With the profession facing workforce shortages and increasing regulatory scrutiny, Nebraska is rethinking CPA licensure. Here’s how the Society Board and State Board are collaborating to modernize the pathway for tomorrow’s CPAs.

The accounting profession is undergoing significant transformation in 2025, driven by an urgent need to strengthen the CPA talent pipeline and reevaluate licensing pathways in Nebraska and across the country. In response to evolving workforce trends both nationally and globally, state legislatures and professional associations are advancing bold initiatives to modernize the profession—making it more accessible, flexible, and responsive to today’s workforce demands.

Aging Workforce Meets Talent Deficit

The CPA profession has long faced a shrinking talent pipeline—a trend that mirrors broader global workforce patterns. From 2022 to 2050, 61 of the world’s 195 countries are expected to see a 1% decline in their working-age populations.

In the United States, the working-age population has grown by just 3% over the past decade, while the non-working population has risen by 13%. With 10,000 baby boomers retiring each day, industries and professions across the board—including accounting—are struggling to fill essential positions.

In response, AICPA launched the National Pipeline Advisory Group (NPAG) in 2023. (Learn more at accountingpipeline.org.) This group explored data-driven solutions, recommending six strategies to address the talent shortage:

• Tell a more compelling story.
• Address the cost and time of education.
• Make the academic experience more engaging.
• Provide better support to CPA Exam candidates.
• Enhance the employee experience.
• Expand paths for underrepresented groups.

Your Nebraska Society is actively advancing strategies to strengthen the CPA pipeline. Our ongoing Foundation scholarship programs and this year’s launch of the Accounting Workforce Recruitment Campaign are key components of that effort. If you haven’t already, visit JoinTheFun.cpa to explore our latest high school outreach initiatives, including a new video that highlights the diverse and rewarding opportunities a career in accounting can offer—and targeted social media advertising is underway to broaden our reach.

We’re also proud to collaborate with organizations like the AICPA’s Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) and its Accounting+ initiative to promote the profession among underrepresented groups. (Learn more at joinaccountingplus.com.) 

In addition, the Nebraska Society of CPAs and the Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy have formed a joint CPA Licensure Task Force focused on addressing the time and cost of CPA education—more details on that in the following.

Charting a New Course for CPA Licensure

Traditionally, the path to becoming a CPA has included earning 150 semester hours with an accounting focus, passing the Uniform CPA Exam, and gaining relevant experience under a licensed CPA. While this framework remains the cornerstone of licensure, recent changes and proposals are introducing greater flexibility to help adapt the pathway to today’s evolving landscape.

Changes to the national Uniform CPA Exam occurred in 2024, which now includes completing four sections within a 30-month window. The three core sections are Auditing and Attestation (AUD), Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), and Taxation and Regulation (REG), which all candidates must complete. The discipline sections provide an opportunity for candidates to demonstrate a deeper level of knowledge in one pillar of the profession but will not prevent candidates from practicing outside that discipline once licensed. Candidates choose one of the following: Business Analysis and Reporting (BAR), Information Systems and Controls (ISC), or Tax Compliance and Planning (TCP).

At the state level, a significant step forward occurred in March 2024 when Governor Jim Pillen signed LB 854 into law, amending the Nebraska Public Accountancy Act. The bill passed with strong support in the Nebraska Legislature on a 44-0-5 vote. Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, Nebraska CPA candidates may now sit for the Uniform CPA Exam after completing 120 semester hours (or 180 quarter hours) of qualifying college credit and earning a bachelor’s degree. In the months leading up to this legislative change, the Society surveyed its members. Not only did members overwhelmingly support allowing candidates to sit for the exam with 120 semester hours and a bachelor’s degree, but many also encouraged the Society to revisit the state’s 150-hour licensing requirement. You asked—and your Society listened!

