MACPA Educator s Conference: State Board Report

Transcription

1 MACPA Educator s Conference: State Board Report An Update: 2011 Speaker Introduction Ray Speciale, Esq., CPA Mount St. Mary s University, Associate Professor of Law and Accounting Appointed to Maryland State Board of Public Accountancy in October 2007 Educator Member of the Board

2 Overview of Board Functions Seven Member Board CPA Practitioner Members (4) Education Member (full-time professor) (1) Public/Consumer Members (2) Primary Function: Protect the Public Regulatory Authority Legislative Initiatives Discipline and Enforcement Adjudication Presentation Overview Educational Requirements (Review) Accreditation Issues Recurring Issues with Course Titles Ethics (Group III Requirement) CLEP/ACE Courses CPE Change for Educators CPE (Audit Findings)

3 Presentation Overview (cont d) CPA Stats for MD Status of Proposed 120/150 Change Educational Requirements Effective January 2, semester hours undergraduate or higher level still required Requires attainment of baccalaureate degree 3 Groups of Requirements Created Group I Accounting Requirements Group II Business Related Subjects Group III Ethics Graduate courses gain benefit of 1.5X multiplier toward 150 hours

4 Educational Requirements Group I Accounting Courses (27/41 hours) including: Auditing (3/4) Financial Accounting (9/12) Managerial Accounting (3/4) U.S. Federal Income Tax (3/4) Educational Requirements Group II Business-Related Courses (21/32 hours) including at least 5 of the following: Statistics Economics Corporation or business finance Management U.S. business law Marketing Business communications

5 Education Requirements (Group II) Cont d Quantitative Methods Information Systems/Information Technology Educational Requirements Group III Ethics (3/4 hours) including any of the following: Business ethics Accounting ethics Philosophy of ethics Any course substantially devoted to examining the framework for modern ethical decision making

6 Accreditation Issues Regional Accreditation AACSB ACBSP Accreditation Recognized by Board (CHEA, MHEC) Credential Evaluation for Curriculum Equivalencies (NACES) Course Titles Application reviews are based on transcripts Course titles should be clear and descriptive Example: Accounting II (Board historically considered this a financial accounting course, but some institutions use as a managerial or cost accounting course) If course title is not helpful we go to course description

7 Course Titles (cont d) If CD is not helpful or clear enough we are forced to go to syllabus this is often time consuming and difficult for applicant if significant time passed since course was completed. Moral of Story: take time to review your course titles and match as closely as possible to regulatory requirements Ethics Ethics is still our biggest problem Acceptable courses: -Business ethics -Accounting ethics -Philosophy of ethics -Any course substantially devoted to examining the framework for modern ethical decision making

8 Ethics (cont d) Commonly encountered issues: -Hybrid courses -Multiple or across the curriculum courses -Introductory Philosophy or Theology courses CLEP/ACE Courses ACE: American Council on Education CLEP: College-Level Exam Program Counting the Credits (How many and how are they listed?)

9 CPE Changes for Educators Law/Regulations limit CPE from teaching to 45 hours per reporting cycle Repeat courses okay but only included once in each cycle 3 for1 for new courses CPE (continued) Policy: Adoption of NASBA Fields of Study for CPE Policy: Up to 10 hours allowed for publication additional hours may be allowed with supporting evidence/evaluation Compliance problems with CPE especially ethics

10 CPA Exam Statistics July/August Exam Window AUD: 52.4% pass rate FAR: 55.6% pass rate REG: 55.4% pass rate BEC: 48.2% pass rate CPA Exam Stats (continued) Successful CPA Exam Candidates (since launch of computer-based testing) 2004: 74* 2005: : : : : : 457

11 Exam Registrations: CPA Exam Stats 2009: 3, : 4,481 Other CPA Board Facts (2010) 889 Exam Apps Processed 788 Approved 144 Denied

12 CPA Board Stats (continued) ACTIVE CPAs: 13,597 INACTIVE CPAs: 5,521 CPA Corporations: 521 CPA Partnerships: 35 CPA LLCs: 230 CPA LLPs: /150 Proposed Change Statutory (Law) change is working its way through the legislative process (again) If proposed law passes, next step is regulatory change How regulatory change may be shaped

13 Conclusion QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?