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Tennessee licensing committee recommends CPA exam extensions, accepts WES credential in one case
Summary
At its May 5 committee meeting the Tennessee State Board of Accountancy's licensing committee recommended several two- and four-month extensions for CPA exam score windows and voted to accept a World Education Services (WES) foreign-education evaluation for an applicant whose WES report had been submitted when WES was an approved evaluator.
The Tennessee State Board of Accountancy licensing committee on May 5 recommended approval of multiple score-window extensions for CPA exam candidates and voted to accept a World Education Services (WES) foreign-education evaluation for an applicant whose evaluation was completed while WES was still an approved evaluator.
The committee considered four extension requests and an education-evaluation question. Licensing Chair Pamela Church led the discussion and opened each item for committee consideration. "The rationale he has explained seems to be in keeping with our policy on extension in my view. So, I do not have a problem with this, but I'd like to open it up for discussion," Church said during the review of one request.
Why it matters: The committee's recommendations will be forwarded to the full board on May 6 for final action. Decisions on score-window extensions affect whether candidates retain credit for previously passed CPA exam sections. Acceptance of foreign-education evaluations determines whether applicants who earned degrees abroad meet Tennessee education requirements to sit for or obtain a CPA license.
Details of the requests and committee actions - Gabriel Bren: Requested a two-month extension of his Regulation (REG) and Auditing (AUD) scores. The committee reviewed medical documentation presented by Bren's representative indicating ongoing treatment that affected his preparation. The committee voted by voice to recommend approval; the item will be included for final action by the full board.
- Michael Montgomery: Requested an extension for Regulation and Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) after work changes during the COVID period interrupted his original licensure plan. Montgomery told the committee he began study again in January 2025 and had recent and scheduled exam dates. The licensing committee voted to recommend approval of his extension; Montgomery joined the meeting briefly by phone to thank the committee.
- Samuel Lewis: Requested an extension for Regulation with an expiration currently set in August 2025; he provided medical records documenting a condition from June 2023 to January 2025 that affected his exam preparation. The committee voted to recommend approval.
- Simpolis Zuriga (foreign-education evaluation): The committee considered whether to accept a WES evaluation of Zuriga's bachelor's and master's degrees from Ivory Coast. The board staff explained that WES had been an approved evaluator when Zuriga submitted his report but that the board withdrew approval of WES reports effective Aug. 1, 2021. Committee members noted Zuriga met the 150-hour education requirement based on the evaluation and discussed fairness because the evaluation was obtained when WES was still allowed. During a roll-call, the committee approved acceptance of Zuriga's WES evaluation. The recorded yea votes at roll call were Licensing Chair Pamela Church, Sam Bennett, Brad Buchanan, Brad Floyd and Kevin Monroe.
What was not decided here: These are committee recommendations; the full Tennessee State Board of Accountancy will take final action at its May 6 meeting.
Quotes and attributions in this article are from committee proceedings and public comment recorded at the May 5 licensing committee meeting.
