Fighting for the Future of Accounting: My Experience at PICPA’s Day on the Hill

When PICPA members come together in Harrisburg for Day on the Hill, each attendee isn’t just one CPA in a group of CPAs. They are a unified voice for change.

This blog first appeared on the PICPA's website: https://www.picpa.org/professi...

Day on the Hill is a PICPA advocacy event that invites CPAs to Harrisburg, Pa., for a day of meetings with state legislators. My experience was like nothing I had expected. Personally, being someone who generally refrains from news or politics, I did not expect Day on the Hill to have a major impact on me. But when all of us attendees were standing together on the front steps of the Pennsylvania Capitol on June 4, I wasn’t just one CPA in a group of 50-plus CPAs. I realized I was a voice for change: a change desperately needed to support the future of the accounting profession; a change that I was well-prepared to fully and actively support and fight for.

The night before Day on the Hill, I attended a reception and dinner organized by the PICPA. The reception laid the foundation for meeting new people, reconnecting with fellow PICPA members, and meeting legislators. I was especially excited to meet four students from Westminster College attending the event with their professor, Keith Bittel, CPA. It was inspiring to see a fellow accounting professional and professor encouraging his students to take a stand for something that will have an enormous impact on their future careers.

I definitely was pleased to hear that my firm, McGill, Power, Bell & Associates, had the most participant registrations for Day on the Hill this year, and that we set a high bar! It was a personal goal of mine to have a large firm turnout to support the profession. During dinner, I also had the opportunity to have a conversation with Rep. Napoleon Nelson, vice chair of the House Communications & Technology Committee.

On the morning of the event, Jennifer Cryder, CEO of the PICPA, opened the day by introducing Sen. Nick Pisciottano, CPA-Inactive, and Rep. Keith Greiner, CPA, to provide their insight into the legislative process.

Sen. Pisciottano spoke of his experiences working in the accounting profession up to his current position as a state senator. He informed the group that Senate Bill 719 had unanimously passed a Senate committee vote and was scheduled to go to the full Senate. The bill proposes an alternative path to CPA licensure, replacing the additional credit hours requirement (the 150 credit hour rule) with extra supervised work experience in an effort to address the profession’s talent shortage. (Senate Bill 719 has since passed the full Senate on June 11, 49-0!) I was unaware of how rare it was for a bill to pass unanimously during any part of the legislative process.

Rep. Greiner shared his experience working in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, specifically participating in the state budget process. Rep. Greiner provided insight on the senate and house bartering with one another to get their specific bills passed by the other parties in the general assembly. Rep. Greiner also shared his support of Senate Bill 719, and he encouraged the group to share our personal experiences within the profession with our legislators and explain why this bill is so important to CPAs across the state. For this bill to pass, he explained, we need to make the general assembly care enough to support it.

Following the presentations from Sen. Pisciottano and Rep. Greiner, Peter Calcara, vice president of government relations with the PICPA, provided the group with issue updates and briefed us on the process of meeting with our legislators for the day. Peter reassured the group that we are the experts on the profession, and lawmakers need to genuinely hear from us to make them want to push the bill into law.

Our group of more than 50 CPAs and students then made our way to the Capitol, educated and ready to advocate for our profession. I had an hour to spend touring the Capitol with fellow PICPA member James Tomak before my first meeting. We spent the time catching up, discussing the bill, taking pictures, and absorbing the beautiful scenery. I never expected the elegant architecture and ornate interior within the building itself to capture my attention like it did.

After my brief tour, I met with state Rep. Timothy Bonner. The meeting started by discussing our personal connections within the community that he serves and in which I live. Then he asked what he could do for me. I explained what the bill included and why it was so important to me and the profession, even though it would not impact my CPA license specifically. At the end of the meeting, he told me that he was in full support and would gladly help support CPAs like those he has worked with at McGill, Power, Bell & Associates for many years.

My visit to the Capitol reminded me that real change is possible when we show up and advocate for a stronger future. Senate Bill 719 is more than legislation – it’s a step toward a more accessible, equitable, and sustainable pathway to CPA licensure. Now is the time to make our voices heard.