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From the Desk of the CEO: AICPA, NASBA propose major changes to the UAA

February 14, 2025

By Shelly Weir,
FICPA President & CEO

The AICPA and NASBA on Thursday night announced that they “are advancing model legislative language that enables an additional path to CPA licensure.”  

Specifically, they have asked the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) Committee to draft proposed language in two key areas:  

  1. Adding a pathway to CPA licensure that includes a bachelor’s degree, two years of general work experience, and the passage of the CPA Exam.  
  2. Modifying the UAA’s mobility provisions to include individual automatic mobility between states. 

Big picture: This proposal is a massive step forward for the profession. 

To level set, the UAA, which is jointly published by AICPA and NASBA, “provides state legislatures and Boards of Accountancy with a national model that can be adopted as is or adapted to meet the needs of each individual jurisdiction.” Indeed, some states have specifically tied their own statutory language to the UAA, giving it tremendous influence over both licensure and mobility. 

For our part, the FICPA applauds the AICPA and NASBA’s decision and strongly endorses the proposed updates to the UAA. The language in the proposal closely mirrors the FICPA’s own priority bills that are currently moving through the Florida Legislature. It also brings the UAA into alignment with the actions of other societies, which – like us in Florida – have already filed legislation in their respective state houses. While an update to the UAA isn’t a cure-all, the proposed modifications will further protect practice privileges as individual states continue to make significant changes in how they regulate the profession.  

And for those of you who have been following this situation closely, I can report that this proposal does take into account the feedback collected from the Fall 2024 UAA exposure periods. In response, this new proposal abandons the previously discussed competency-based approach in favor of general work experience, just as we have now under the 150-plus-one model.  

The proposed UAA language will now be open for public comment for a period of 60 days. The FICPA will keep you updated on both the modifications to the UAA and the advancement of our own priority bill in the Florida Legislature. Rest assured, we continue to advocate on your behalf as we work to secure the future of the profession.