MINUTES OF THE KANSAS BOARD OF ACCOUNTANCY 9:00 AM DECEMBER 6, 2013 LANDON STATE OFFICE BUILDING, ROOM 556A TOPEKA, KS

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1 MINUTES OF THE KANSAS BOARD OF ACCOUNTANCY 9:00 AM DECEMBER 6, 2013 LANDON STATE OFFICE BUILDING, ROOM 556A TOPEKA, KS 1. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS: A. CALL TO ORDER: Kathryn J. Mitchell, CPA, Chair, called the meeting to order. Board members in attendance were Ms. Mitchell; T. C. Anderson, Public Member; Denise Denning, CPA; Michael Marsh, CPA; Patricia O Sullivan, Public Member; and John Helms, CPA. Also in attendance were Susan Somers, Executive Director; Darin Conklin, General Counsel to the Board; Matthew Crowley, Disciplinary Counsel to the Board; Rita Barnard, Kansas Society of CPAs; and Joyce Schartz, Public Accountants Association. B. CONSENT CALENDAR: The Board reviewed the minutes of the October 18, 2013 meeting; reciprocity certificates/permits to practice/firm registrations; and the November financials. Ms. Denning moved and Mr. Helms seconded to approve the Consent Calendar. Upon a vote, the motion carried. 2. CPA EXAM: A. The Board reviewed a request from Brett Wasinger for a waiver of 1 hour of accounting required to sit for the CPA exam. Ms. O Sullivan recused herself from this matter. After discussion, Mr. Anderson moved and Mr. Marsh seconded to grant the waiver based upon his work experience. Upon a vote, the motion carried, with Ms. O Sullivan not participating. 3. CPE/PERMIT TO PRACTICE/PEER REVIEW/FIRM REGISTRATIONS: A. Ms. Somers presented to the Board the list of firms with Peer Reviews either due or in process, and indicated that since the Board has already established the due dates for 2014, the report was for informational purposes only. B. The Board reviewed a request from Raymond Relph for an extension of his Peer Review due date, which expired October 31, Although Mr. Relph submitted an in process letter to the Board prior to the meeting, the Board expressed concerned about the delinquency of the request. After discussion, Mr. Anderson moved and Ms. O Sullivan seconded to grant Mr. Relph s request, and instructed Ms. Somers to write him a letter advising him that the delinquency of this request would be taken into 1

2 consideration should Mr. Relph request an extension of his Peer Review in the future. Upon a vote, the motion carried. C. The Board reviewed a request from Steven Moeder for a waiver of his Peer Review which is due April 30, Mr. Moeder represented that he had left a firm in May of 2012, opened his own practice, and issued two audit reports. However, he was now closing his practice and going to work for another firm that did not perform audits. After discussion, Mr. Anderson moved, and Mr. Marsh seconded, to deny the request. Upon a vote, the motion carried. D. The Board reviewed a request from Ronald Bouska for an extension of his Peer Review due date for a period of thirty (30) days based on personal health issues. Mr. Bouska s current peer review expired November 30, After discussion, Mr. Anderson moved and Ms. O Sullivan seconded, to grant an extension of Mr. Bouska s Peer Review due date to December 30, Upon a vote, the motion carried. E. The Board reviewed the Peer Review Oversight Report prepared by Mark Dick, the Board s liaison for Peer Review, and noted his concern about the selection process for Technical Reviewers as well as the performance of independent oversight functions of Technical Reviewers. Ms. O Sullivan moved and Ms. Denning seconded to accept the report, and instructed Ms. Mitchell to write a letter to the KSCPA s Peer Review Chair, Marshal Hull, requesting a report back by June 14, 2014 as to the policies and procedures that the KSCPA Peer Review Committee has put in place to address the issues outlined in Mr. Dick s report. Upon a vote, the motion carried. F. The Board reviewed a request from Timothy McCraw, of McCraw & Company, CPAs, PC for an extension of his Peer Review due date, which expired November 30, After discussion, and based upon Mr. McCraw s statement that the Peer Review would be submitted to the Missouri Society of CPAs by January 15, 2014, Ms. O Sullivan moved, and Mr. Anderson seconded, to grant the extension of Mr. McCraw s Peer Review due date to January 15, 2014, with no further extensions to be granted. Upon a vote, the motion carried. G. The Board reviewed a request from Bruce Culley for a waiver of his Peer Review, which was due November 30, Mr. Culley represented that he had merged his firm with Cochran Head Vick & Company, PC in October of 2013, but that he had failed to notify the Board of the merger. Based upon Mr. Culley s previous Peer Reviews, and the fact that he was merging with a firm that did undergo Peer Reviews for audits, Mr. Anderson moved, and Mr. Marsh seconded, to grant the request for a waiver. Upon a vote, the motion carried. H. The Board reviewed a report identifying the number of peer review extensions and waivers addressed by the Board in the preceding three (3) years. The report reflected that there had been an increase in the requests for waiver and extension in The Board instructed Ms. Somers to write an article to be posted on the Board s website and to be submitted to the KSCPA for publication in its newsletter regarding the 2

