NEVADA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTANCY Minutes March 20, 2002

Transcription

1 NEVADA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTANCY Minutes March 20, 2002 An open meeting of the Nevada State Board of Accountancy was called to order at 8:30 A.M. by President Sydney Wickliffe, on Wednesday, March 20, 2002 at 200 S. Virginia Street, Suite 670, Reno, Nevada. Board Members Present: Sydney H. Wickliffe Michael J. Small Bruce W. Gamett Bonnie M. Houldsworth Harry O. Parsons David W. Turner Board Members Absent: Raja Mourey Board Staff Present: N. Johanna Bravo, Executive Director Todd Russell, Counsel Viki A. Windfeldt, Assistant Director Agenda Item 1: Approval of January 23, 2002 Board Meeting Minutes Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the minutes of the January 23, 2002 board meeting. Agenda Item 2: Grievance Report and Grievance Matters. Motion was made, seconded and carried to go into closed session to discuss grievance matters. Upon resumption of the open session motion was made, seconded and carried to close complaint matter S-01-13, Leonard Morris, based on the voluntary surrender of Mr. Morris CPA Certificate. Motion was made, seconded and carried to file a formal complaint against Edward Halstead based on the finding of sufficient cause to proceed. Liaison Bonnie Houldsworth abstained from the vote. Motion was made, seconded and carried to close complaint matter S-01-15, Paul Cornbleth based on compliance and receipt of attorneys fees and costs of $300. Motion was made, seconded and carried to file a formal complaint against Daniel Scarberry based on the finding of sufficient cause to proceed. Motion was made, seconded and carried to close complaint matter N-02-1 based on lack of probable cause. Motion was made, seconded and carried to file a formal complaint against Lawson Peters for false and misleading advertising.

2 Agenda Item 2 Continued Motion was made, seconded and carried to close the following non-licensee grievance matters based on compliance: SS SS SS SS SS SS Agenda Item 3: Michael A. Segelstein All the Right Numbers Business Advisory & Accounting Group David Tiger CPA Hunington Development Group RI Slosberg Inc. Report of Counsel Todd Russell advised the board of an issue brought forward at the Executive Director s conference concerning individuals that Voluntary Surrender their CPA Certificates under threat of disciplinary action. Mr. Russell indicated that the individual pending discipline is not public information for other states knowledge or publication. Mr. Russell advised the board to consider entering into a consent order that would be signed by the licensee prior to acceptance of a certificate for voluntary surrender. Mr. Russell also advised the board to consider any changes necessary to the statutes and regulations for the 2003 legislative session. Agenda Item 4: Applications for Certification: Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the applications for CPA Certification for the following individuals: Ryan Albright Vivian Austin James Bailie David Baxter Kevin Berge Andrea Buggia Anthony Clapper Peggy Cole R. Denoncourt Kerry Eaton Greg Hargrave Wendy Henry Barry Herr James Johnson Jane Kato Kathleen Kelly Tanya Lacosse Young-Mi Light Ana Lopez Tammy Love Thomas Malone Mei Phan Nghe William Parker Todd Peterson Alisha Stenger Nicole Dunseth Dean Mudd Elizabeth Petrusko Michael Sacher Motion was made, seconded and carried to deny CPA Certification of Michael Malody based on lack of documentation to evidence satisfaction of the experience requirement. Agenda Item 5: Request for Retired Status: Gordon Sprague PA Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the request of Gordon Sprague for Retired Status effective December 31,

3 Agenda Item 6: Review of Income & Expense Statement. The board reviewed the Income & Expense Statements for the months of January and February Agenda Item 7: Bills Paid since last board meeting. Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the bills paid by check numbers 4993 through 5044 totaling $80, for January 2002 and check numbers 5045 through 5085 totaling $194, for February It was noted that $205,000 of the bills paid were money transfers to the money market accounts. Agenda Item 8: Approval of Temporary Permits: Motion was made, seconded and carried to ratify the following temporary permits: A. Elisa Potikian, Doyle Hull & Gregory, Pasadena CA B. Steve Dauby, Dauby O Connor & Zaleski, Carmel IN Agenda Item 9: Executive Director Report. Executive Director provided the board with the NASBA Regional Directors Focus Questions. The board reviewed the questions and provided Executive Director with appropriate responses. Executive Director summarized the NASBA Executive Director s conference and provided the board with a variety of issues brought forth from the conference. Some of the issues discussed included the current 150-hour requirement and its effect on the number of candidates sitting for the exam. The board also discussed retention of records in light of the Andersen issues. Agenda Item 10: Approval of Fictitious Name Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve Tahoe Tax Advisor Ltd as a fictitious name. Motion was made, seconded and carried to deny the use of Vita Tax & Financial Services as a fictitious name. The denial was based on the potential conflict the name may have with the federal volunteer program acronym VITA. Agenda Item 11: Request approval to return to Active status: Dominek J. Pieretti Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the request of Dominek Pieretti to return to Active CPA Status. 3

