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Enforcement Newsletter

May 2015

In the winter 2015 edition of EDigital, Jim Abbott, Executive Director of the North Dakota State Board of Accountancy, had some outstanding things to say about his role as an ED, and the strengths of the role in general:

“I think our community of Executive Directors is a real resource. We’re not competing with each other; there’s no overlap of responsibilities. You can easily reach out to other EDs as a resource to learn what is working, or what is being done differently.”

Wade Jewell photo for ED article

Wade Jewell, Virginia Board of Accountancy ED

Each year, NASBA’s Annual Conference for Executive Directors and Board Staff strives to give EDs a forum where issues can be raised and their ideas can flourish – all in an effort to enhance public protection.

This year’s conference, held March 24-26 in Tampa, Fla., saw 39 EDs, 25 Board staff and 22 CPA society CEOs/Presidents get together to discuss a wide variety of issues impacting Boards of Accountancy, CPA societies, and the accounting profession as a whole.

Topics on this year’s agenda included everything from the impact of marijuana laws to U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

“I found the presentations on international education, reliance on accreditation, and accounting education very informative,” said Tom DeGroodt, Executive Director of the Missouri State Board of Accountancy.

Perhaps the most popular elements of this year’s ED Conference were joint sessions between Board of Accountancy EDs and CEOs of state CPA societies. Multiple sessions, including those on enhancing audit quality and CPE audit services, featured speakers and moderators from both groups.

“I think it was beneficial to have CEOs in the room as we discussed issues that have the potential to impact the regulation of the profession and outreach,” said Ofelia Duran, Executive Director of the Colorado State Board of Accountancy.

The EDs have already provided excellent feedback in regard to what they would like to discuss at next year’s conference, including accounting education and accreditation, investigative techniques, and strategies on how to attract accounting graduates to take the Uniform CPA Examination.

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