The profession’s “mobility” — the ability of CPAs to work across state lines with as little interference as possible — has been a hot-button issue for a while now. But a movement is afoot to make it easier (in some areas, anyway) for CPAs to take their practices on the road.

The AICPA has released a summary of recent mobility-related legislation throughout the country, and the results are encouraging. Recent efforts in Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana and Texas are helping the profession move toward a uniform approach to mobility, and at least six other states — Hawaii, Maine, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon and Rhode Island — are considering similar legislation. This map shows where mobility initiatives are moving foward.

Scott Voynich, the chair of the AICPA’s Special Committee on Mobility, took a closer look at the issues surrounding mobility in this comprehensive article in the April 2007 edition of the Journal of Accountancy. In it, he examines his committee’s call for “a federally mandated state-based mobility provision that would allow any CPA with a valid state license to obtain practice privileges in any other state. Perhaps most importantly,” Voynich writes, “no notification or fees would be required, and each state board would maintain the ability to discipline CPAs.”

What mobility-related issues have you encountered?