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Accountancy Board meeting addresses “CPA Retired” status, CPE reporting concerns

写于2024年5月3日

OSCPA员工报告

俄亥俄州会计委员会(ABO), 负责发放许可证的州政府机构, 调节, 必要时, 约束注册会计师, 是否会显著影响所有注册会计师的执业. That is why OSCPA represents the profession at every ABO meeting and advocates for best-practice rulemaking. 这次会议包括各种主题: 

  • Based on the number of questions received about what “CPA Retired” status means and the impact it has on a retired CPA’s future work as an accounting professional, the ABO agreed it made sense to clarify existing Ohio Administrative Code Rule 4701-7-06. 目前, a CPA requesting a waiver of requirements (taking/reporting CPE and triennial renewal) must submit an affidavit that they are retired from public accounting practice. 在收到ABO的豁免要求后, the individual must use the term “retired” after the CPA designation in a font size and style as that used for “CPA”.  

  • 建议添加的规则 4701-7-06 changes – which still need to go through the State of Ohio’s regulatory rule review process - include: 

  • Holders of “CPA Retired” status must be at least 55 years of age and not performing or offering to perform services for the public (defined in 4701-7-04), including but not limited to the use of accounting or auditing skills; issuance of reports on financial statements; or one or more types of management advisory, 金融咨询, or consulting services; tax return preparation; or providing advice on tax matters. 

  • The restrictions above shall not preclude a “CPA Retired” from providing volunteer, uncompensated tax preparation services; participating in a government-sponsored business mentoring program; or serving on a board of directors for a non-profit or government-appointed advisory body. 

  • 如果“退休注册会计师”个人寻求重新建立其俄亥俄州注册会计师执照, 他们必须完成下列的持续专业教育培训要求 4701-15-09 并要求在ABO之前举行复职听证会. 

The issue of accounting firms operating as an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) was discussed. ABO仍处于研究阶段, 评估其他行业和国家如何处理这种所有权选择. Their ultimate goal is to be flexible on forms of business accounting firms can use yet ensure Ohio accounting firms continue to maintain more than 50% ownership by licensed sbf111胜博发. 

在讨论CPE时提出的另一个问题是:数量vs. 质量? OSCPA’s Scott Wiley suggested the ABO and OSCPA collaborate on this important topic. ABO staff noted that the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) largely said this issue is up to each state, but the NASBA CPE Committee did recommend that states adopt a maximum number of CPE credits that can be accepted in a single day. 最初的想法是12-15个小时是可以接受的, though the ABO would need to use judgment in any proposed rule change for consideration of exceptions. An example provided was that some multi-day learning events issue a single certificate with a single date. 拟议的规则修订尚未起草.  

ABO继续对现有规则进行讨论 (4701-11-07) requiring licensees to report – within 30 days – any felony conviction or conviction of any crime (including misdemeanors) where dishonesty or fraud could be an element, 或其他发牌机构或政府实体的行动. 5月1日，ABO计划向所有俄亥俄州被许可人发送电子邮件提醒通知. 注:OSCPA在其道德课程中涵盖了这一主题和其他相关主题. Each Ohio CPA is required to take at least three hours of ethics as part of their total 120 hours of CPE. 

大多数ABO会议都是这样, 几名注册会计师被要求出席ABO的纪律听证会. 在4月份发生的三起事件中，都与同行评审有关: 

  • A CPA representing his firm appeared before the ABO due to failure to timely renew its firm registration due October 2023. The required peer review had not been completed, which is a huge barrier to renewal. The CPA representing the firm shared that health challenges were a factor in related delays, 同行评议最近才完成. ABO投票撤销了该公司的注册, 在支付了750美元的罚款后，他停止了诉讼.  

  • 第二次听证会还涉及一家注册会计师事务所的同行评议挑战. In this case, the firm had been terminated from the 同行评审 Program last summer. 结果是, the firm’s registration was not eligible for renewal and therefore expired in October 2023. A cease-and-desist order stopping the CPA firm from using the CPA designation was issued, 但该公司没有遵守. 它也没有遵守同行审查的要求. 代表该公司的注册会计师说，今后, 他计划解决合规方面的挑战. ABO投票撤销了注册会计师的个人执业许可证, 继续公司注册期满, and stated reapplication cannot take place until proof of meeting all remedial actions has occurred. 

  • The final disciplinary hearing involved an individual CPA firm owner who violated the rules of professional conduct by failing to renew its peer review registration last year. As with the second case, the CPA involved did not comply with the ABO’s cease-and-desist order. 与前两种情况不同, this CPA did not respond to outreaches from the ABO and did not request the opportunity to come before the Board to discuss the charges against her. This CPA’s individual permit and firm registration were both revoked for failure to meet licensing requirements.  

  • Four sbf111胜博发 formally requested a waiver of fines primarily generated for two reasons: individuals who renewed their practice permit in late 2023 failed to take at least 20 hours of CPE each year of the total 120 hours required to renew, 以及错过续约截止日期的个人. 其中一个迟到了，她的行医执照被吊销了. Each explained in their written correspondence why they were requesting refunds of some or all of their late fees/fines. 罚款/滞纳金从200美元到570美元不等. 所有请求都被拒绝. 值得注意的是:每封信都是在ABO会议上大声读出的, 所以如果你想申请豁免, 只包括你愿意作为公共记录的一部分分享的细节. 

下一次ABO会议将于5月24日星期五在哥伦布举行. While the meetings are held in person, watching it via Teams is an option, too. 要获得链接，请致电614-466-4135与ABO联系. 如果您对这些或其他许可问题有疑问, 欢迎致电614-764-2727与OSCPA联系.