STATE BOARD REPORT OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS, MUCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN and spoken about the CPA pipeline crisis, including creative suggestions for possible solutions. There are certainly some sound ideas being offered for discussion, and as a partner in a public accounting firm and as a regulator, I welcome them all. At this point in time, the accounting profession needs all of its great minds to focus on this issue. The demand for the services the skilled accountant can provide is at an all-time high, while the population of skilled accountants has remained flat. Baby boomer CPAs are retiring, or nearing it, with the number of young potential licensees entering the profession not keeping pace. This dilemma is not in fact new, but rather a confluence of circumstances years in the making and stemming from declines in: U.S. birthrates Overall college and university enrollment The number of accounting graduates The number of CPA Examination candidates The most recent “culprit,” cited by some, for the pipeline crisis is the 150-credit hour requirement required for licensure, which has been the law in most states and jurisdictions since the year 2000. This educational requirement is one of the cornerstones of substantial equivalency recognition and CPA mobility to practice across jurisdictional boundaries without necessitating additional licensure. As someone who was involved in the debate and development of this requirement in my jurisdiction all the way back in 1990, I thought it might be useful to share some thoughts on the 150-credit hour education requirement. Despite these discussions occurring more than 30 years ago, I still have much of the information our Montana Society of CPAs’ Task Force used then in our research on the issue. Maybe I had a sense that this was a significant turning point in the profession, when all involved knew the profession needed to “up its game” to attract once again the best and brightest. Whatever the reason, as I dusted off my archived materials, I came across a 1989 study commissioned by the Big Eight accounting firms entitled, “Perspectives on Education: Capabilities for Success in the Accounting Profession.” As the report’s title implies, the study’s focus was to assess the current environment in the accounting profession and re-examine the educational process. The circumstances that existed in 1989 which prompted THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME: ADDRESSING THE CPA PIPELINE CRISIS BY RICK REISIG, CHAIRMAN, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE BOARDS OF ACCOUNTANCY 8 Nebraska CPA
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODQxMjUw