Executive Directors Boyd Busy (Alabama) and Viki Windfeldt (Nevada) share how they use the ALD

NASBA’s Accountancy Licensee Database (ALD) has served the Boards of Accountancy as an invaluable enforcement resource since its launch in 2005. This central repository of CPA license and firm information was conceptualized to assist the 55 Boards of Accountancy with their regulatory efforts and is used for a variety of enforcement and licensing purposes.

Executive Directors Boyd Busby (Alabama State Board of Public Accountancy) and Viki Windfeldt (Nevada State Board of Accountancy) each shared how they use the ALD for their respective boards.

Boyd said, “Having the ALD is invaluable and doing our day-to-day job would be extremely difficult without it.” Windfeldt estimated that she and the Board staff probably access the ALD or CPAverify at least seven-to-eight times per week.

Read below to see how these executive directors are using the ALD to enhance their operations.

ALD as a License Verification Tool

Determining whether a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or potential applicant is licensed in another jurisdiction is one of the principal uses of the ALD. Windfeldt said the ALD “is most useful to the Board when receiving phone calls from the public asking if their CPA is licensed. With ALD, the Board can quickly identify if the person has ever held a license, which determines if the Board has jurisdiction and whether the Board is able to assist with a possible complaint.” Additionally, Busby said his Board uses the ALD to verify licenses for mobility and verify Alabama licensees when the state’s internal software can be time-consuming or cumbersome.

Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has led boards to use the ALD as a verification tool in lieu of physical documentation. Windfeldt said:

“With COVID and limited office access for many boards, the delays involved in getting verification forms caused delays in issuing licenses. The ALD has helped speed up the licensing process for the Board. The Board is now able to issue licenses at the staff level as long as it is a clean/no discipline application. The ALD has allowed one less step in the process… [allowing us] to expedite more [applications] quickly.”

The ability to provide a quicker turnaround time for pending reciprocal applications is a huge benefit to state boards where this is allowed.

Aiding in State Board Enforcement Efforts

In addition to providing license verification, the ALD also includes disciplinary details for individuals and firms in many states. In addition, NASBA offers disciplinary alerts that are sent out as email notices to state boards when one of their licensees has been disciplined in another state. Both Busby and Windfeldt emphasized this is a major reason their boards use the ALD. NASBA continues to assist boards with adding additional disciplinary data to the ALD to increase the value to the boards and overall public protection.

Non-Licensed Resident Reports

As a part of the data held in the ALD, state boards are also able to request a Non-Licensed Resident Report for their jurisdiction. This report allows boards to discover CPAs and firms with home or business addresses in their state that are not registered with them. Busby said his Board used this report, which allowed them to investigate over 400 cases and initiate more than 250 reciprocal licenses in their state. Boards can request this report by reaching out to Sydney Shearer at [email protected].