3 Board s position on waivers of peer review and the timeliness required in requesting extensions and waivers. 4. HEARINGS: A. 9:30 AM MELISSA GOETZ CONSENT ORDER: Ms. O Sullivan recused herself from this matter. Ms. Goetz appeared in person. This matter was before the Board for consideration of a Consent Order relating to Ms. Goetz s failure to maintain compliance with the requirements for renewal of a permit. The terms of the Consent Order required Ms. Goetz to appear before the Board for her hearing. Furthermore, Ms. Goetz shall obtain twenty-one hours of acceptable CPE, plus an additional eight hours of CPE imposed as a penalty, which may not be used for purposes of any future renewals of Ms. Goetz s permit to practice. Ms. Goetz is also required to pay a fine in the amount of $ within thirty days of the effective date of the Order; pay costs pursuant to K.S.A , to include attorney s fees and court reporter fees incurred in this matter; and take the AICPA Comprehensive Ethics exam achieving a score of 90% or higher within sixty days of the effective date of the Order. After discussion, Mr. Anderson moved and Ms. Denning seconded for the Board to accept the terms of the Consent Order. Upon a vote, the motion carried, with Ms. O Sullivan not participating. B. REBECCA HALLIGAN CONSENT ORDER: Ms. O Sullivan recused herself from this matter. Ms. Halligan appeared in person before the Board. This matter was before the Board for consideration of a Consent Order relating to Ms. Halligan s failure to timely pay taxes collected on behalf of others, in particular withholding taxes. The terms of the Consent Order required Ms. Halligan to appear before the Board for her hearing. Furthermore, Ms. Halligan is to pay a fine in the amount of $1,000 within thirty days of the effective date of the Consent Order; pay costs pursuant to K.S.A to include attorney s fees and court reporter fees incurred in the matter; provide proof of timely filing and payment of withholding taxes for which she is responsible for the 4 th quarter of 2013 and tax years of 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018; and take the AICPA Comprehensive Ethics exam achieving a score of 90% or higher within sixty days of the effective date of the Order. Ms. Denning moved and Mr. Anderson seconded, to accept the Consent Order. Upon a vote, the motion carried, with Ms. O Sullivan not participating. C. TIMOTHY SHORT CONSENT ORDER: Ms. O Sullivan recused herself from this matter. Mr. Short appeared in person before the Board. This matter was before the Board for consideration of a Consent Order relating to Mr. Short s failure to timely pay taxes collected on behalf of others. The terms of the Consent Order required Mr. Short to appear before the Board for his hearing. Furthermore, Mr. Short is to pay a fine in the amount of $1,000 within thirty days of the effective date of the Consent Order; pay costs pursuant to K.S.A to include attorney s fees and court reporter fees incurred in the matter; provide proof of timely payment of all federal and state withholding taxes for which he is responsible for tax years 2013 through 2017; and provide a list of all persons and entities for which he is responsible for filing employment 3

