Is somebody trying to deep 6 the 150?
To some people, the 150-credit requirement to sit for the CPA Exam was the most undesirable legislation since the 18th Amendment (which banned alcohol).
Ever since it took effect in Maryland in 2000, many educators, candidates and employers have decried the 150 requirement as a needless, costly hurdle to CPA licensure. Despite mounting accounting enrollments and evidence that exam pass rates have in many cases improved, the requirement remains everybody’s favorite scapegoat.
Last fall NASBA (National Association of State Boards of Accountancy) issued a draft report about the emerging trend of allowing candidates who have completed 120 credits to sit for the exam. Candidates would still be required to complete 150 credits in order to obtain a license--but they would be able to sit for the exam right after college graduation. About 30 states have adopted this requirement, but a few others, including AICPA have voted against it, on the grounds of protecting the public.
The Maryland State Board formed a task force to evaluate this option. The task force recently met with accounting educators to get their views and has now met with nine candidates and new CPAs. Even more strongly than the educators, the candidate group supported the option of sitting for the exam after 120 hours. But this was no knee-jerk reaction.
They shared a consensus on several key points:
- The graduate of a good accounting degree program is capable of taking and passing the exam with 120 credits.
- The ultimate total of 150 credits to attain licensure should remain in force, to both protect the public and ensure the knowledge and quality of new CPAs.
- Educators, candidates and employers should focus on making the 30 postgraduate credits meaningful and relevant to the candidate’s professional development.
The State Board of Public Accountancy and MACPA are grateful to the candidate/young CPA group, which included MACPA/TCPA members pictured here: Victor Arthur, Tracy Fluty, Brian Davidhizar, Lindsay Cronin, Josh Smith, Mark Kaufman, and Richard Fink. Ebony Harmon, and and Daniel Ramos also took part.
Next steps? The State Board Task Force will report to the full board. The proposal could proceed from the Board to the Governmor’s Office and then the proper legislative channels. The earliest date the new law could take effect? October 1, 2010.
This may be the best CPA blog around! A geographical oddity!
Posted by: Paterfamilias | May 09, 2009 at 05:03 PM
Thanks very much, Paterfamilias. We appreciate the compliment, though we are not sure how geographically odd we are.
Posted by: Richard Rabicoff | May 11, 2009 at 08:31 AM
Richard Rabicoff, this blog is a geographical oddity in that it is 50 miles from all of the other blogs.
Posted by: Paterfamilias | May 11, 2009 at 10:43 PM