Dive Brief:

• 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.

Dive Insight:

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.