Committee endorses substitute to create alternate CPA licensure pathway and revise CPE rules

The House Committee on Finance on Oct. 28 advanced House Bill 4893 after adopting an H‑2 substitute that stakeholders endorsed to modernize parts of Michigan’s CPA licensure and continuing education framework. Proponents told the committee the bill creates an additional nationally aligned licensure pathway and clarifies continuing professional education (CPE) language to reduce regulatory burden while preserving exam and experience standards.

Bob Doyle, president and CEO of the Michigan Association of CPAs, told the committee the association represents more than 15,000 members and strongly supports the bill. Michelle Randall, CPA and recently retired accounting professor, described workforce barriers created by Michigan’s 150‑hour education requirement and urged adoption of a competency-based alternative that combines a bachelor’s degree, two years of qualifying professional experience and passage of the Uniform CPA Examination. Randall said the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) now includes multiple pathways and the proposed change would align Michigan with 24 other states that have adopted a similar additional pathway.

The bill also revises CPE requirements. Under current Michigan law, CPAs must take 40 hours of CPE annually with specified auditing credits; the substitute would require 2 hours of ethics and 38 hours in any category and makes carryover explicit (up to 40 hours into the next licensing year and must be applied before new hours). Witnesses said the change removes an auditing-specific annual requirement that many CPAs find irrelevant to their practice area while keeping overall CPE rigor intact.

Committee members asked whether internships count toward qualifying experience (witnesses confirmed internships supervised by a CPA may count), how the change may affect university master’s programs (witnesses said the pathway is additive, not mandatory, and master’s programs may reposition value-add offerings), and mechanics of the two-year licensing cycle and carryover rules (testimony explained 40‑hour cycles with carryover allowed). Proponents said the Michigan Department of Labor and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) and the Michigan Association of CPAs collaborated on stakeholder language; the H‑2 substitute was described in testimony as the stakeholder-preferred version.

The committee adopted the H‑2 substitute by roll-call vote (displayed tally 14–0 in the session transcript) and the measure advanced on that substituted language. Support cards and in-session testimony indicated stakeholder alignment: Michigan Association of CPAs, educators, and LARA representatives were on record favoring the substitute.

Key details from testimony: - New additional licensure pathway: bachelor’s degree + two years qualifying professional experience + passage of the CPA exam (alternative to the 150-hour education route). (Michelle Randall; Bob Doyle) - CPE reform: 2 hours ethics + 38 hours any category; explicit carryover up to 40 hours across the two-year cycle. (Bob Doyle) - Internships performed under the supervision of a licensed CPA may count toward qualifying experience. (Michelle Randall)

The record in committee shows the H‑2 substitute was adopted and the bill advanced with stakeholder-backed clarifications. The committee requested no additional changes on the floor at the time of the recorded session.