A 7613: Reforms the education requirements for persons who want to become certified public accountants; provides alternative pathways to being certified as certified public accountants.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7613 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY April 1, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PEOPLES-STOKES -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to clarifying the requirements for a certified public accountant The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of subdivision 1 of section 7404 of 2 the education law, as amended by chapter 651 of the laws of 2008, are 3 amended to read as follows: 4 (2) Education: [have received an education, including a bachelor's or 5 higher degree or a foreign equivalent based on] present satisfactory 6 evidence of completion of one of the following: 7 a. A curriculum of at least one hundred twenty semester hours in a 8 program in accountancy[, in accordance with the commissioner's] that is 9 registered by the department, or that is accredited by an acceptable 10 accrediting agency, or that is deemed to be comparable to a registered 11 or accredited program, as determined by the department; provided that 12 for each of the programs described above, the applicant shall satisfy 13 the undergraduate curriculum semester hour requirements for the speci- 14 fied subjects set forth in the department's regulations as of the effec- 15 tive date of the chapter of the laws of two thousand twenty-five that 16 amended this paragraph; or 17 b. A curriculum of at least one hundred fifty semester hours in a 18 program described in subparagraph a of this paragraph. 19 (3) Experience: [have] 20 a. Present satisfactory evidence of completion of the following expe- 21 rience [satisfactory to the board of regents and in accordance with the 22 commissioner's regulations;] requirement: 23 (i) two years of acceptable full-time experience, or the equivalent 24 thereof, for an applicant who is applying for licensure on the basis of 25 the education described in subparagraph a of paragraph two of this 26 subdivision; or 27 (ii) one year of acceptable full-time experience, or the equivalent 28 thereof, for an applicant who is applying for licensure on the basis of EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11185-01-5 
 A. 7613 2 1 the education described in subparagraph b of paragraph two of this 2 subdivision. 3 b. For the purposes of this subdivision, one year of full-time experi- 4 ence shall mean an aggregate total of twelve calendar months of full- 5 time employment. Full-time shall be defined as a five-day work week, 6 with at least thirty-five hours of experience per week, excluding over- 7 time. The department may also credit an applicant for part-time experi- 8 ence in the amount of one week of experience for every two weeks of 9 acceptable part-time experience earned. Part-time shall be defined as at 10 least twenty hours of experience per week. 11 c. Acceptable experience shall be attested to by a certified public 12 accountant licensed in New York or in another political subdivision of 13 the United States, provided that such certified public accountant acted 14 in a supervisory capacity to the applicant in the employing organiza- 15 tion. 16 d. Acceptable experience in the practice of public accountancy shall 17 be limited to experience in providing accounting services or advice 18 involving the use of accounting, attestation, compilation, management 19 advisory, financial advisory, tax or consulting skills under the super- 20 vision of a certified public accountant licensed in the United States or 21 a public accountant licensed in New York. 22 e. Acceptable experience in the practice of public accountancy shall 23 be earned through employment as an employee in public practice in a 24 public accounting firm, government, private industry or an educational 25 institution. 26 (4) Examination: pass a written examination satisfactory to the board 27 and in accordance with the commissioner's regulations, provided that the 28 required educational attainment for such examination shall not be great- 29 er than that set out in subparagraph a of paragraph two of this subdivi- 30 sion, and the requirement with respect to such examination may not be 31 waived; 32 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 7406 of the education law, as amended by 33 chapter 456 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows: 34 2. Practice privilege. a. Except as otherwise provided in subparagraph 35 two or three of paragraph f of this subdivision, a certified public 36 accountant, licensed by another state [which the board of regents has 37 determined to have substantially equivalent certified public accountant 38 licensure requirements, or whose individual licensure qualifications are 39 verified by the department to be substantially equivalent to New York's 40 requirements, and in good standing], who intends to perform any of the 41 services in subdivision one, two or three of section seventy-four 42 hundred one of this article may practice public accountancy in this 43 state, if the certified public accountant: 44 (1) holds a valid license to practice public accountancy in the other 45 state, [and] 46 (2) practices public accountancy in another state that is [his or her] 47 such certified public accountant's principal place of business, 48 (3) has completed a baccalaureate or higher degree program in accoun- 49 tancy that is registered by the department, or a baccalaureate or higher 50 degree program in accountancy that is accredited by an acceptable 51 accrediting agency, or a baccalaureate or higher degree program, or its 52 foreign equivalent, that is deemed to be comparable to a registered or 53 accredited program, as determined by the department, 54 (4) has passed the written examination described in paragraph four of 55 subdivision one of section seventy-four hundred four of this article, 56 and 
