brown said in a statement included in a release. 

Still, Green cautioned that students and schools in Illinois should not yet shift the course of their studies or curriculum, respectively, as the legislation is not retroactive and it could take additional time beyond the effective date for the rules to be formally put in place.

“Students and professors have called and they [ask if they] can start this now and we say, ‘No, there are no rules in place,’” Green said. “If you’re an accounting student, it’s not ripe for you to be looking at this.”

While over a dozen states have passed legislation easing the path to getting a certified public accountant license in recent months, Florida’s initiative has been sidelined after getting stalled by a broader deregulation bill. 

The Sunshine State’s initial CPA bill CS/SB 160 and its companion HB 133, would have added a new route to becoming a certified public accountant that doesn’t require 150 hours of college credit, effectively 30 hours beyond the typical bachelor’s degree amounting to a fifth year of college education. The bill would permit licensure for candidates in the state who obtain a bachelor’s in accounting/finance, two years of experience and pass the CPA exam. But on May 3 it was “indefinitely posted and withdrawn from consideration,” according to the Florida Senate website. 

Instead, the bill was added to a controversial piece of legislation that would eliminate continuing education standards for CPAs, along with other professions such as engineers and architects, according to Shelly Weir, president and CEO of the Florida Institute of CPAs.

Exceeding 500 pages, the expansive deregulatory legislation, (HB 991) that was combined into SB110, would also get rid of professional and occupational boards, including the Florida Board of Accountancy, moving the responsibilities to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, according to the FICPA.

“Unfortunately, in the Florida House, FICPA’s own priority legislation (which centered on expanding licensure pathways, introducing automobility and streamlining components of the licensure process) was placed into the larger de-regulation bill with the components we opposed that would be catastrophic to the profession,” Weir wrote in an emailed response to questions.  

FICPA strongly opposed the deregulation legislation despite the inclusion of the CPA pathways options that it supported, Weir said. For now, while the deregulation bill did not pass the Senate, the Florida legislative session has been extended to June 6 and the bill still could advance this year, according to FICPA.

The association said it is closely monitoring the situation. “This proposal admirably aims to cut red tape, but goes too far by eliminating continuing education standards that are critical to professional development and alignment with national standards,” Weir wrote in a post on Florida Politics, noting that the CPA professional group is pro-business and supports efficiencies. “High-impact, technical professions require education and strong, efficient peer oversight from their peer Boards for good reason. Rigorous standards exist to protect the public from substandard work.”

Weir recently shared her views on her organization’s view of the CPA legislation and its prospects for passing in written responses to emailed questions from CFO Dive’s Maura Webber Sadovi. The exchange has been edited for clarity and brevity. 

CFO Dive: Did FICPA support the CPA pathways bill (CS/SB 160) and what are the prospects for the initiative?

Shelly Weir: Yes, SB 160 by [Florida State Sen. Joe Gruters] and its companion measure (HB 133) were both FICPA priority legislation. We strongly supported these bills and the transformational positive change that the new pathways, automobility, and overall streamlining within the licensure process would bring to Florida CPAs and businesses. The bill and new concepts for pathways was very well received in the legislature. In fact, SB 160 was one of the fastest moving bills in the legislature, passing all committees of reference and passing the full Senate unanimously on March 19. We were having very productive and positive conversations with the House about a path forward to get SB 160 passed when the larger deregulation issue emerged, shifting the conversation and advocacy efforts to that issue for the final weeks of session. Unfortunately, the very good policies in SB 160 will not pass this year, but given the positive reception by the legislature, we are very optimistic that we can get it done in the next legislative session. 

CFO Dive: What is the relationship between the deregulation legislation that would abolish the state’s Board of Accountancy that FICPA is fighting and the CPA pathways bill? 

Shelly Weir: The FICPA is strongly opposed to the proposals to eliminate all licensing boards under DBPR, including the Board of Accountancy, and eliminate all continuing education for all professions and trades under DBPR, including CPAs...While we supported the good parts of the bill (i.e. the expanded pathways and mobility provisions), the good did not outweigh the bad. This in turn, caused the FICPA to have to ultimately oppose the bill in its entirety and put the full weight of our advocacy program behind protecting the profession from deregulation. We look forward to working with the legislature to get the new pathways, automatic mobility, and the self-identified streamlining efforts within the licensure process to the finish line next year.  

