CBA Fee Restructuring

To help support the CBA mission and to better protect consumers, the CBA will be restructuring a variety of fees including the CPA initial licensure and license renewal fees, as well as the accounting firm application, initial licensure, and license renewal fees. These fees will increase in two steps, the first happening on July 1, 2024, and the second will occur on July 1, 2026. The new fee structure will eliminate the current imbalance between revenues and authorized expenditures, as well as ensure that the CBA has the necessary resources to meet its consumer protection mandate.

Fees associated with the entry into the accounting profession, such as the application fees for the CPA Exam and CPA licensure, will not increase.

• Why the Need for Fee Increases?

The CBA is a special funded agency, which means we rely on the fees collected for various services provided to licensees and examination and licensure applicants to provide the financial resources necessary for us to operate and meet our consumer protection mission. The fees collected are deposited into the CBA’s Accountancy Fund, which in turn is used to fund our annual budget and address authorized expenditures.

We strive to be good stewards of the fees the CBA collects. A CBA member is elected annually to serve as the Secretary/Treasurer. Working with CBA staff and the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), the Secretary/Treasurer presents a financial report at CBA meetings that provides an overview of expenditures, revenues, and the CBA’s Accountancy Fund. Additionally, a budget update is provided monthly to the CBA members. The CBA is transparent with its budget and recognizes the importance of ensuring funds are used to carry out the CBA’s consumer protection mission.



In January 2023, the CBA was presented with a comprehensive Fee Analysis completed by the Department of Consumer Affairs. The Fee Analysis reflected that many of the CBA’s current fees did not adequately recover the actual cost of performing the associated services.

Using the Fee Analysis as a guide, the CBA approved a legislative proposal that would increase some fees and keep other fees associated with entry into the practice of public accounting at the current level, in recognition of the accounting profession’s pipeline issues. With the passage of Senate Bill (SB) 816 (Roth, Chapter 723, Statutes of 2023) in September 2023, the fee restructuring became official.

Thank you for taking the time to visit this page, as it is our hope that it will help you understand the CBA’s reasoning and need for these fee increases: To eliminate the imbalance between revenues and authorized expenditures and provide the CBA with the resources to continue to protect consumers by ensuring only qualified licensees practice public accountancy in accordance with established professional standards.

• History of the CBA’s Fee Structure

CBA FEE HISTORY
Fee Type	2000	7/1/2011	7/1/2014	7/1/2016	1/1/2020	10/1/2022
Initial CPA License Fee	$200	$120	$50	$120	$250	$280
CPA License Renewal Fee	$200	$120	$50	$120	$250	$280
Application Fee for Accountancy Firms	$150	$150	$30	$150	$150	$150
Initial License Fee for Accountancy Firms	$200	$120	$50	$120	$250	$280
License Renewal Fee for Accountancy Firms	$200	$120	$50	$120	$250	$280




The CBA constantly monitors its fee levels, revenues, and expenditures. In 2011 the CBA reduced fees to $120 to satisfy the statutory requirement of keeping the CBA’s months in reserve (MIR) to 9 months (MIR is a calculation of the number of months of anticipated budgeted expenditures the CBA has in the Accountancy Fund Reserve). In July 2012, the CBA determined that the 2011 decrease in fees did not create the anticipated impact to the Reserve level. As a result, the CBA initiated another reduction in fees down to $50 that took effect July 2014 and continued for two years. Based on the regulatory language at the time, the CBA was required to conduct an analysis of its actual and estimated costs to determine the appropriate fee levels for the initial license and license renewal fee.

In fiscal year 2014-2015, the CBA conducted an analysis of its Reserve and fee structure and initiated a rulemaking to return the license renewal and initial license fees back to $200 as set in 2000. The regulatory change was not successful and, as a result, the license renewal fee of $120 was reinstated beginning July 2016.

During the CBA’s 2015 Sunset Review, the Legislature recommended the CBA maintain a 24 MIR level, which would provide sufficient resources for the CBA to handle large enforcement matters. In 2018, the CBA again initiated a rulemaking to increase license renewal and initial license fees to the statutory maximum of $250. The increase in fees would improve the imbalance of revenues and expenditures, and provide sufficient resources for future operations and progress towards the legislatively recommended 24 MIR.

While undergoing its Sunset Review in 2019, the CBA pursued a rulemaking to increase the statutory maximum for license renewal and initial license fees. Assembly Bill 1521 (Low, Chapter 359, Statutes of 2019) established a minimum fee level of $250 in statute for license renewal and initial licensure and increased the statutory maximum from $250 to $280. The changes became effective in January 2020. Although the fee restructuring increased revenue, the CBA’s authorized expenditures continued to exceed its revenues. During the 2019 Sunset Review hearings, it was agreed that the CBA would conduct a fee analysis to determine if the present fee levels were adequate to cover the cost of providing specified services. In the meantime, the CBA pursued a regulatory change to raise fees to the statutory maximum of $280 that took effect in October 2022.

The latest Fee Analysis was performed by DCA and presented to the CBA in January 2023. As previously mentioned, DCA’s fee analysis concluded that the CBA is not collecting fees at the appropriate level to cover the associated services and that the CBA’s revenues are not sufficiently covering its authorized expenditures, which impacts the CBA’s Reserve Fund balance and MIR. A fee restructuring was deemed necessary to ensure the CBA has the resources to properly carry out its operations.



During the May 2023 CBA meeting a two-step increase for license renewal and initial licensure was proposed. The two-step fee increase approach allotted more time for those impacted to adapt to the higher fees and the CBA will still achieve its goal of increasing revenues to cover its authorized expenditures

SB 816 does raise the statutory cap on the CPA and accountancy firm application fees in the event future increases via the rulemaking process are necessary, but also gives the CBA authority to reduce fees by means of regulation if the Accountancy Fund were to exceed 24 MIR.