4 tax returns and/or paying employment taxes within thirty days of the effective date of the Consent Order. Mr. Anderson moved and Mr. Marsh seconded to accept the Consent Order. Upon a vote, the motion carried, with Ms. O Sullivan not participating. D. DOROTHY MUKANJIRI CONSENT ORDER: Ms. Denning recused herself from this matter. Ms. Mukanjiri appeared by telephone before the Board. This matter was before the Board for consideration of a Consent Order relating to Ms. Mukanjiri s failure to notify the Board of the issuance of an attest report; failure to register as a firm; and failure to comply with Peer Review. The terms of the Consent Order required Ms. Mukanjri to appear before the Board for her hearing. Further, Ms. Mukanjiri is to pay a fine in the amount of $ within thirty days of the effective date of the Consent Order; pay costs pursuant to K.S.A to include attorney s fees and court reporter fees incurred in the matter; and provide proof of completion of Peer Review to the Board on or before December 30, After discussion, Mrs. O Sullivan moved and Mr. Anderson seconded to amend the Consent Order to require proof of completion of Peer Review back to the Board on or before January 31, 2014, with all other requirements remaining intact. Upon a vote, the motion carried, with Ms. Denning not participating. E. RYAN KELLENBARGER CONSENT ORDER: Mr. Helms and Ms. Denning recused themselves from this matter. Mr. Kellenbarger appeared in person before the Board. Mr. Kellenbarger was assisted by counsel in this matter, but his counsel did not appear. This matter was before the Board for consideration of a Consent Order relating to Mr. Kellenbarger s submission of false and/or misleading information on his applications to sit for the CPA exam, in that he represented that he was a resident of Kansas, when he, in fact, was a resident of Oklahoma and no longer met the residency requirements of Kansas to sit as a Kansas candidate. The terms of the Consent Order required Mr. Kellenbarger to appear before the Board for his hearing. Further, Mr. Kellenbarger is to pay the costs incurred in this matter pursuant to K.S.A , to include attorney s fees and court reporter fees, within sixty days from the date the Affidavit of Costs is filed with the Board; the Board will invalidate the scores for the Regulation and Auditing and Attestation sections of his examination, with the Board permitting him to apply for and sit for those last two sections so long as he meets the requirements to sit as a Kansas candidate and takes and passes those sections on or before June 30, After discussion, Ms. O Sullivan moved and Mr. Marsh seconded, for the Board to go into closed session for fifteen minutes to deliberate the matter. Upon a vote, the motion carried. When the Board reconvened, Ms. O Sullivan moved and Mr. Marsh seconded to accept the Consent Order. Upon a vote, the motion carried, with Mr. Helms and Ms. Denning not participating. F. ALLEN ALA REQUEST FOR HEARING ON SUMMARY ORDER OF SUSPENSION: Ms. O Sullivan recused herself from this matter. Mr. Ala appeared in person before the Board. This matter was before the Board for the reason that Mr. Ala failed to cooperate with the Board in an investigation relating to his submission of proof of completion/attendance of CPE credits claimed by him to renew his permit to practice. 4

5 After hearing the evidence presented by counsel, Mr. Anderson moved and Mr. Helms seconded for the Board to go into closed session to deliberate the matter for ten minutes. Upon a vote, the motion carried, with Ms. O Sullivan not participating. When the Board reconvened, Mr. Anderson moved and Mr. Helms seconded for the Board to go back into closed session for an additional ten minutes to deliberate the matter. When the Board reconvened, Mr. Helms moved and Mr. Anderson seconded that the permit of Mr. Ala be revoked for failure to cooperate; that Mr. Ala be assessed the costs in the matter, pursuant to K.S.A to include attorney s fees and court reporter fees and that said costs are required to be paid within sixty days after the affidavit of costs is filed with the Board and payment shall not be paid by credit card. Further, Mr. Conklin is to advise Mr. Ala as to what steps he will need to take to see reinstatement of his permit to practice, including consideration of the Vakas factors. 5. ADJOURN There being no further business to come before the Board, Mr. Helms moved, and Mr. Anderson seconded to adjourn. Upon a vote, the motion carried. /s/ Susan L. Somers Susan L. Somers, Executive Director 5