CFO Dive: Decades ago, Florida was one of the first states to establish the 150-college credit hour requirement for CPA licensure. How did FICPA’s recent support for changing CPA licensure requirements evolve? 

Shelly Weir: The filing of SB 160 and HB 133 to expand licensure pathways in Florida was the culmination of a multi-year effort to both educate our members on the issue at hand as well as capture their feedback. Between July 1 and Nov. 1, 2024, FICPA met privately with 76 office managing partners representing the Big 4, G400 group, regional firms, and small firms. We also conducted student focus groups, had joint meetings with the accounting program leadership of all major public and private universities in Florida, and held regional Town Halls with members from Jacksonville to Miami. At each step along the way, we had thoughtful dialogue with both our FICPA Board of Directors and the Florida Board of Accountancy. Lastly, we reviewed third party research that has been conducted on both the identified barriers and proposed solutions to the CPA talent shortage prior to drafting our legislation. 

Prior to filing legislation, FICPA also launched the Bridge to CPA program — a first of its kind program that allows aspiring CPAs to enroll in the AACSB-accredited Macc program at Nova Southeastern University at no cost and no debt to the student. FICPA is committed to being future-focused and solution driven in our efforts to strengthen the accounting pipeline.

Lawmakers in Minnesota — initially a pioneer among states in 2023 when it sought to change licensure requirements for certified public accountants — passed an omnibus bill (Senate File 3045) late Monday night that includes legislation creating a new route to becoming a CPA that doesn’t require 150 college credit hours, according to a blog post from Geno Fragnito, government relations director for the Minnesota Society of CPAs.   

Effective Jan. 1, 2026, the legislation, which still needs to be signed into law by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, creates two new routes to licensure, both of which require passage of the CPA exam. One path requires a bachelor’s degree plus two years of experience and a second permits licensure with a master’s degree and one year of experience. The current pathway, which requires 150 hours of college credit that is effectively a fifth year of college, one year of professional experience and passing the CPA exam, will sunset after June 30, 2030.  

“It’s been a journey and there’s been some twists and turns along the way but it’s really gratifying to see a lot of other people and states have similar concerns,” Eric O’Link, board chair of the Minnesota Society of CPAs that has backed the law, told CFO Dive. “I’m just really excited to see more people coming into accounting now that we’ve taken a barrier away in terms of removing that extra year of school.” 

The accounting talent shortage remains a key issue for finance chiefs. In addition to the accounting industry’s push to change the rules for becoming a CPA, some CFOs are also taking matters into their own hands and combating the labor issue by increasingly taking a bigger hiring role, in some cases acting like a chief human resources officers for finance, in order to staff their teams, according to a recent study from Deloitte. 

The push to change licensure rules appears to be gaining momentum this year. In recent months at least 13 states, including South Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Tennessee, Iowa, Georgia, Indiana, Utah, Montana, Virginia, Hawaii, Ohio and New Mexico, have passed new laws easing the path to CPA, CFO Dive previously reported. 

Not all legislation is sailing through state legislatures. Florida’s CPA bill has stalled and is not expected to pass this year, according to Shelly Weir, president of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Meanwhile both chambers of state legislatures in Nevada and Alaska have approved similar CPA bills although there may be additional sign off needed for official passage, according to Corey Butler, a spokesperson for the MNCPA, which is closely tracking the bills. 

“We kind of kicked it off and had initial pushback and opposition,” Fragnito said, noting that last year marked a key sea change in terms of how the initiative was viewed by the industry, with the momentum starting to grow as the pathways initiative was recognized as something that was in the public interest.

In the fall two staunch opponents of the initiative aligned behind it, with the American Institute of CPAs and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy shifting to support alternative pathways to licensure. Last week the associations formalized their support, approving model legislation that states can follow to change their CPA licensure laws, CFO Dive previously reported.

One of the associations’ key concerns was the impact the changes would have on so-called mobility, which is the ability for CPAs to work outside the state they are licensed in. The AICPA’s model legislation includes a shift from state-based mobility to an individual-based “practice privilege” that they assert maintains a CPA’s ability to work across state lines with a single license. 

South Carolina and Oregon bring to over a dozen the number of states that have recently passed legislation providing alternative paths to becoming a licensed certified public accountant that don’t include 150 college credit hours. 

