AICPA Welcomes Renewal of Mutual Recognition Agreement with Canada and Mexico

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) renewed a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) with accounting bodies of Canada and Mexico at a ceremony during the 110^th Annual Meeting of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) on November 1.

Signers of the 5-year MRA renewal are the AICPA, NASBA, Comité Mexicano para la Práctica Internacional de la Contaduría and Instituto Mexicano de Contadores Públicos, A.C., and CPA Canada.

Prompted by a common commitment to eliminate impediments to reciprocity, the NASBA/AICPA U.S. International Qualifications Appraisal Board first signed a MRA with a Canadian accounting body in 1991 and then made it a tripartite agreement when Mexico joined in 2002.

Under this MRA renewal, U.S. CPAs going to either Canada or Mexico will be able to take advantage of an accelerated pathway to professional credentials in those countries. The same is true of professional accountants from Canada and Mexico who wish to pursue practice rights in the United States.

“Business is increasingly international in scope, which requires CPAs to be more global-minded than ever before,” said AICPA President and CEO Barry C. Melancon, CPA, CGMA. “The professional reciprocity that is embedded in this agreement will give U.S. CPAs a clear and consistent path to obtaining a credential in Canada and/or Mexico. This MRA is a testament to the close relationship between the three nations’ accounting institutes, the AICPA’s longstanding collaboration with NASBA, and our common desire to help accounting credential holders gain practice privileges in other countries.”