Will dropping 150 credit hours requirement attract more accountants?

Fewer college students are willing to put in the time and money to become accountants. Finance professionals are concerned about the dwindling talent in the pipeline as Baby Boomers retire. Now some states are getting serious about the problem and are trying to make accounting more attractive to Generation Z.

Minnesota lawmakers are getting closer to approving a 120 credit hour requirement for students to sit for the certified public accountant (CPA) exam. The standard requirement of 150 hours is perhaps the biggest complaint of collegians who consider the CPA track. An extra year of college costs a student just under $40K on average while the starting salary for an accountant is $78K. Paying off hefty student loans factors into the career paths Generation Zers consider and it’s clear accounting is coming out on the losing end.

The Minnesota state senate finance committee is considering a bill to amend the sitting requirement. Chances are the bill won’t pass the state house this year, but the Minnesota Society of CPAs is optimistic a change is coming in Minnesota as well as other states.

“[M]ultiple studies that show that the 150 hour requirement has created barriers for students, especially minority students, to becoming CPAs,” Jen Leary, CEO of CliftonLarsonAllen, testified to Minnesota lawmakers. Pat Plamann, managing partner at Schlenner, Wenner & Company, told committee members: “It’s been our experience that hiring students with 120 credit hours makes absolutely no difference in their performance versus hiring students with 150 credits.”

States look to gain edge by cutting requirements

CPA professional groups in Arizona, New Jersey and Virginia are also advocating to eliminate the 5th year of college requirement to draw more students, similar to Minnesota. A handful of states already provide alternative pathways for CPA students:

• Ohio offers two options: a bachelor’s degree with 120 credits, two years of work experience and a minimum 670 score on the graduate management admission test (GMAT), or a two-year degree with at least 60 credits, four years of work experience and 670 or higher on the GMAT.
• New York allows for 15 years of work experience and a passing CPA score.
• Nebraska prospects who lack a college degree can substitute work experience to gain certification. 
• South Carolina lets military veterans use executive education courses to qualify for certification.

Bonus tip: Allowing finance pros to work at home may be needed to attract top talent. Accounting and finance jobs are now second only to IT and computers in remote job listings. Accountant in is the most popular work-from-home job title search.