In a unanimous vote Wednesday the Oregon Senate passed Senate Bill 797, which enables accountants to become licensed with a bachelor’s degree, two years of professional experience and passage of the CPA exam. The bill leaves in place the existing route requiring 150 hours of college credit, one year of experience and passage of the exam. The bill must still be signed into law. 

On Monday, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed similar CPA pathways legislation, Senate Bill 176, into law. The new law, effective June 30, allows CPA candidates to be licensed with a bachelor’s degree that includes certain business and accounting courses, two years of professional experience and passage of the exam and it increases the time candidates have to pass all four exam sections to 36 months from 18.  

The two states are the latest to pass legislation that gives students additional paths to CPA licensure, with many now requiring an additional year of professional experience in the industry rather than an additional 30 hours of education. The 150 hour credit requirement has been viewed by many as a barrier into the profession as it typically requires students to complete five years of college. 

In recent months Texas, Tennessee, Iowa, Georgia, Indiana, Utah, Montana, Virginia, Hawaii, Ohio and New Mexico have passed new laws easing the path to CPA licensure. The patchwork of regulations is energizing some who hope it will draw a new generation into the profession while also leaving some accounting students confused about the range of requirements they would need depending on where they land work.  

“For [students] there’s a lot of confusion and they wish all the states would just turn the switch on or off,” Jack Castonguay, an associate professor of accounting at Hofstra University in New York, told CFO Dive in an interview. Still, many more states are moving to change their requirements and as the initiatives gain a critical mass of roughly 24 states, Castonguay expects other states will come off the sidelines.

“Once you start getting another 10 to a dozen, if you’re a state that’s holding out you’re now going to be at a competitive disadvantage,” Castonguay said. 

In addition to states, the accounting industry itself has fallen in line largely behind the push for a new licensure structure.

On Wednesday, the American Institute of CPAs and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy announced that their boards approved a change of model legislation that maps out an alternative path to CPA licensure that doesn’t include the extra 30 hours of college credit beyond a bachelor’s degree. The move is part of the formalization of the AICPA and NASB’s pivot to support a change in licensure to remove some of the barriers into the profession that took hold last year, CFO Dive previously reported.

The AICPA’s final model law is a revamped version of an earlier proposal; it no longer includes a requirement that evaluators verify candidates have “competencies” in professional areas such as ethical behavior and critical thinking as well as in technical areas such as audit, assurance, tax and financial reporting. Earlier this year the AICPA said it removed the competencies framework after getting feedback from some members who raised questions about such issues as the liability to which the system might subject evaluators, CFO Dive previously reported. 

But even as the legislation is moving forward, there are still come critics who are concerned that the eased education requirements could lower accounting standards in the profession. Castonguay, who supports the push for alternative paths, says that debate won’t likely be settled anytime soon though those on both sides of the issue will be watching the CPA exam pass rates and enrollment levels in college accounting programs to gauge the impact.  

While proponents of the 150-hour-college credit requirement say it raises the quality of accounting services, a study last year found scant evidence, asserting that the institution of the rule in recent decades has led to a decline in the number of licensed Black and Hispanic accountants, CFO Dive previously reported. 

For his part, Castonguay believes in the alternative paths because he said the current system limits the number of students that choose the profession in part because it doesn’t offer competitive entry-level salaries to compensate for the additional educational costs and onerous exam. 

“We can’t make the firms pay students more but one thing we can do is change the rules,” Castonguay said. Mean starting salaries for accounting and related services majors in 2022 stood at $60,698, the lowest of seven business-related majors, according to a draft report last year from the National Pipeline Advisory Group, an independent accounting industry taskforce convened by the AICPA to analyze causes and solutions for the accounting talent shortage.  

CFO Dive’s Tracking CPA licensure paths is covering the legislation as it is introduced and passed throughout the country.

Texas has become the latest state to pass legislation providing an alternative path to certified public accountant licensure that does not require 150 college credit hours, according to a Thursday post on the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants’ website.   

The legislation, aimed at drawing more new professionals into the accounting talent pipeline and easing the industry’s labor crunch, will enable CPA candidates to get licensed by completing a bachelor’s degree with an accounting concentration, two years of work experience and passing the CPA exam, according to TXCPA. 

