National Association of State Boards of Accountancy

• Author: Louise Haberman
• Pages: 533-535

Page 533

More than 100 years ago, in 1896, New York appointed the first board of certified public accountant (CPA) examiners. By 1925 all U.S. jurisdictions were administering CPA examinations. Though all states today administer a single Uniform CPA Examination, there are still fifty-four independent boards of accountancy (for all states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico) that issue licenses to accountants. These boards set entry requirements for their licensees; enforce measures to support continuing competence, through both professional education and/or peer review requirements for renewal of individual licenses and firm registrations; and insure that technical and ethical standards are upheld via disciplinary proceedings growing out of a complaint-based system. Board-levied penalties for malpractice range from fines, to additional education requirements, to prereport issuance reviews, to withdrawal of license.

The average CPA is generally more aware of the activities of the professional associations than of those of the state board of accountancy. However, the professional path of all CPAs all begins with the board: they had to apply to the state board of accountancy to take the Uniform CPA Examination; then they took the examination under the auspices of a state board and waited to hear the results of that examination issued by the state board. It is the state board that requires renewal forms and fees to be submitted and the state board that allows licensees from other states to begin to practice within its borders. Fortunately, in the vast majority of cases, the licensee will never see the disciplinary side of the state board's operations. However, that is a vital aspect of the board's operations that protects the public from unqualified practitioners. The wronged consumer needs no legal counsel. A complaint can be brought directly to the board by any individual or organization. In fact, government agencies that uncover inferior performance by licensees are encouraged to refer their complaints to the accountancy boards. With the growth of the Internet, several states accept on-line complaints via their Web sites.

BOARD MEMBERSHIP

For a long time, the CPA profession has prided itself on self-regulation, partially because of the discipline enforced by its professional organizations and partially because the state boards are primarily composed of licensees. Typically members of a board of accountancy are appointed by a state's governor and include both licensed CPAs and public

Page 534

members. The CPA members are often selected by the governor after consulting with the state's CPA society. A small daily stipend for meeting attendance and travel is awarded by some states; others do not provide such compensation. Boards vary in...