Education Rules Amended

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Eager to get the Uniform Accountancy Act’s new Model Rules 5-1 and 5-2 out to the member Boards as quickly as possible, the NASBA Board of Directors held a special meeting on October 13 and unanimously approved the rules as proposed by the NASBA Uniform Accountancy Act Committee. The rules had been developed by the CPA Evolution staff, then reviewed by the NASBA Education Committee and numerous other groups prior to being sent to the UAA Committee. It remains up to each Board to consider what the Model Rules recommend and then to adopt them for use in their jurisdictions.

Uniform Accountancy Act Chair J. Coalter Baker (TX) reported approximately 40 comment letters had been received by the NASBA UAA Committee, resulting in a few minor final edits to the exposure draft released in May. The goal is to have all State Boards implement the new education rules, which would prepare candidates for the 2024 Uniform CPA Examination, created for the CPA Evolution initiative, and lead to uniformity in requirements across the jurisdictions.

Significant changes to the Model Rules include:

• Requiring the Board to review transcripts from all schools, regardless of the level of the school’s accrediting body.
• Including within the 24 semester credit hours of accounting credit “data analytics, data interrogation techniques, and/or digital acumen in an accounting context, whether taken in the business school or in another college or university program, such as the engineering, computer science, or math programs.”
• Pre-approval of internships and appropriately supervised short-term work for which the student earns credit.
• Maximum of 9 semester credit hours for internships plus independent study.

NASBA Vice President – State Board Relations Dan Dustin and Executive Vice President and COO Colleen Conrad have been meeting with Boards and educators to review the new rules along with information about the CPE Evolution and supporting educational resources being made available to academics. At NASBA’s Annual Meeting, Mr. Dustin encouraged the Boards to call upon him or Ms. Conrad to address their meetings or meetings of educators in their states for further discussion of these topics.