4 Agenda Item 12: Positive response to misdemeanor information on 2002 License Renewal. The board reviewed the positive response to the misdemeanor question in connection with the 2002 License Renewal of Dennis McGee. It was determined that no action would be taken based on the evidence provided by Mr. McGee. Agenda Item 13: Request Board Consideration for 2001 CPE Shortage. Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the request of David C. Andrews for extension of time to complete the required continuing education in connection with the 2001 CPE shortage until May 31, CPE backup documentation must be provided to the board no later than June 30, In addition the board waived the additional $500 penalty. The approval was based on evidence of reasonable cause. Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the request of James Snodgrass for extension of time to complete the required continuing education in connection with the 2001 CPE shortage until May 31, CPE backup documentation must be provided to the board no later than June 30, The board assessed the $250 CPE penalty however waived the additional $500 penalty. The approval was based on evidence of reasonable cause. Agenda Item 14: Board Review and Approval of Examination issues: A. Approval of November 2001 CPA Examination Grades B. Approval of May 2002 CPA Examination Candidates C. Board Member Sign-up for May 2002 CPA Examination Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the November 2001 CPA Examination Grades as provided by the AICPA. Staff advised the board that no unusual similarity report was received for the November 2001 CPA Examination. In addition there was only 1 individual who passed all parts of the examination in November and therefore there would be no top 10 list. Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the May 2002 CPA Examination Candidates list as provided. Agenda Item 15: Full Board Hearings: Donald P. Biddle and Gala Fort Motion was made, seconded and carried to go into closed session to conduct a full board hearing for Donald P. Biddle. Upon resumption of the open session motion was made, seconded and carried to revoke the CPA Certificate of Donald P. Biddle for non-response to the Practice Enhance Program. Motion was made, seconded and carried to dismiss the formal complaint against Gala Fort based on receipt of Practice Enhancement documentation. The dismissal is subject to payment of attorney s fees and costs of $400. 4

5 Agenda Item 16: Report of Legislative Counsel Bureau Quality Control Review This item was removed from the agenda. Agenda Item 17: Request approval of new member to Internal Review Committee for Internal Revenue Service Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve Mary Burns as the committee member for the Internal Review Committee for the Internal Revenue Service. Agenda Item 18: Discussion regarding investigation initiation of Nevada Arthur Andersen firm and the sharing of information in connection with the SEC investigation. Sydney Wickliffe summarized the current issues concerning Arthur Andersen. In addition, provided the board with additional complaint information against Arthur Andersen by the New Jersey Casino Control Board. Executive Director provided the board with a list of licensed Nevada CPA s that are currently employed by Arthur Andersen as provided by Steven Comer. The board discussed the various states disciplinary measures against Arthur Andersen. It was noted that Arthur Andersen is being indicted for poor audit practice. The board stated more information would be required prior to any investigation or discipline against the Nevada office of Arthur Andersen. The board agreed that the issue of independence should be revisited in light of current events. The board will be reviewing the current practice rules to identify areas of prospective change. The board directed Executive Director to respond to Steven Comer regarding the boards current intentions regarding Arthur Andersen. In addition the board requested the focus questions include a request for review of the independence areas concerning non-licensee ownership, commissions, etc. Agenda Item 19: Discussion of amendments to chapter 628 of NRS & NAC regarding CPE National Standards and Current National Issues. Executive Director provided the board with information regarding Nevada s CPE requirement and the CPE National Standards. The Executive Director described each of the differences to the board. The areas include text publishing, independent study, and measurement. The board indicated a regulation change would be required to adopt the CPE National Standards as provided. 5

6 Agenda Item 20: Report of 2002 CPE Documentation Audit and Approval of Formal Complaint for Non-Response to the CPE Audit. Executive Director provided the board with a report of the 2002 CPE Documentation Audit findings. The Executive Director requested board advice concerning a particular program provided by Smith Barney that appears to be a solicitation rather than continuing education. Motion was made, seconded and carried to file a formal complaint against Douglas Rex for non-response to the CPE Audit. Agenda Item 21: Request Approval of Formal Complaint for Non-Payment of 2002 License Renewal Fee and Non-Compliance of 2001 CPE Requirement: Motion was made, seconded and carried to file formal complaint against the following individuals for failure to pay 2002 license renewal fees and comply with the 2000 CPE requirement. David Turner was appointed as Hearing Officer and abstained from the vote. Scott Anderson Gary Barnard Chris Bowersox David Buell Ramona Cruz Terry Cypher Kenneth De Lyser Kimberly Dornberger George Folsom Lynn Garza Debra George Archie Granata Sheri Green Karl Gunther Bruce Hendrix Donna Herron Den Hood Leann Hundley Kenneth Kenevan Deborah Liston Cecelia MacVittie Scott MacTaggart Angela Mancuso Robert Martindale William McGovern Leslie Miller Stanley Pack Richard Peters Donald Prunty Gene Querry Stanley Rahn Douglas Rex Deborah Rogers Ezzie Rooks John Shigley David Smith Robert Stovak Eric Strong Deborah Stubben Lee Sumrall Vernon Todd Peter Umphress R. VanDaalenWettr Kevin Wallace Todd Wittman Stephanne Zimmerman Motion was made, seconded and carried to file formal complaint against the following firms for failure to pay 2002 license registration fees. David Turner was appointed as Hearing Officer and abstained from the vote. Douglas L. Rex, PC Richard Peters & Co. Runnells & Querry APC Stan Pack CPA PC KPMG, LLP Agenda Item 22: Approval of Attendance at NASBA Regional Meeting in Las Vegas Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve expenses for board member and staff attendance at the NASBA Regional Meeting in Las Vegas Nevada June 2-4,

7 Agenda Item 23: New Business/Public Comment No items were discussed under this agenda item. Agenda Item 24: Presidents Report No items were discussed under this agenda item. 7