Michigan Practitioners' Perceptions and Impacts of the 150-Hour Rule

On October 23, 1998, Michigan's then Governor, John Engler, signed into law Public Act 380 of 1998 requiring applicants for a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license to possess at least 150 semester hours of college education, including a baccalaureate degree or higher degree with a concentration in accounting, at an educational institution approved by the board and one year of professional work experience. In the same year the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants voted and passed to require 150 semester credit hours of education for all new members after the year 2000.;The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of Article 7 of Public Act 299 on public accounting firms in the state of Michigan, and to determine if the 150-hour requirement has met its objectives. The following research questions will be investigated: 1. What are accounting firms' perceptions of the necessity of the 150-hour requirement? 2. What are accounting firms' perceptions of the effects of the 150-hour requirement on the preparation of entry-level accountants? 3. What are accounting firms' perceptions of the impact of the decrease in professional work experience hours required by the 150-hour requirement? 4. What are the accounting firms' perceptions of the impact of the increase in 30 undefined credit hours of education? 5. What are the effects of the 150-hour requirement on hiring practices at accounting firms? 6. How important is it for entry-level accountants to be competent in a required skill as prescribed by the AICPA? 7. How competent are entry-level accountants in the skills prescribed by the AICPA?;The target sample for this study was the entire population of registered certified public accounting firms and sole-practitioners in the state of Michigan. As of July 2010, there were 1,111 registered CPA firms in the state of Michigan. The entire population was surveyed and a response rate of 15.77% was achieved. A mixed methods of both quantitative data analyzed using statistical methods and qualitative data using thematic analysis and code development.;The conclusion of this research found that most practitioners are not in favor of the 150-hour rule, primarily the undefined additional 30 semester credit hours, and the decrease from 2 years and 4,000 hours to 1 year and 2,000 hours of professional work experience.