Senate Bill 262 passed both chambers of the state legislature and is now headed to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk to be signed into law. “This game-changing legislation creates an additional pathway to CPA licensure — helping to strengthen the talent pipeline while maintaining the high standards that make CPAs trusted experts,” the Texas accounting society said in its post.

CFO Dive’s Tracking CPA licensure paths is closely watching legislation as it is introduced and passed throughout the country. While early critics of the move raised concerns such changes might lower professional standards, the initiative has gained momentum this year. 

Texas along with Tennessee, Indiana, Montana, Iowa, Georgia, Ohio, Virginia, New Mexico, Utah and Hawaii have passed laws that remove the 150-hour college credit hurdle, which is effectively a fifth year of schooling.

The Texas bill passed both the state senate and house unanimously, TXCPA said. After the act takes effect on Sept. 1, 2025, the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy will adopt rules needed to implement the changes, according to the bill. It’s not clear whether it passed on Wednesday or Thursday, according to Corey Butler, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Society of CPAs that is closely tracking state CPA pathways legislation. 

Tennessee lawmakers on Monday passed legislation that changes the state’s licensure rules for certified public accountants, adding a second path for obtaining a CPA license that requires 120 hours of college credit, two years of professional experience and the passing of the CPA exam, according to Kara Fitzgerald, president and CEO of the Tennessee Society of CPAs.

With the vote Tennessee joins a growing number of states that have passed new laws aiming to ease an accounting labor crunch by offering alternative routes to CPA licensure that remove the 150-hour college credit hurdle. Under the state’s new law the existing route that requires 150 hours of credit hours, one year of experience, and the passing of the exam will remain in place, and, in both cases, candidates must complete an accounting concentration — a certain number of accounting classes — as defined by the Tennessee State Board of Accountancy, Fitzgerald said.

“We’re not able to fill the vacancies left by the retirees and we believe this is one way, not the only way, to drive more people into accounting. I don’t think licensure should be a one-size-fits all,” Fitzgerald said in a recent interview. The CPA provisions, which would be effective Jan. 1, 2026 once signed by the governor, were part of a broader piece of legislation, the Less is More Act (SB1316 and HB1330). 

Tennessee along with Indiana, Georgia, Ohio, Virginia, New Mexico, Utah and Hawaii have passed new laws that either eliminate rules requiring 150 hours of college credit for licensure or offer an alternative licensure path that substitutes more industry experience for what is effectively a costly fifth year of college. 

CFO Dive’s Tracking CPA licensure paths is keeping a close watch on new legislation as it is introduced and passed throughout the country. While early critics of the move raised concerns such changes might lower professional standards, Fitzgerald disputed the misconception that the change is making licensure easier. 

“What we’re attempting to do is to allow for learning on the job versus a traditional academic environment,” Fitzgerald said. “I don’t think the experience component makes it easier, it’s just an alternative to the traditional learning model.”  

Iowa Senate lawmakers passed new legislation Tuesday that will allow future certified public accountant candidates to become licensed with a bachelor’s degree that includes accounting coursework, two years of accounting work experience and passing the CPA exam, according to a press release from the Iowa Society of CPAs. 

The bill next goes through a certifying process before heading to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ desk to be signed, according to the ISCPA, which backed the legislation. The newly passed legislation retains the two existing options for CPA licensure already allowed in the state, which include obtaining a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, one year of work experience and passing the CPA exam, or getting a bachelor’s, 30 additional credit hours, one year of work experience, and passing the CPA exam. 

“The additional pathway helps to remove barriers to entering the profession such as the time and cost of an extra 30 college credits while ensuring the “Four E’s” (Education, Exam, Experience and Ethics) remain essential components to the CPA designation,” the release states. 

Iowa joins a growing band of states passing new CPA licensure laws aimed at easing the accounting talent shortage, with most substituting more experience for 150 hours of college credit, which is typically a fifth year of school.

The Hawkeye State follows Indiana, Georgia, Ohio, Virginia, New Mexico, Utah and Hawaii in passing new CPA pathways legislation, according to Corey Butler, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Society of CPAs which is closely tracking the legislation. 

The shortage of qualified accountants — and the risks of reporting error that potentially stem from it — will likely persist this year despite industry efforts to widen the pipeline of talented prospects, some accounting experts forecast.

