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.