The Importance of the CPA Pipeline

By Kenneth Besserman, JD

This past year, and increasingly over the past several months, the national discussion about the CPA pipeline has become the focus of the profession. Task forces were established to study the CPA pipeline issues; state societies are beginning to develop and advocate for specific pipeline proposals; state accounting licensing boards are looking to address the pipeline; and some state legislatures are beginning to debate and vote on different pipeline proposals.

TXCPA has been at the forefront of the pipeline discussions. In 2023, the National Pipeline Advisory Group (NPAG), an independent advisory group, convened in response to an AICPA governing Council resolution. TXCPA, through its President and CEO Jodi Ann Ray, CAE, is a member of NPAG, making sure that Texas had a strong voice in the discussions and recommendations. Please see the CEO’s Message in this issue of Today’s CPA for more details on the NPAG’s recommendations to address the accounting talent shortage.

In addition to the NPAG recommendations, TXCPA is taking a close look at what legislative changes may be needed to address the pipeline issues and the need for more CPAs. With an ever-increasing population, and numerous large businesses and corporations moving their headquarters to Texas, the demand for CPAs is at an all-time high. TXCPA understands that the significant changes and market conditions in the accounting profession necessitate an additional pathway or pathways to licensure that are substantially equivalent and maintain appropriate rigor.

Central to any discussion about the pipeline and legislation affecting the profession is a determination to protect mobility – the ability of a CPA to practice across state lines without the need for additional licensing requirements. Creating near national CPA mobility was a decades long effort that has become a model mobility program among licensed professions. Mobility needs to be protected and TXCPA will work hard to make sure that it is not sacrificed in any legislation addressing the CPA pipeline.

About the Author: Kenneth Besserman is TXCPA's Director of Government Affairs and Special Counsel. Contact him at kbesserman@tx.cpa.

Your Input is Needed!

In the coming months, TXCPA will develop its 2025 legislative agenda, focusing on the CPA pipeline and other key issues important to the profession. Your input is vital to our advocacy and legislative efforts. If you have ideas or proposals that you believe would be valuable to TXCPA and our Legislative Advisory Committee, please contact Kenneth Besserman with the TXCPA Government Affairs team.

Thanks to the Sponsors of Today's CPA Magazine