The Georgia state legislature’s Senate lawmakers on Wednesday evening passed new legislation providing alternative pathways to becoming a certified public accountant in the Peach State that don’t require 150 hours of college credit, according to Don Cook, vice president of legislative affairs for the Georgia Society of CPAs. Effectively a fifth year of college, proponents of the alternative CPA pathway initiative that is gaining momentum nationally cite the 150-hour rule as an unnecessary barrier that reduces the supply of new entrants into the accounting profession. 

The legislation, which still needs to be signed into law by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, allows accountants seeking a Georgia license to qualify by obtaining a bachelor’s degree, completing two years of professional experience and passing the CPA exam or alternatively with a master’s degree, one year of work experience and passing the CPA exam. The bill, which also retains the existing pathway requiring 150 college credit hours, one year of work experience and passing the CPA exam, is set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2026.

So far this year at least seven states have passed or signed into law legislation easing the path to CPA licensure with an aim toward solving the accounting talent shortage, according to Corey Butler, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Society of CPAs which is closely tracking the legislation. The vote in Georgia was followed swiftly by Indiana lawmakers who passed similar CPA pathways legislation, Butler said.

Indiana’s CPA pathways bill was passed Thursday afternoon and sent to Gov. Mike Braun’s office for his signature, according to Sherrill Rude, VP-Advocacy, with the Indiana CPA Society. Indiana and Georgia join Ohio, Virginia, New Mexico, Utah and Hawaii in having passed new CPA pathways legislation, according to Butler’s count, with more action imminent.

“I expect the pace to pick up and more states will join the list in the next few months,” Geno Fragnito, director of the MNCPA, said in an email last week after Minnesota lawmakers earlier last month heard strong testimony in support of their state’s CPA pathways pathways bills.   

Georgia House Bill 148 will now go to the desk of the governor, who has 40 days to sign the legislation into law, according to Cook, who doesn’t expect it to be immediately signed. Just as Virginia legislators did, Cook said Georgia lawmakers cast the new licensure rules as a kind of workforce development initiative that reduces barriers to entry into the accounting profession. 

Cook asserted that the legislation is likely to increase the number of people getting into accounting in the state. “In Georgia we’ve got a number of small cities that have not been able to find the accountants out there to do the required audits,” Cook said in a recent interview. The legislation “is not going to fix it entirely but any little bit you can do is an improvement.”

Boyd Search, CEO of the GSCPAs, in a statement emailed to CFO Dive Thursday expressed his support for the law. “The new pathways to CPA licensure and expanded practice privilege mobility are essential steps toward addressing the growing demand for skilled accounting professionals,” he said in the statement. “By allowing greater access to licensure and enabling CPAs to move freely across state lines, Georgia is positioning itself as a leader in the profession, ensuring that we continue to attract top talent from both within and outside the state.”

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to show that Indiana passed CPA pathways legislation Thursday afternoon. 

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Tuesday signed new legislation providing an alternative pathway to becoming a certified public accountant in the state that doesn’t require 150 hours of college credit, effectively a fifth year of college, according to Amy Spencer, communications and marketing director at the Utah Association of CPAs.  

The move brings to three the total number of states that now have new laws on the books aimed at easing the path to CPA licensure and solving the accounting talent shortage — with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signing a pair of CPA pathway bills into law Monday evening and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signing similar legislation aimed at widening the Buckeye state’s on-ramps into the accounting profession in January.  

Emily Walker, Virginia Society of CPAs’ vice president of advocacy, said VSCPA was “thrilled” its state’s licensure legislation was adopted so quickly, and asserted that similar initiatives across states would help support a smooth transition to new licensure rules which don’t disrupt CPAs’ ability to work in other states. “Given the number of states moving forward on adding similar licensure pathways and addressing their own practice mobility provisions, most are optimistic that disruption to mobility will be minimal and short-term,” Walker said in an email.

Last month, the Utah state legislature unanimously passed the new legislation that has now been signed by the governor. It allows accountants seeking a license in the state to qualify by attaining a bachelor’s degree, completing two years of professional experience and passing the CPA exam, CFO Dive previously reported. The legislation, which also removed statutory references to 150 and 120 credit-hour requirements, is set to go into effect July 1, 2026.  

