Update: The 120-Credit Hours to Sit for the CPA Exam and Exam changes rule is now effective. To learn more visit incpas.org/120. – 11/2/22

This year, allowing candidates to sit for the CPA Exam at 120-credit hours, while still requiring 150-credit hours for licensure, was a priority of the Indiana CPA Society’s legislative agenda. As one of only 13 jurisdictions that still required CPA Exam candidates to have 150-credit hours to sit for the CPA Exam, it was important we act to address this barrier to the profession.

HB1373 was authored by Rep. Heath VanNatter (R- Kokomo) and went on to be sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Andy Zay (R-Huntington). The Society successfully lobbied for this bill, and Governor Holcomb signed HEA1373 on April 15, 2021.

While it’s an important advocacy win and a time to celebrate a successful legislative session, there is still more work to do. Although the 120-to-sit bill has been signed, students cannot begin sitting for the Exam at 120 hours, yet.

The next step in this process is for the Indiana Board of Accountancy to write a rule to reflect this change. State agencies, like the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, can develop and adopt rules and regulations that are found in the Indiana Administrative Code. However, there is a process for making rules that needs to be followed.

There is an additional hiccup in this process. Since 2013, there has been a gubernatorial moratorium on rulemaking in Indiana to “cut down on red tape.” So how does a rule get made if there is a moratorium on rulemaking? This is one of the reasons the Society worked on legislation that would require the rule to be made.

Over the summer, the Society’s Government Relations Advisory Council members will work with the Indiana Board of Accountancy to start the process. For rulemaking required by new legislation, the Notice of Intent to Adopt a Rule must be published no later than 60 days after the effective date of the statute authorizing the rule. They will need to write the rule as it will appear in the Indiana Administrative Code, get an approval of the rulemaking moratorium exception, and then issue a Notice of Intent to Adopt a Rule.

Once a Notice of Intent is filed, there will be approvals of fiscal and financial impact and a time for public hearing and public comment. Finally, the Office of the Attorney General and the Governor’s Office will review and approve the rule.

As you can see, it’s a process and one that will take some time. As the Society works with the Board of Accountancy, we will keep members updated on the progress, and when students are finally allowed to sit for the CPA Exam at 120-credit hours, we will let students, educators and Indiana CPAs know.

As a reminder, 150-hours will still be needed for licensure. Want to know why Indiana moved to 120-credit hours to sit? Here are four reasons why.