CPA Evolution Update: What You Need to Know About Scores and Credit Extensions

NASBA held a quick little webinar yesterday on CPA Evolution and although I had a million other things I’d rather do, I sat in on it to bring you any important information. Let’s get right into it and preface all of this by saying if you have any questions or concerns about anything you see here or are unsure it applies to you, always check with NASBA and/or your state board for the most accurate and up-to-date information. This article will focus solely on scores and credit extensions, I’ll cover the rest of the webinar in a follow-up.

Write this down. Or bookmark it, I’ll update if new information comes up.

Score Extensions

Unsurprisingly, the Q&A box was on fire with score questions throughout the hour-long webinar. People are angry about the 2024 CPA exam score release schedule, and they are allowed to be, and there’s all kinds of confusion about the various extensions. Different jurisdictions have different rules and unfortunately, while there is a uniform CPA exam there is not a uniform set of rules followed by each state.

SO. One important thing to get out of the way first. If your jurisdiction has adopted credit extensions, NASBA is still in the process of updating the records. Meaning don’t freak out if your portal doesn’t show a credit extension you’re expecting. Patricia Hartman, Director of Client Services at NASBA and recipient of many angry emails from candidates, said they are still working on updating thousands of candidate records to reflect extensions. They initially hoped to be done with this process by the end of this month but need more time. So be patient and don’t blow up NASBA’s emails screaming at them about your extension.

On the topic of credit extensions themselves, you should note there are two different ones and only one has been adopted by all 55 jurisdictions.

On the recommended Credit Extension Policy (NASBA page on that here), ALL jurisdictions have approved the policy that states any candidate with Uniform CPA Examination credit(s) on January 1, 2024 will have such credit(s) extended to June 30, 2025. So if you had any passing scores still valid as of January 1, regardless of when you sat for those exams, those credits will be pushed all the way to June 30 of next year. Hopefully you’ll be done by then. As mentioned above, your portal may not reflect this extension yet.

The second extension is the one NASBA approved last year that changes the 18-month testing window to 30-months. A map of the credit period decisions by jurisdiction is below (I mean, it says that right in the heading):

This one is very dependent on jurisdiction as some states require a longer process to adopt than others. Additionally, some states are going by the date you sat for the exam while others have made or will make it retroactive to the date of passing credit so in short, it’s a bit of a mess. NASBA has an email you can use specifically for questions on YOUR jurisdiction and YOUR scores: CRI@NASBA.org

“CRI” as in “Credit Relief Initiative” not “y dont u cri moar about it, candidates.”

Exceptions

Don’t expect exceptions if you fall outside of the newly implemented credit periods, this is what you’re getting. You can always petition your state board for additional time due to extenuating circumstances (we all know this means “I dragged ass for 18 months and now I’m bugging out”), good luck with that.

That said, the NASBA representative reminded candidates that they “will work with you” to set a free retake for any candidate affected by circumstances outside of their control on test day. She gave the example of excessive construction noise at the Prometric site but this could also be computer issues, potentially even a severely gassy test-taker next to you disrupting you with farts the whole time. It’s at their discretion so, you know, doesn’t hurt to ask if you meet up with any acts of God on exam day.

2024 Score Release Schedule

They’re aware the score release schedule for 2024 sucks and they’re painfully aware that you all think it sucks. The bad news: AICPA Examinations Team Associate Director Joseph Maslott said, I quote, “Those days are set.”

The good news (I guess?) is that they’re hoping 2025 will be better. “We don’t know right now what the score schedule will look like in 2025,” Maslott said. “Hopefully it will be improved.”

Hopefully.

This is the revised 2024 CPA exam score release timeline they shared:

Note the highlight at the bottom. Expect these to change.

And that’s about it.