KPMG CEO Paul Knopp is backing an end to the 150-hour rule.

According to Knopp, "We have a brewing crisis that will impact accounting firms and corporations. We need to absolutely address it in the very near term. The cost of becoming a CPA has become too high."

On The Accounting Podcast, David Leary brought up an interesting point: given the size of the Big Four and their presence across all 50 states, why haven't they pushed for this sooner?

Maybe it's finally starting to hurt Big Four recruitment. Or they see it being a problem in the near future.

Bachelor's degrees in accounting dropped 7.8% from 2021 to 2022, continuing a steady decline since 2015. The 150-hour requirement is one of the top reasons students aren't choosing accounting as a major.

I'm more excited about KPMG’s push for automatic mobility for CPAs.

Automatic mobility means that if you’re licensed in one state, you can easily practice in others without jumping through hoops. It means treating CPA licenses like driver’s licenses, automatically accepting credentials from other states unless a specific issue comes up.

I appreciate KPMG's stance, but I hope they can take it a step further. They need to do something about long hours and low pay that lead to burnout. That's why young accountants aren't leaving the big four for industry roles but quitting accounting entirely.

Associations and state boards really need to simplify the initial licensure process to save time and reduce costs. At the same time, the Big Four and other large firms should focus on creating a better work-life balance and offering competitive starting salaries.

Could this be the beginning of real change in accounting?