Historically, Nebraska has placed a strong emphasis on educational standards, as outlined in Chapter 9 of the Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy’s regulations. These rules specify the accounting and business coursework required before a candidate may receive a permit to practice. Recent proposed updates—currently under review by the Governor’s Policy Research Office—recommend removing several general education electives, reducing the required accounting and business semester hours for CPA exam eligibility from 30 to 24, and allowing greater flexibility in subject area selection. However, candidates currently need to complete 30 semester hours in accounting, including the required subject areas, to obtain a permit to practice. The State Board’s Education Advisory Committee (EAC)—established under the Nebraska Public Accountancy Act to ensure input from educators and CPAs—has reviewed and recommended approval of these proposed changes.

In addition to educational standards, Nebraska has maintained a strong focus on experience requirements. When the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) raised the education threshold from 120 to 150 credit hours in the 1990s and adopted a one-year experience model, most states followed suit. Nebraska, however, retained a two-year experience requirement, emphasizing the value of practical experience.

Although the State Board has periodically revisited the possibility of aligning with the UAA’s one-year standard, no changes have been adopted to date. In 2010, a task force recommended preserving the two-year requirement for public accounting while extending the private-sector experience requirement to three years.

As it stands today, CPA candidates in Nebraska must complete 150 semester hours of education and either two years (4,000 hours) of public accounting experience or three years (6,000 hours) of private-sector or academia experience to be licensed. These requirements are currently under review as part of the work of the Nebraska CPA Licensure Task Force.

Future-Ready CPA Pathways

In response to growing concerns over the time and cost associated with the traditional 150-hour education requirement, the AICPA and NASBA released an exposure draft to the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) earlier this year proposing three alternative pathways to CPA licensure:

• A master’s degree with an accounting concentration, one year of experience, and passage of the CPA Exam;
• A bachelor’s degree with an accounting concentration plus an additional 30 semester credit hours, one year of experience, and passage of the CPA Exam; or
• A bachelor’s degree with an accounting concentration, two years of experience, and passage of the CPA Exam.

Importantly, the traditional 150-hour pathway would remain available. All proposed alternative pathways still require the core accounting and business concentrations needed in the 150-hour pathway.

The AICPA and NASBA believe these proposed revisions will help strengthen the profession by preserving high standards while expanding access to a broader, more diverse pool of future CPAs. The changes also include a shift from a state-based mobility model to an individual-based practice mobility model, enabling CPAs to operate across state lines with a single license. Additionally, “safe harbor” provisions would protect practice rights for CPAs licensed under different requirements prior to Dec. 31, 2024.

The Nebraska CPA Licensure Task Force is reviewing the national exposure draft and evaluating licensure models that address shifting workforce demographics and talent shortages, while maintaining the profession’s integrity and rigor. The task force held its initial meeting in May and will reconvene in July. Once task force recommendations are finalized, they will be presented to both the Society Board and the State Board for final approval. The approved recommendations will likely require the drafting and introduction of legislative changes to the Nebraska Public Accountancy Act during the 2026 Legislative Session, as well as updates to State Board rules.

Currently, at least 30 jurisdictions are actively considering alternative pathways to CPA licensure, highlighting the nationwide urgency to modernize and make the profession more accessible. These efforts are critical to ensuring that the CPA credential remains relevant, attainable, and aligned with today’s workforce realities.

Mobility for the Modern CPA

As CPA licensing requirements continue to evolve across states, the issue of mobility—ensuring CPAs can practice seamlessly across state lines—has become increasingly important. Nebraska presently offers automatic mobility, allowing CPAs licensed and in good standing in another state to practice in Nebraska.

Prior to 2025, only four states had automatic mobility—Alabama, Nebraska, Nevada, and North Carolina. Currently, automatic mobility is in effect, pending, or under consideration in at least 30 states. This model shifts the concept of substantial equivalency from the state level to the individual level, making it easier for CPAs to serve clients across jurisdictions.

By reducing barriers to multistate practice, automatic mobility supports the modern, interconnected nature of business and reinforces the CPA profession’s ability to meet national and global demands.

Forging the Future

As Nebraska and other states take proactive steps to tackle the CPA pipeline challenge, the profession stands on the brink of meaningful transformation. By prioritizing flexibility, affordability, and modernization, these efforts are designed to keep the CPA profession strong, inclusive, and well-equipped to thrive in an evolving economic landscape.