Committee advances revised CPA pathway to expand entry while preserving interstate mobility

Delegate Susan Seabold presented a bill, carried with a substitute amendment, to create an alternative pathway to CPA licensure. Under the proposal, candidates with a college degree who meet minimum accounting and business coursework requirements could become licensed after passing the Uniform CPA Examination and completing two years of qualifying accounting work experience; the existing pathway (degree + 30 hours + one year) would remain.

Emily Walker of the Virginia Society of CPAs thanked the patron and said similar measures are being adopted in other states to address workforce shortages. June Jennings, representing the Virginia Board of Accountancy, testified the agency supports the bill.

An intervening commenter, Jonathan Lillegrin, said he supported the bill but asked that the effective date be delayed to July 1, 2026, to avoid short-term mobility issues for currently licensed Virginia CPAs who practice outside the Commonwealth while other states adopt similar law changes. The Virginia Society of CPAs responded that the bill already delays the new candidate pathway until January 1, 2026, and that existing licensees would retain mobility under most reciprocal/mobility arrangements.

Outcome: The subcommittee voted to report the bill as amended; the clerk recorded "bill reports 6 to 0."

Ending: Supporters framed the change as workforce policy to expand the CPA pipeline; a stakeholder requested additional timing certainty for interstate mobility but the subcommittee moved the measure forward.