On November 21, 2025, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the additional 120+2 licensure pathway into law (Assembly Bill A7613B; see E. Slack-Jorgensen, “Hochul Signs CPA Licensure Pathway Bill, Capping a Strong Year of Advocacy for the NYCPA,” The Trusted Professional, Nov. 24, 2025, https://tinyurl.com/5he2ezea). I believe this alternative pathway will have a significant positive impact on our profession. I’m extremely appreciative of all the hard work the NYCPA put forth to get this legislation introduced and passed within one legislative session, which is a truly unheard occurrence in New York. I’d also like to thank all our elected officials who helped us push this through the finish line. This collaboration has produced great results in the past for our profession, but I don’t believe we have ever gotten something this significant done so quickly and that only proves the strength of our current relationship. This advocacy process began during my (2024/25) term as NYCPA president, and I am proud of the small contribution I made to the effort, which should also be seen as broader nationwide effort by leaders across this profession to broaden the pipeline for the next generation.
I’d like to stress that this is an alternative pathway. The 150-hour rule that became effective in August 2009 is still alive and well but now standing alongside the good ol’ 120-hour rule that more experienced accountants like myself followed on our path to licensure.
One of the things I stated many times during my tenure as NYCPA president is that we, as accountants, need to do the best job we can to promote our profession. Accountants don’t have a TV show like many other professionals (e.g., lawyers, doctors) and thus it seems like outsiders dictate what this profession looks like. I believe that changes like the alternative pathway to licensure make the profession more inviting and more accessible. Accounting already faces an uphill battle against other fields like finance and private equity; we don’t need another layer of exclusivity. What we need is greater flexibility that can help attract more talented young people to the profession.
The new law will not weaken the candidate pool. The 150-hour law passed more than 15 years ago did not actually specify that any of the additional 30 credits be taken in accounting or related topics, nor did it require a graduate degree—it just required another year in school. College is not inexpensive; asking students to pay for additional credit hours just doesn’t seem fair anymore. In my opinion, it never really made sense to begin with, but I admit that many were worried about elevating the profession’s reputation in the early 2000s.
I think that most practitioners will agree with me that getting students into our firms earlier will help their careers more than being in the classroom. There is a lot for CPAs to learn in the classroom first, but I truly believe that there is no equivalent to real life experience. Working on real-life client issues alongside fellow professionals is the quickest way to gain the practical knowledge CPAs need to succeed.
The best thing about the alternative pathway is that individuals can choose—if you want to get your 150 credit hours, that is your prerogative. If you believe getting a master’s degree helps you gain access to a certain type of firm or gain an advantage to getting a job as a CFO someday, that is a decision that is available for you to make.
For the students that might be reading this; the NYCPA can be a great resource for helping you walk through some of your questions and ideas. We have 13 chapters throughout New York with both veteran and younger CPAs who were once in your position. I think you will find they are happy to share their experience with you and help you navigate the choices everyone must make at the outset of their career. My professional colleagues and associations have given me much throughout my career, and I am thankful that I was able to work with them and our elected representatives to get the law changed as quickly as we did to expand the choices available to the students of today and tomorrow.
