Illinois passes CPA licensure changes bill

Illinois approved a bill on Thursday to create additional pathways to CPA licensure, and it awaits the signature of Gov. JB Pritzker.

The legislation, House Bill 2459, amends the Illinois Public Accounting Act to create two additional paths to licensure: a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in accounting plus two years of work experience, or a master’s degree with a concentration in accounting plus one year of work experience. All candidates must still pass the CPA exam.

The bill preserves the legacy pathway requiring 150 credit hours plus one year of experience and passing the exam. It also ensures practice mobility so out-of-state CPAs can serve clients in Illinois without obtaining an Illinois license.

“For more than a year, the Illinois CPA Society has focused on eliminating barriers to entry into the profession, most notably, the time and costs required to become a CPA,” Geof Brown, president and CEO of the Illinois CPA Society, said in a statement. “The passage of House Bill 2459 is an important step in keeping Illinois’ CPAs at the forefront of the national business landscape; protecting the needs of our state’s businesses, not-for-profits, and units of government; and ensuring there’s a pipeline of next-generation accounting talent ready to step up to serve. We thank the legislation’s sponsors, co-sponsors and other supporters who were instrumental in advancing this important initiative for the accounting profession in our state.”

The ICPAS, one of the largest CPA state associations, originally proposed the legislation. The bill was introduced in March by Reps. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, and Amy Elik, R-Edwardsville, both of whom are CPAs, and it passed unanimously out of the House in early April. In the Senate, it was supported by chief Senate sponsor Sen. Suzy Glowiak Hilton, D-Oakbrook Terrace, and co-sponsor Chris Balkema, R-Pontiac. It passed unanimously on May 22. 

Illinois is one of more than a dozen states that have already passed changes to licensure requirements in an ongoing effort to address the profession’s talent shortage. Most recently, Minnesota passed a similar bill on May 20.