Susan Speirs, CEO of the Utah Association of CPAs, wasn’t surprised that the legislation was passed as quickly as it did, as she said the association had been careful to include legislators, the state’s Division of Professional Licensing, educators, businesses and its members in the process.  

“We did expect the legislation to sail through the legislature this year. We’ve been very deliberate and intentional over the last couple of years as we worked on this bill,” Speirs said in an email. “This bill broadens the pathway to CPA licensure while maintaining the integrity of the license, protecting the public and creating opportunities for those who might not otherwise pursue a career in accounting.” 

Currently, about 20 states are seeking to change CPA licensure requirements this year, either with new legislation or via Board of Accountancy rule changes, according to the Minnesota Society of CPAs. States that have introduced legislation include Minnesota, Illinois, Georgia and North Carolina, while about 10 states have publicly supported additional pathways and about six including Idaho, Alabama, Wisconsin and Kansas have publicly supported the initiative. 

The momentum behind the initiative was underscored last week in a legislative hearing in Minnesota in which multiple speakers from academia and the industry testified in support of the legislation, which wouldn’t require the additional 30 hours of college credit on top of a bachelor’s degree to obtain a CPA.  

Minnesota in 2023 was a pioneer among states as it pushed to change CPA licensure requirements. It quickly sparked opposition from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, which said that reducing education requirements would threaten the ability of the state’s CPAs to work across state lines and leave the Land of 10,000 Lakes with the most “restrictive” license that would not be equivalent to that of other states. 

But since then, momentum has shifted behind such initiatives and the warm welcome that the Minnesota legislation received last week marked a change from the push back sparked by a similar proposal that stalled in the state’s legislature last year, CFO Dive previously reported. “Since then national groups have gotten on board and they’ve shifted their positions,” Republican State Rep. Scott Van Binsbergen, who introduced the legislation, told the committee. 

Senate lawmakers in the Virginia legislature unanimously (39-0) passed a bill Monday (HB 2042) that gives prospective certified public accountants a new path to licensure that doesn’t require 150 hours of college credit. A similar bill (SB 1042) was unanimously passed in a 94-0 vote in the state’s House on Feb. 11.  

The legislation, which needs to be signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, would still require all candidates to pass the CPA exam. But as of Jan. 1, 2026, a person could qualify for licensure in Virginia by obtaining a baccalaureate degree — meaning four years of college with an accounting or equivalent concentration — and two years of relevant work experience. CPA candidates could also qualify for licensure with a master’s degree and one year of work experience or by following the existing route of completing 150 hours of college credit and one year of work experience. 

“We were definitely thrilled that [the bills] were unanimously approved,” said Emily Walker, vice president, advocacy and pipeline at the Virginia Society of CPAs, which backed the bill. Walker noted that the legislation drew bipartisan support in part because legislators are generally focused on workforce development and looking to remove barriers to work opportunities. “You’re not only saving on college education but getting [people] into the workforce sooner … That’s very appealing regardless of which side of the aisle you’re sitting on,” she said in an interview.

The legislation makes Virginia the second state, after Ohio, to pass legislation which gives students additional paths to CPA licensure that require more “real life” experience in the industry rather than an additional 30 hours of education, according to a Monday VSCPA press release. A bachelor’s degree typically requires 120 credit hours of credit.

“Corporations can’t run without finance teams, and businesses rely on their CPAs for valuable tax planning and strategic advice,” VSCPA President and CEO Stephanie R. Peters said in a statement included in a VSCPA release regarding the HB 2042 bill. “It’s crucial we develop new ways to get accountants licensed as CPAs to become the trusted business advisors that help keep our economy running.” 

The push to offer alternatives to the 150-hour college credit requirement — effectively five years of college — previously drew pushback from the American Institute of CPAs, which raised objections related to concerns about a hodgepodge of state requirements making it difficult for accountants to work in states outside the one where they gained their license.

But the concept has gained momentum since the AICPA shifted gears last year, largely throwing its support behind alternative pathways. Reducing the time and cost of education was cited as one of the top recommendations made by the industry’s National Pipeline Advisory Group in a 95-page report published last year aimed at tackling the shortage of accounting talent and the decline in recent years of younger professionals choosing the profession. 

This year a legislative push to update licensure requirements across the country is gaining momentum. More than a dozen states including Texas, Illinois, Minnesota and Florida are in the process of pursuing legislation or Board of Accountancy rule changes that are similar to those pursued by Ohio and Virginia, according to a map on the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants’ website which tracks the efforts. 

