Minnesota State Capitol. _{^{Photo by McGhiever, Creative Commons License}}

The Minnesota state Senate has advanced a bill, drafted with the help of the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants (MNCPA), that would include two options for CPA licensure without requiring 150 credit hours, Accounting Today reported.

The bill, Senate File 1660, advanced from the chamber’s State and Local Government and Veterans Committee to its Finance Committee. It would offer candidates the option to obtain licensure with a bachelor's degree (120 credit hours) and two years of work experience, which had been the requirement in Minnesota until nearly 20 years ago. The bill includes another option that would require 120 credit hours and both one year of work experience and 120 CPE credits, earned concurrently. The bill would also maintain the current 150-hour credit rule. 

The AICPA opposes the bill, calling it a threat to CPA mobility. The AICPA submitted a letter ahead of the hearing to express its opposition.

"Ultimately, we believe Senate File 1660 is a premature and unilateral attempt at finding a solution to a national problem," wrote AICPA chair Okorie Ramsey and AICPA CEO of public accounting Sue Coffey, Accounting Today reported. "To appropriately address all facets of the decline in the accounting profession, CPA profession stakeholders formed the National Pipeline Advisory Group to use a data-driven, highly collaborative, and inclusive approach to tackle issues that have led to declining numbers of accounting graduates and CPA candidates. These efforts are taking a holistic look at the pipeline challenges in a holistic manner, including the licensing requirements, associated with becoming a CPA. Additionally, this effort is seeking to balance any new, national licensing requirements with the ability of licensed CPAs to practice across state lines without the need for an additional license."

But several accounting leaders testified about the impact the legislation could have on the talent pipeline problems facing the profession, according to Accounting Today.

"There are multiple studies that show that the 150-hour requirement has created barriers for students, especially minority students, to becoming CPAs," wrote CliftonLarsonAllen CEO Jen Leary in testimony to the Senate committee. "There is no evidence that the 150-hour requirement has improved the quality of the profession. We have the power to change this. Minnesota's exemplary actions to broaden the pathways and increase accessibility to the accounting profession have the potential to increase the number of CPAs overall and encourage hard-working, diverse talent to join the profession."

Many other states already have alternative pathways to licensure in place for CPA candidates, the MNCPA pointed out.

"I can tell you from my own experience, through conversations with colleagues throughout the country and the members of the MNCPA, that we have a significant shortage of CPAs," MNCPA board chair Bob Cedergren told the Senate committee. "The work continues to grow but the supply of CPAs to do the work isn't keeping up. … We need to move forward. The situation is critical."

"It's been our experience that hiring students with 120-credit hours makes absolutely no difference in their performance versus hiring students with 150 credits," testified Pat Plamann, managing partner at Schlenner, Wenner & Co. in St. Cloud. "This bill is the pipeline for the life of our firm."

Sen. Jordan Rasmusson, a Republican, wrote the bipartisan bill, which was co-signed by Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy and Sens. Ann Rest and Zaynab Mohamed, all Democrat, Accounting Today reported.  A companion bill in the Minnesota House, known as House File 1749, has not yet received a hearing date.