cpa profession facing more battles across the country

disputes revolve around required hours, definitions and “substantial equivalency.”

by steven sacks
the new fundamentals: thriving in disruption

of all the states whose legislature has run amok this past year, the florida legislature passed house bill 813 – certified public accountants – by both the florida house and senate. this bill creates a new “retired status” license category for cpas. the legislation will now be sent to gov. ron desantis for consideration for being signed into law.

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according to the florida institute of cpas ceo, the thinking behind this is to “… uphold retired cpas’ profound sense of pride and accomplishment and preserve their professional identity.” however, they cannot reflect to the public that they have an active license because many believe the public thinks that if you have “cpa” after your name, you have an active license. if an individual wants to return to public practice, they can complete 80 hours of cpe every two years as part of renewing their license.

to be sure, other states have addressed the cpa retired status, such as colorado, minnesota and washington state, and no doubt there will be others soon. there are different cpe requirements in different states for activating a cpa license, along with other non-uniform requirements.

then there are oklahoma’s rules, which appear not to require cpe even with an active cpa “certificate,” which i think means “license.”

the retired status issue has been simmering since 2015, when nasba and the aicpa first addressed it in an exposure draft regarding the uniform accountancy act rules.

before examining some questions, it is worth a quick read of the florida law in this excerpt:

(8) “practice of,” “practicing public accountancy” or “public accounting” means:

(a) offering to perform or performing for the public one or more types of services involving the expression of an opinion on financial statements, the attestation as an expert in accountancy to the reliability or fairness of presentation of financial information, the utilization of any form of an opinion or financial statements that provide a level of assurance, the utilization of any form of disclaimer of opinion which conveys an assurance of reliability as to matters not specifically disclaimed, or the expression of an opinion on the reliability of an assertion by one party for the use by a third party;

(b) offering to perform or performing for the public one or more types of services involving the use of accounting skills or one or more types of tax, management advisory, or consulting services by any person who is a certified public accountant who holds an active license, issued pursuant to this chapter, or who is authorized to practice public accounting pursuant to the practice privileges granted in s. 473.3141, including the performance of such services by a certified public accountant in the employ of a person or firm; or

(c) offering to perform or performing for the public one or more types of service involving the preparation of financial statements not included within paragraph (a) by a certified public accountant who holds an active license issued pursuant to this chapter or who is authorized to practice public accounting pursuant to the practice privileges granted in s. 473.3141; by a firm of certified public accountants; or by a firm in which a certified public accountant has an ownership interest …

drivers behind the legislation

there are a few questions surrounding this legislation that don’t seem to be answered by states that have enacted similar legislation:

1. what does the “cpa” moniker actually say to the public?
2. what is the singular and widely accepted definition of the “practice of public accounting”?
3. what is the definition of “accounting services”?

cpa license

the “cpa” is a license enabling one to provide accounting services. more specifically, it only gives those holding the cpa (an active license and all that entails) the ability to conduct audits and attest services. however, i’d venture to say the general public doesn’t know or care about this. tax is an area that most people think of as the domain of cpas. despite all the literature about cpas and efforts to show a breadth of knowledge and services, the general public (particularly guidance counselors) still thinks of cpas as “numbers” people. this begs a broader question of image needs, but i’ll leave that for another day.

so, it’s a license, but are all licenses equal? consider the differences among states when it comes to cpe requirements; ethics range from three to eight hours depending on the state; the high percentage of technical areas, regardless of whether those are areas in which you work that you have to take. on a positive note, kudos to the illinois society for requiring credits in a sexual harassment prevention training program. i believe it is the only state that does so. a temporary shift from technical proficiency to greater personal awareness. not the worst thing.

at the same time, colorado limits to 20 percent of the cpe credits newly certified professionals can take in personal development. interesting.

is the public interest sufficiently served by a licensed practitioner who takes irrelevant cpe courses to meet state board requirements? because we are on the topic of required topic areas, how do we define “relevant”?

defining the practice of public accounting

then, there is the discussion of the definition of the practice of public accounting. this definition, much like client accounting services (the latest craze), is, as blake oliver puts it in his recent podcast with hitendra patil, “… very incredibly vague and broad.” researching the definition of public accounting, some sources indicate just auditing and tax, while others include financial planning, forensic accounting, valuation and other non-financial work. if the definition engulfs so many other services that non-cpas can provide, we need a more specific definition of public accounting practice and what strictures are placed on cpas versus non-cpas. there is an increasing blurring of services between cpas and mbas (except for the attest function: the domain of only cpas), so why not tout the cpa “brand” to prove or disprove its cachet?

what are accounting services?

finally, what is meant by “accounting services”? here, too, is an example of an expansive yet vague description. in any normal situation, if someone is a cpa (jumped through all the hoops), whether having an active or inactive license and providing such value-added services as strategic planning or organizational restructuring, would this be considered “accounting services”? is workflow analysis an accounting service? is human capital management an accounting service? if there is a generally accepted definition of accounting services, i have yet to see it.

the following is from law insider (it is just another example of many that lack a clear definition): “accounting services means the systematic and comprehensive recording of financial transactions pertaining to a business entity and the process of summarizing, analyzing and reporting these transactions to oversight agencies or tax collection entities, including certified public auditing, attest services and preparing financial statements, bookkeeping, tax return preparation, advice, and consulting and, where applicable, representing taxpayers before tax collection agencies.

“‘accounting services’ does not include, except as provided with respect to financial management services, investment advice, wealth management advice or consulting or any tax return preparation, advice, counseling or representation for individuals, regardless of whether those individuals are owners of pass-through entities, such as partnerships, limited liability companies or s corporations …”

clear, huh?

does the fifth year make you better?

uh, no. a closer examination has been undertaken in several states. just this week, minnesota’s state senate (interesting that the state also wants to limit the use of “cpa”) voted to advance a bill that proposes an alternative route to earning the cpa license. this action continues to chip away at the question of who is more qualified: a 120-hour cpa or a 150-hour cpa?

is there really a difference between a professional with a 120-credit-hour education and a professional with a 150-credit-hour degree? states such as new jersey are asking this question. if much of what is learned and tested for will never be used, then what is the “why” behind all of this?

a drying pipeline, potential mobility impediments (what exactly is “substantial equivalency”?) and unclear definitions of the practice of public accounting and accounting services – that may include this work or that work – are all converging simultaneously.

apropos the expression (20-plus years ago), “if it ain’t broke …”

posted on april 16, 2024