The Colorado State Board of Accountancy is considering several adjustments to simplify Colorado CPA licensing rules as a result of evaluating barriers impacting Colorado CPA shortages, as highlighted in a November 2023 letter from COCPA President and CEO Alicia Gelinas, CPA.

As part of its rulemaking process, the State Board held a session on March 29 to gather stakeholder feedback on the proposed changes to Rules 1.5, 1.7, and 1.8. These changes would include:

• Elimination of the prescribed minimum three hours of accounting or business ethics coursework
• Elimination of the additional three hours of advanced auditing coursework (a total of six hours are currently required)
• Allowance of dual credit for work hours obtained during an academic internship to meet both the education and experience hours requirements

The COCPA expressed support for and offered feedback on the proposed rule changes in a comment letter to the State Board, dated March 26, 2024, and made additional recommendations aimed at reducing the risk of processing delays through language clarification and definition expansion, including:

• Clarifying the minimum accounting semester hours required for examination between 21 and 27 semester hours and the role of implied introductory accounting coursework
• Clarifying the intention of maintaining an implied additional six hours of required accounting-specific coursework between CPA examination and licensure
• Expanding the list of accounting-specific subject areas to better align with emerging areas of CPA practice

Click here to read the COCPA’s March 26 Comment Letter to the Colorado State Board of Accountancy.