National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) Chair Stephanie Saunders has proactively responded to concerns about the CPA talent pipeline by establishing NASBA’s Professional Licensure Task Force (“the task force”). This 10-member group, representing various accounting bodies, aims to provide recommendations to update the CPA licensure model within the Uniform Accountancy Act.

Recently, the task force released an initial concept for comment that would create a new pathway to licensure, aiming to provide an equivalent route without the necessity of a fifth year in a 150-hour education program. The initial concept introduces a new Structured Professional Program element that could supplement the post-bachelor degree additional 30 accredited transcript credit hours with an approved program that combines education and experience to develop and measure a candidate's competency. 

Click here to learn more about the task force and its work to address the profession’s talent pipeline challenges.

Stakeholders were invited to share input on the task force’s initial concept for further development. The COCPA Board of Directors reviewed and discussed the proposed concept and COCPA President and CEO Alicia Gelinas, CPA, responded with a letter highlighting the Society’s reservations, requests for additional information, and recommendations.

Included in the letter were recommendations for a licensure model that:

• Focuses on a degree-based framework without specifying total hours required, with supporting structured core curricula of accounting-based academic education
• Promotes a pathway in which a master’s-level education continues to be the “gold standard” that offers the most expeditious return on investment
• Clarifies the competencies necessary to be deemed substantially equivalent, enabling stakeholders to evaluate individual or combined activities to obtain such competencies
• Aligns with the current trends, appetite, and existing structures of state-based apprenticeship programs
• Constructs a scalable, affordable, and accessible model that considers factors such as regulatory environments, economic conditions, corporate size and structure, industry dynamics, academic availability, and employer engagement
• Avoids diluting the value of accredited academic educational requirements while leveraging experiential learning to enhance the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies

Click here to read the COCPA’s letter to NASBA in its entirety.