Major Changes Ahead
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) have been working on a joint initiative to change the CPA licensure process. They sought feedback from various sources and considered many alternative ideas to update the licensure process. The current model under consideration focuses on core competencies all candidates must master.
Also, the model introduces three areas of specialty, with the CPA candidate specializing in one of them. The core competencies are audit, technology, accounting, and tax, and the three specializations, also called pillars, are tax compliance and planning, information systems and controls, and business reporting and analysis.