Alright, so, on May 16, 2025, the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) decided that they needed to make it easier for people to become CPAs in New Jersey. They want to change the Accountancy Act in New Jersey so that aspiring CPAs can get their license by getting a bachelor’s degree, getting two years of experience, and passing the CPA Exam. Assemblyman Sterley S. Stanley (D-East Brunswick) introduced the bill (A5598), and it passed the Assembly Regulated Professions Committee on May 15.
Currently, to get a CPA license in New Jersey, you need to have at least 150 credits (which means a bachelor’s degree plus an extra 30 credits, or a master’s degree), one year of work experience in accounting, and pass the CPA Exam. But, with this new proposal, there’s going to be another way for people to become CPAs. The New Jersey State Board of Accountancy (NJBOA) is on board with this new pathway to licensure.
The bill also says that CPAs from out-of-state who have a bachelor’s degree or higher, have passed the CPA exam, and have at least one year of experience can practice in New Jersey. In a recent survey done by NJCPA, 66% of the 187 businesses surveyed said they had trouble finding accounting talent in the past year. And out of those companies, 47% said it was a big deal for their operations. AJ Johnson, the CEO and executive director of NJCPA, believes that adding this new path to CPA licensure will make things more flexible without compromising the high standards that CPAs need to meet to be trusted advisors. It’s important to keep the accounting field open to new professionals and the communities they serve.
So, there you have it. The accounting world in New Jersey is about to get a little shake-up with this new proposal. Let’s see how it all plays out.
