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HB983
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H.B. NO.
983
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating
to Certified Public Accountants
.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
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SECTION
1
.
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The legislature finds that business and
commerce continue to grow more complicated, increasing the need for well-qualified
certified public accountants in the State and nationwide.
�
At the same time, however, a declining
percentage of students in accounting classes are pursuing certified public
accountant (CPA) licenses.
�
In part, this
decline is due to the requirement of thirty additional semester hours of
education, beyond the requirements of a bachelor's degree, to obtain a CPA
license.
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The time and monetary costs of
this additional education can be a serious obstacle for many students.
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Thus, the additional education requirement
effectively blocks many potential candidates from obtaining CPA licenses, at a
time when more qualified CPAs are needed.
�
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The
purpose of this Act is to generate more qualified CPAs by establishing
alternative pathways to licensure that eliminate certain barriers for eligible
applicants.
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SECTION
2
.
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Section 466-5,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (a) through (d) to
read as follows:
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"(a)
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A license and a permit are required to
practice public accountancy.
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The board
may license and grant the designation of "certified public
accountant" to any person who has met the following:
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(1)
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Attained eighteen years of age;
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(2)
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Possesses a history of competence, trustworthiness,
and fair dealing;
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(3)
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Educational requirements of this
section [
or section 466-5.5
];
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(4)
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Experience requirements of subsection
(d);
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(5)
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Examination requirements of subsection
(e); and
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(6)
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Paid the appropriate fees and
assessments.
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(b)
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The educational requirement for a license
shall include a baccalaureate degree conferred by a college or university
recognized by the board and:
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(1)
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Completion of not less than thirty
semester hours of study in addition to those semester hours required for a
baccalaureate degree[
.
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The
baccalaureate degree and the thirty semester hours of additional study shall
include a minimum of eighteen semester hours of upper division or graduate
level accounting or auditing subjects.
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The
]
; provided that the
content of the additional qualifying
hours of study shall be determined by rules adopted by the board pursuant to
chapter 91; [
or
]
and
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(2)
�
[
If the applicant has a
]
A
minimum of eighteen semester hours of upper division or graduate level
accounting and auditing subjects[
, the applicant may elect to replace the
thirty semester hours with an additional thirty months of professional
experience in a public accounting practice.
�
This experience shall not be credited toward the experience requirements
in subsection (d).
]
; provided that the content of the additional
qualifying hours of study shall be determined by rules adopted by the board
pursuant to chapter 91.
In lieu
of paragraph (1), the applicant may demonstrate completion of twelve months of
professional experience in the practice of public accounting, as determined by
the board and pursuant to subsection (d); provided that this professional
experience shall be in addition to any professional experience required for a
license pursuant to this section.
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(c)
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A person shall be exempt from the
requirements in subsection (b) [
or section 466-5.5
] if that person:
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(1)
�
Holds a current license as a public
accountant under section 466-6; or
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(2)
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Holds, and has continued to hold, a
valid comparable certificate, registration, or license of certified public
accountant of another state for a period of not less than ten years preceding
the date of the person's application under this section, and has been in active
practice of public accountancy in one or more states for a period of not less
than five years preceding the date of the application.
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(d)
�
Each applicant shall present satisfactory
evidence in the form of a certified statement
,
from present or former
employer(s)
,
that the applicant has [
met one of the following
experience requirements for license:
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(1)
�
Completion of one thousand five
hundred chargeable hours in the performance of audits involving the application
of generally accepted accounting principles and auditing standards earned while
in public accounting practice; or
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(2)
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Completion of
]
completed
two years of professional experience in public accountancy practice as defined
in section 466-3.
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Completion of
experience in private or government accounting or auditing work, deemed by the
board to be equivalent to professional experience in public accountancy
practice as defined in section 466-3, may be substituted for all or part
of the two years of professional experience in public accounting practice.
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The nature, variety, and depth of acceptable
private or government accounting or auditing experience shall be defined by the
board in its rules."
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SECTION
3
.
�
Section
466-5.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.
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["
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466-5.5
�
Educational requirements for licensure effective December 31, 2000.
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Effective December 31, 2000, an applicant for
licensure shall have at least one-hundred-fifty semester hours of college
education.
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Within the one‑hundred‑fifty
semester hours, the applicant shall have:
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(1)
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A baccalaureate or higher degree
conferred by a college or university acceptable to the board; and
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(2)
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An accounting concentration or its
equivalent as specified in the rules of the board;
except
that applicants for licensure who have successfully completed the Uniform
Certified Public Accountant Examination before December 31, 2000, or held
conditional credit before December 31, 2000, and subsequently completed the
examination before the conditional credit expired, may continue to meet the
educational requirements of section 466-5(b).
"]
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SECTION
4.
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Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
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New statutory
material is underscored.
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SECTION
5.
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This Act shall take effect upon its
approval.
INTRODUCED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
Board of
Public Accountancy; Qualifications; Licensure; Certified Public Accountants
Description:
Clarifies
the education and professional experience requirements for certified public
accountant license applicants to establish alternative pathways to licensure.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.