It’s time to separate mobility fact from fiction in the 150-hour debate.
David Knoble, Chair of the South Carolina Association of CPAs, joined my podcast — The Accounting Podcast — to bust myths and clarify the nuances around CPA mobility. Here are just a few myths he busted.
MYTH: All states have identical CPA licensing requirements for mobility purposes
FACT: States vary significantly in their required education, exam, and experience rules.
MYTH: Any changes to state requirements will automatically break mobility.
FACT: Changes do not inherently threaten mobility. Specific actions by state boards of accountancy or NASBA would likely be needed to create barriers.
MYTH: The mobility framework creates an ironclad system preventing unauthorized practice.
FACT: Mobility relies heavily on voluntary compliance and lacks consistent enforcement.
MYTH: States strictly follow the Uniform Accountancy Act requirements.
FACT: The UAA was designed to allow flexibility, not to create prescriptive uniformity.
MYTH: The 150-hour requirement is set in stone nationwide.
FACT: States have leeway in interpreting the parameters of the education rule.
MYTH: NASBA alone determines substantial equivalency.
FACT: State boards often play a collaborative role in equivalency judgments.
🔑 The key takeaway? Way more flexibility exists than you probably realized.
Understanding the wiggle room around mobility helps the accounting profession thoughtfully balance innovation and pragmatism as we adapt to serve the public interest in the 21st century.
Listen to our myth-busting episode today for an eye-opening breakdown of mobility. You'll get a more precise grasp of this critical issue.
