West Virginia to Open New CPA Licensure Pathways in May
West Virginia has become the latest state to establish alternative pathways for CPA licensure. Governor Patrick Morrisey signed legislation on Monday, allowing candidates to obtain licenses without completing 150 college credit hours, which typically requires five years of higher education. The new rules take effect on May 24, offering three pathways that combine different educational backgrounds, work experience, and exam requirements. This move aims to alleviate the talent shortage in the accounting industry and respond to competitive pressures from reforms in neighboring states such as Ohio.
Key Takeaways
- West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey signed legislation on Monday, making the state the latest to establish an alternative path to CPA licensure that no longer mandates 150 college credit hours, typically equivalent to five years of higher education.
- Under the new law (House Bill 4088), CPA candidates in West Virginia can choose from three pathways to licensure: the first requires a bachelor's degree plus 30 semester hours (including an accounting concentration or equivalent), one year of accounting experience, and passing the exam; the second requires a bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration or equivalent, two years of experience, and passing the CPA exam; the third requires a master's or graduate degree with an accounting concentration or equivalent, one year of experience, and passing the exam.
- The new pathways take effect on May 24. "We recognize there is a talent shortage in the accounting profession, and we are proactively addressing it to ensure the next generation of CPAs is prepared for the future," Megan Cook, CEO of the West Virginia Society of CPAs, which worked with lawmakers and supported the bill, told CFO Dive on Tuesday.
Dive Insight
With West Virginia's addition, more than twenty states have either passed new CPA pathway legislation or modified rules to advance accounting licensure reform, aiming to lower barriers to entry into the profession and address the accountant shortage.
Last week, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen also signed licensure reform legislation (LB718). The pace of this state-by-state movement to eliminate the 150-credit-hour requirement, which many critics consider costly and time-consuming, has surprised some accounting experts.
According to Cook, pressure from neighboring states like Ohio, which was the first to adopt pathway rules early last year, was part of the motivation for West Virginia's decision. "We are neighbors with Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Virginia," she said. "We knew we had to make a change."
Despite the acceleration of this initiative this year, some still express reservations about allowing CPA licensure with less educational background.
D. Scott Showalter, director of the Jenkins MAC program at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, is a supporter of the traditional path requiring 150 college credit hours. In a December article, he acknowledged the benefits of alternative pathways with fewer credit hours but did not endorse them.
His stance "is based more on my 33-year career in public accounting than on my academic role over the past 17 years," Showalter wrote. "That experience tells me future accountants should prioritize developing skills that serve them long-term, rather than seeking the fastest route to licensure."
He also asserted that higher degrees are associated with 'a profession rather than a trade,' and as AI and other sophisticated technologies play a greater role in accounting, "professionals will need more education, not less."
For ongoing tracking of CPA licensure changes, refer to CFO Dive's related tracker.