A pending Minnesota bill would create an additional route for individuals to qualify for the state's CPA license.
S.F. 1660 was referred to the Senate Finance Committee on March 11 after the State and Local Government and Veterans Committee amended the bill during a March 11 hearing.
Under current law, the CPA license eligibility criteria require an individual to have completed 150 credit hours from an accredited college or university, have at least one year of professional experience, and have passed the CPA exam.
As amended, the bill would also allow individuals who have completed 120 credit hours from an accredited college or university, have at least two years of professional experience, and have passed the CPA exam to be eligible for the CPA certificate. The bill would take effect July 1, 2026.
Bob Cedergren, chair of the board of directors of the Minnesota Society of CPAs, told Tax Notes on March 11 that S.F. 1660 would reduce “the financial burden on students” and allow students to “jump into the workforce one year early,” while also reducing hurdles for students in underserved or minority communities.
In written testimony, Jen Leary, CEO of CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, agreed that the bill could bolster prospective CPAs in a struggling industry. She noted that the decline of accounting majors and CPAs has affected audit, tax, and outsourced accounting services. “Given the decrease in new accountants entering the profession as well as retirements, career changes, and attrition, we expect a continued erosion of our workforce.”
Leary added that “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 hardworking, diverse talent to join the profession.”
But testimony by the American Institute of CPAs and by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) pointed out that the alternative licensure criteria under Minnesota’s bill could put the state out of step with the general CPA requirements of other states and would be out of compliance with the AICPA's and NASBA’s Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA), which requires 150 credit hours, at least one year of professional experience, and a passing grade on the CPA exam.
“Ultimately, we believe Senate File 1660 is a premature and unilateral attempt at finding a solution to a national problem,” the AICPA testimony said.
Cedergren told Tax Notes that he shares the AICPA's and NASBA’s concerns, particularly as the bill could hinder Minnesota CPAs from working across state lines.
“We don’t want to put Minnesota [CPAs] at a disadvantage,” he said, adding that the amended bill's effective date of July 15, 2026, is intended to give the AICPA and NASBA enough time to address potential concerns. As introduced, the bill would have taken effect retroactive to July 1, 2023.
Cedergren is a member of NASBA’s Professional Licensure Task Force, which was created to “consider new concepts for CPA licensure that may be included in the UAA to update the current licensure mode,” according to the organization's website.
The bill as introduced included a third CPA license pathway for individuals who completed 120 credit hours, have at least one year of professional experience, and completed at least 120 hours of professional education within a year of applying for the CPA exam.