CA the island: CalCPA continues to battle the mobility issue.

• Author: Allen, Bruce C.
• Position: CapitolBeat

California, once the home of innovation and new ideas, has become somewhat of a backwater in the accounting world due to the challenging political environment, term limits, lack of institutional memory and changing demographics. CPAs in California are increasingly laced with the challenge of having to fend off harmful legislative proposals while still educating and advocating elected officials that are unfamiliar with the CPA profession.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

California was the 49th state to adopt the minimum national standard for entry-level education into the profession, and (he 47th state to adopt mandatory peer review. The trend persists as the state continues to grapple with the implementation of interstate practice.

"Frankly; California's failure to join with the rest of the nation in a comprehensive solution for interstate practice is an embarrassment," says thriller CalCPA Chair Mike Ueltzen.

Today's global economy makes conducting business across state borders a routine occurrence; businesses of all sizes have financial interests in numerous states. In recognition of this, the profession has worked hard to adopt national standards and uniform certification requirements for licensure. CPAs regardless of where they were originally licensed--must pass the same Uniform Accountancy Exam, will soon possess at least a college degree with core accounting and business education, and they will all meet the 150-hour education requirement soon.

"Our clients have become more geographically diverse. They have interests all across the country" says Paul Regan. who is also a former CalCPA chair. "We must be able to effectively and efficiently provide them with the services they need, when needed."

However, California is one of the last fly states that have not recognized the routine interstate practice of accounting. California is still requiring out-of-state CPAs to register with the California Board of Accountancy before they provide business tax services, tax planning, consulting, expert witness or more traditional services, such as audits. reviews and compilations.

There are 48 other states that have adopted the Uniform Accountancy Act's interstate practice approach, in which only firms providing attest services for entities headquartered in a state are required to register with tile affected state's board of accountancy. While providing the services, the out-of-state CRN is subject to discipline by the state board of accountancy in which the...