AICPA Statement on National Pipeline Advisory Group Draft Report

NEW YORK (May 14, 2024) -- The National Pipeline Advisory Group (NPAG) has done exemplary work over the past 10 months, and its members should be commended for their care, diligence and selfless service to the profession. While the AICPA & CIMA’s board of directors is still digesting the draft report as a whole, it has expressed directional support for NPAG’s call for an intentional and coordinated effort to evolve CPA licensure.

While expanding approaches to CPA licensure alone will not solve the accounting talent problem, we believe our licensure process does need to acknowledge changing market conditions, address the need for a wider and more diverse group of recruits and shift to drive new generations of qualified professionals who can take on the growing challenges of a complex marketplace.

At the same time, the board continues to urge diligence to minimize any impact on CPA mobility, an interwoven system of state laws that allow CPAs to practice outside their home jurisdiction without having to apply for additional licenses or face additional administrative burdens or fees. Minimizing or eliminating those disruptions is key, and a nationally coordinated and cohesive plan on licensure changes represents the best path forward to achieve that goal. Unilateral actions by states will be highly disruptive to CPAs and the businesses who engage or hire them and should be avoided.

NPAG’s work goes far beyond the licensure issue, identifying fact-based root causes of the talent challenge and recommendations that, if executed, will have significant impact. We hope all stakeholders in the profession will seize on opportunities that will make a difference. A sustainable pipeline of talent will require building more attractive workplaces in all firms and finance departments, making education highly engaging, supportive and accessible to a range of students, and collectively doing more to communicate the benefits of accounting careers in ways that improve accounting’s image.