The American Accounting Association has joined the American Institute of CPAs, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, and state CPA societies in urging the U.S. Department of Education to formally recognize accounting as a professional degree program under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act student loan classification system.
“Accounting is indisputably a profession,” AAA CEO Yvonne Hinson said in a statement on Nov. 26. “Accounting programs prepare graduates for licensure, demand rigorous professional preparation, and serve a critical public-interest role in ensuring transparency, trust, and integrity in financial reporting. Excluding accounting from the federal definition of ‘professional degree’ programs is not consistent with the realities of practice.”
Earlier this month, the Education Department redrew its list of educational programs that are counted as professional degrees for certain loan programs, and omitted several long-standing professions from the list. One on the list is accounting. The definitions of professional degree programs help determine loan eligibility, which can be a critical differentiator for a student striving to complete an accounting degree program and become a CPA.
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The list of unincluded traditionally recognized professions include:
- Nursing
- Accountants
- Audiologists
- Architects
- Educators
- Nursing
- Physician assistants
- Physical therapists
- Social workers
“Classifying accountants as anything other than professionals fundamentally misrepresents the critical work CPAs perform, work that is responsible for the integrity of the global financial systems on which businesses and individuals rely,” NASBA President and CEO Daniel Dustin said in a statement on Nov. 25. “There’s a reason certified public accountancy has been a licensed profession in the United States since 1896.”
According to an AAA media release on Wednesday, the association explains why classifying accounting as a professional degree program matters:
Under OBBBA’s revised student-loan framework:
- Graduate students in DOE-recognized “professional degree” programs may access borrowing levels up to $50,000 annually.
- Students in programs not recognized as professional (including accounting) may be limited to $20,500 annually.
This disparity risks:
- Reducing access to advanced accounting education
- Shrinking the pipeline of future CPAs, faculty, and researchers
- Undermining global competitiveness in the profession
- Weakening a critical workforce at a time when demand for accounting professionals is surging, particularly in analytics, sustainability reporting, technology-enabled assurance, and global compliance
A Need for Reclassification
The AAA urges the DOE to:
- Review and revise the classification of accounting programs within the OBBBA regulatory framework.
- Engage the accounting academic and professional community in shaping an accurate and equitable definition of professional programs.
- Ensure that student-loan access reflects the licensure-based, public-interest role of accounting.
“Accounting is a foundational profession globally,” added 2025-2026 AAA President Mark Beasley. “Students preparing for careers in auditing, accounting, analytics, and regulatory oversight must have equitable access to graduate education. The public relies on qualified accountants, and federal policy should support and not undermine the talent pipeline.”
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