On Tuesday Minnesota itself saw legislation advancement on the CPA licensure issue, with a bill (Senate File 1536) introduced in the state’s Senate and Local Government Committee. The state’s lawmakers were among the first in the country to take up the matter but the bill stalled last year. Geno Fragnito, director of government relations at the MNCPA, believes the national momentum will make a difference this time.  

“I think the conversations will be much more productive,” Fragnito said in an interview, adding that it’s no longer “Minnesota being an island of one.” 

Still, the shortage of qualified accountants — and the risks of error that stems from it — are likely to persist this year. However, companies offering good compensation and benefits will likely attract the best talent while others can limit the risk of errors by spending more on training, CFO Dive previously reported. 

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a broad range of regulatory reforms into law Wednesday, including House Bill 238, which eliminates the requirement for accountants to obtain 150 college credit hours in order to become licensed certified public accountants in the state and provides alternative paths to licensure, according to The Ohio Society of CPAs. 

Beginning Jan. 1 of next year, the state will offer two revamped routes to CPA licensure: One requiring a master’s degree with an accounting concentration, one year of professional work experience and the passing of the CPA Exam, and a second requiring a bachelor’s degree with an accounting concentration, two years of professional work experiences and the passing of the CPA Exam, according to a LinkedIn post by the OSCPA. 

The new law puts Ohio at the forefront of a recent push to remove or reduce to 120 the hourly credit requirement, an initiative that has gained momentum as the industry has sought to compete for talent amid an accounting labor crunch. “This is the first state that has passed such legislation,” a spokesperson for The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants said in an email Thursday. “There are a couple of rare state—specific alternative pathways that have been on the books. But this is the first legislation since the recent debate on this issue picked up,” the spokesperson said.

Ohio’s new law comes as the ability to attract and retain finance talent remains one of the biggest challenges cited by many finance chiefs, with the shortage of qualified accountants raising the risk of costly financial reporting errors.  

The push for change has recently gained momentum. Last year the AICPA, a leading industry player that had been critical of what some called a 120-hour credit solution, shifted gears and threw its support behind alternative licensure paths that didn’t include what is effectively a fifth year of college that some say dampens students’ interest in the profession. 

For about two years, the OSCPA has been working, along with other peer states, to create additional “on-ramps” into the profession for CPAs, according to Scott Wiley, president and CEO of the Ohio group. Wiley expects other states to follow suit quickly with similar legislation this year. 

“Are we the first state? The answer is yes, but we won’t be the last,” Wiley said in an interview, noting that some of the states that license large shares of CPAs, such as California, Texas and Florida, are also moving ahead with initiatives that will provide new licensure pathways. More than 30 states either have legislation in process or are actively working on developing it with approaches similar to that taken by Ohio, he said.

Wiley pushed back against viewing the law as simply reducing the amount of education required. Instead, he said it reflects a change in the language used to describe the schooling needed, with the new Ohio law focusing on degrees and elevating graduate education rather than hinging on credit hours, he said. “We’re focusing on the outcome and the outcome is the degree,” he said, noting the new approach also provides an alternative path for aspiring CPAs that can’t afford more courses beyond a bachelor’s degree but can instead take the path that requires more work experience.  

Ohio’s law also allows qualified CPAs from other states to work in Ohio, in a move which is designed to encourage interstate mobility. But in a statement on the bill, AICPA expressed concern about its impact, noting that Ohio’s new law might affect Ohio CPAs’ ability to work in other states. 

“For a period of time, Ohio’s new law may hamper outbound mobility to various states — the ability of Ohio CPAs to practice outside their home jurisdiction of the state, both in-person and through remote work,” according to the AICPA’s statement emailed to CFO Dive.

Still, the AICPA also noted that it stands ready to work with OSCPA and state regulators to ensure that the legislative outcomes are successful in both building the talent pipeline and protecting the public, while minimizing disruptions to CPA practitioners and firms. 

“There is a shared urgency about solving accounting’s talent shortage. Stakeholders from across the profession have the same goals, which are building a robust workforce and offering options to obtain licensure that are more accessible and affordable to all who want to become CPAs,” the AICPA said in the statement.