An exploratory study on the impact of COVID-19 on U.S. State boards of accountancy

In the United States (U.S.) individual state boards of accountancy govern the accounting profession within each state. When COVID-19 struck the U.S., state boards worked to maintain normal operations. This study examines how COVID-19 affected the regulatory and oversight activities of the state boards of accountancy and the ways in which boards adapted to the pandemic. We interview executive directors from 21 state boards to determine the pandemic’s impact on board operations and continuing professional education requirements. We also evaluate whether state boards implemented guidance from parties such as the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), and the resources boards had available to navigate the pandemic. Finally, we examine our analyses and findings through the lens of institutional theory. In doing so, we describe how state boards’ individual reactions to the pandemic resulted in a largely homogenous response, as affected by coercive, mimetic, and normative isomorphic mechanisms.