 A. 7613 3 1 (5) has attained one year of experience as provided in clause (ii) of 2 subparagraph a of paragraph three of subdivision one of section seven- 3 ty-four hundred four of this article. 4 b. The practice privilege allows such certified public accountant, who 5 meets the requirements of paragraph a of this subdivision to practice 6 public accountancy in this state. 7 c. An individual who has been granted practice privileges under this 8 section who performs any of the services in subdivision one or two of 9 section seventy-four hundred one of this article may only do so through 10 a firm which has obtained a registration under section seventy-four 11 hundred eight of this article. Such an individual, as well as an indi- 12 vidual with a New York license who does not have a principal place of 13 business in New York, may provide services in subdivision three of 14 section seventy-four hundred one of this article through a firm of 15 certified public accountants that does not have a registration in this 16 state but that holds a valid license, registration, or permit in another 17 state. 18 d. Any certified public accountant who practices in this state pursu- 19 ant to this section, and any firm that employs such certified public 20 accountant to provide such services in New York, consents to all of the 21 following as a condition of the exercise of such practice privilege: 22 (1) to the personal and subject matter jurisdiction and disciplinary 23 authority of the board of regents as if the practice privilege is a 24 license, and an individual with a practice privilege is a licensee; 25 (2) to comply with this article, the rules of the board of regents and 26 the regulations of the commissioner; and 27 (3) to the appointment of the secretary of state or other public offi- 28 cial acceptable to the department, in the certified public accountant's 29 state of licensure or the state in which the firm has its principal 30 place of business, as the certified public accountant or firm's agent 31 upon whom process may be served in any action or proceeding by the 32 department against such certified public accountant or firm. 33 e. [For purposes of this subdivision, the board of regents may deter- 34 mine that nationally-recognized certified public accountant licensure 35 requirements are substantially equivalent to New York's requirements, 36 such that an individual licensed in a state determined to have licensure 37 requirements substantially equivalent to the nationally-recognized CPA 38 licensure requirements, or an individual whose licensure qualifications 39 are determined to be substantially equivalent to the nationally-recog- 40 nized CPA licensure requirements, may practice under the practice privi- 41 lege pursuant to the requirements contained in this subdivision. 42 f.] (1) A person who wishes to practice public accountancy in this 43 state but does not meet the requirements of paragraph a of this subdivi- 44 sion is subject to the full licensing and registration requirements of 45 this article. 46 (2) In the event the license from the other state of the certified 47 public accountant's principal place of business is no longer valid or in 48 good standing, or that the certified public accountant has had any final 49 disciplinary action taken by the licensing or disciplinary authority of 50 any other state concerning the practice of public accountancy that has 51 resulted in (i) the suspension or revocation of [his or her] such certi- 52 fied public accountant's license, or (ii) other disciplinary action 53 against [his or her] such certified public accountant's license that 54 arises from (a) gross negligence, recklessness or intentional wrongdoing 55 relating to the practice of public accountancy, (b) fraud or misappro- 56 priation of funds relating to the practice of public accountancy, or (c) 
 A. 7613 4 1 preparation, publication, or dissemination of false, fraudulent, or 2 materially incomplete or misleading financial statements, reports or 3 information relating to the practice of public accountancy, the certi- 4 fied public accountant shall cease offering to perform or performing 5 such services in this state individually and on behalf of [his or her] 6 such certified public accountant's firm, until and unless such certified 7 public accountant receives written permission from the department to 8 resume the practice of public accountancy in this state pursuant to 9 subparagraph three of this paragraph. 10 (3) Any certified public accountant who, within the last seven years, 11 immediately preceding the date on which [he or she] such certified 12 public accountant wishes to practice in New York, (i) has been the 13 subject of any final disciplinary action taken against [him or her] such 14 certified public accountant by the licensing or disciplinary authority 15 of any other jurisdiction with respect to any professional license or 16 has any charges of professional misconduct pending against [him or her] 17 such certified public accountant in any other jurisdiction, or (ii) has 18 had [his or her] such certified public accountant license in another 19 jurisdiction reinstated after a suspension or revocation of said 20 license, or (iii) has been denied issuance or renewal of a professional 21 license or certificate in any other jurisdiction for any reason other 22 than an inadvertent administrative error, or (iv) has been convicted of 23 a crime or is subject to pending criminal charges in any jurisdiction, 24 shall so notify the department, on a form prescribed by the department, 25 and shall not practice public accountancy in this state under paragraph 26 a of this subdivision until [he or she] such certified public accountant 27 has received from the department written permission to do so. In deter- 28 mining whether the certified public accountant shall be allowed to prac- 29 tice in this state, the department shall follow the procedure to deter- 30 mine whether an applicant for licensure is of good moral character. 31 Anyone failing to provide the notice required by this paragraph shall be 32 subject to the personal and subject matter jurisdiction and disciplinary 33 authority of the board of regents as if the practice privilege is a 34 license, and an individual with a practice privilege is a licensee, and 35 may be deemed to be practicing in violation of section sixty-five 36 hundred twelve of this title. 37 [g.] f. (1) Notwithstanding subparagraph two of paragraph a of this 38 subdivision or any other inconsistent law or rule to the contrary, a 39 certified public accountant licensed by another state and in good stand- 40 ing who otherwise meets the practice privilege requirements under this 41 section and files an application for licensure under section seventy- 42 four hundred four of this article may continue to practice under such 43 privilege for a period coterminous with the period during which [his or 44 her] such certified public accountant's application for licensure 45 remains pending with the department, including any period after the 46 certified public accountant establishes a principal place of business in 47 New York while [his or her] such certified public accountant's applica- 48 tion is pending. 49 (2) Nothing in this section shall limit the applicability of section 50 seventy-four hundred seven of this article. 51 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 52 it shall have become a law.