Brexit May Speed Reciprocity

State Board Report

April 2017

UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s sending a letter to the European Council President on March 29 informing him of the UK’s intention to leave the EU may hold some special significance for CPAs who want to practice internationally as well as State Boards. President Ken Bishop told the Executive Directors and Legal Counsel in New Orleans: “Brexit has opened a door for having MRAs with the UK. With Brexit we may have new dialog with Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland that could not have taken place before.” Not only could such agreements make it simpler for experienced CPAs to gain credentials abroad but the agreements could smooth the path for bringing foreign credential holders in the U.S. under the authority of the State Boards.

“Mutual recognition is the end goal. Intellectual capital should be shared throughout the globe,” NASBA Chair Telford Lodden (IA) added. He told the Executive Directors that several of the mutual recognition agreements (MRA) which have been under development for many years will be completed this year. The merging of a few non-US professional associations have presented some issues in drafting MRA renewals, he noted, but the NASBA/AICPA International Qualifications Appraisal Board (IQAB) believes they are well along in solving them.

IQAB Chair Sharon Jensen (MN) met with Chair Lodden and the members of IQAB on March 23-24 in Nashville to update all on the progress being made on the agreements. AICPA’s examination team and NASBA’s International Evaluation Services staff are assisting IQAB’s members in their determination of the comparability of U.S. and other international credentials’ requirements.