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Enforcement Newsletter

May 2013

The Enforcement Resources Committee is pleased to announce the release of a new tool to assist Executive Directors and accountancy boards with enforcement issues. The Enforcement Resource Guide is in a web-based format that is available to current executive directors and members of boards of accountancy through a password protected section of NASBA.org. This resource includes links to additional reference materials and forms for use by our boards.

The Enforcement Guide is a great resource to allow accountancy board staff to benefit from the experience of other boards. The sample forms and board models allow staff to see how similar states handle particular enforcement situations, and also allow the staff to see relevant useful sample forms, rather than having to “recreate the wheel” with every new enforcement issue.

The ERG is formatted into five major sections:

  • Introduction/Overview
  • Components of Enforcement
  • State Board Models
  • Sample Forms & Reports
  • Appendices

The Components of Enforcement section contains information addressing the various stages of the enforcement process, from start to finish, and is divided into nine components. In each section, the enforcement step is defined and explained, and guidance is given regarding best practices. The first component is “Seeking, Accepting, Reporting and Recording Complaint.” The complaint process is the initial enforcement phase, when an accountancy board identifies licensed CPAs who appear to have harmed the public by violating the laws or regulations of the profession or failing to comply with other Board requirements. Component 1 includes the accountancy board process of determining if the Board has personal jurisdiction over the respondent and subject matter jurisdiction over the matter, as well as the next steps once the complaint has been filed or violation has been identified. Recording complaints entails organizing and tracking the complaint and associated information.

In each newsletter we will explore another Component of the ERG. We hope you will use this opportunity to become familiar with the ERG and the benefits it offers to our accountancy boards.

Any questions regarding the guide can be directed to Stacey Grooms at [email protected].

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