Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the CPA Licensure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee hears bill to add bachelor’s‑plus‑experience pathway for CPA licensure in Missouri
Summary
House Bill 1797 would add a third pathway to CPA licensure that lets candidates with a four‑year accounting‑focused degree sit for the CPA exam and complete two years of supervised experience; sponsors and professional groups supported the change while some members questioned whether it reduces educational standards or shifts authority to board rulemaking.
Representative McGurl introduced House Bill 1797 to create an additional pathway to CPA licensure in Missouri: candidates who earn a four‑year bachelor’s degree with the required accounting coursework could take the Uniform CPA Exam and complete two years of supervised experience to qualify for licensure. The transcript shows the bill preserves the current 150‑semester‑hour pathway with a single year of experience as an alternative.
"What the bill does ... is basically going back to the old rules or the opportunity," Representative McGurl said, describing the bill as expanding options to attract more students into the profession. She also said the measure contains language to allow CPAs who file as an LLC or S‑corp to use CPA in their firm name provided they submit a written notice to the state board and refer attestation work to firms that perform audits.
Supporters told the committee the change aims to reduce barriers while maintaining professional standards. Jeff Parkinson, a CPA with City Utilities of Springfield and past chair of the Missouri Society of CPAs' blue‑ribbon committee, said the bill retains the CPA exam requirement and aligns Missouri’s language with national models to improve mobility for multi‑state firms. "It still requires passage of the CPA exam," Parkinson said, calling the measure a way to protect the learned‑profession standard while easing pipeline constraints.
Brandon Alexander, chief of staff to State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, urged passage citing staffing shortages in the auditor’s office: "If you go back in time to 2015, we had 41 CPAs ... Fast forward to today, we we have 19," he said, warning that many of those are retired or near retirement and that the office could face a significant reduction in in‑house CPAs without stronger pipelines.
Members pressed sponsors on whether lowering total semester hours reduces substantive coursework or shifts important requirements into board rules. Representative Reed said the bill "repeatedly replaces statutory standards with language like 'as determined by board rule'" and raised concerns about ceding legislative clarity. Representative McGurl and witnesses responded that the substantive accounting course requirements would still be required and that the board would not be allowed to self‑regulate in ways that eliminate oversight.
Representative McGurl indicated she intends to offer cleanup language as an amendment at a future committee meeting.
No committee vote or final action on HB1797 is recorded in the transcript; the hearing included multiple organizational supporters and ended with the committee moving on to the next item.
