NEVADA STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTANCY Minutes March 19, 2003 An open meeting of the Nevada State Board of Accountancy was called to order at 8:30 A.M. by President Bruce Gamett, on Wednesday, March 19, 2003 at 4455 S Pecos, Suite A, Las Vegas, Nevada. Board Members Present: Bruce W. Gamett Bonnie M. Houldsworth Sharon J. McNair Charles A. Morrison Harry O. Parsons Sydney H. Wickliffe Board Member 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 29, 2003 Board Meeting Minutes Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the minutes of the January 29, 2003 board meeting as amended. Agenda Item 2: Grievance Report and Grievance Matters. Note: The Board may convene in closed session to consider the character, alleged misconduct, professional competence or physical or mental health for any of the grievances filed with the board. 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 N-02-9 based on the satisfactory conclusion of the matter. Liaison Harry Parsons abstained from the vote. In complaint matter S-02-15, motion was made, seconded and carried to revoke the CPA Certificate of Kurt D. Saliger, stay the revocation and apply the following provisions: (1) a 3 year probation during which Mr. Saliger will not engage in any Audits or Reviews and Compilations must be reviewed by the board; (2) complete 16 hours of CPE for 2003 in Audit, Review and Compilation; (3) pay attorney s fees and costs of $775 and civil penalty of $1,000 within 30 days of approval of the stipulated agreement. Mr. Saliger will be issued a formal letter of reprimand and the decision will be published in accordance with NAC 628.280. Liaison Sharon McNair abstained from the vote. Motion was made, seconded and carried to issue a formal complaint against Bruce Hendrix, N-02-10, based on a recommendation that there is probable cause to proceed and for failure to pay his 2003 License Renewal Fees and provide the required CPE. Liaison Bonnie Houldsworth abstained from the vote.
Agenda Item 2 Continued Motion was made, seconded and carried to close complaint matter S-02-22 based on lack of probable cause to proceed with a formal complaint. Liaison Sydney Wickliffe abstained from the vote. Motion was made, seconded and carried to close complaint matter S-03-1 based on lack of probable cause to proceed with a formal complaint. Motion was made, seconded and carried to close complaint matter S-03-4, based on compliance. Board members were assigned as liaison to the following complaints: S-03-2 S-03-3 Sharon McNair Sydney Wickliffe Motion was made, seconded and carried to close the following non-licensee grievance matters based on compliance, NN-03-2 Shallika Professional Services. Agenda Item 3: Report of Counsel Todd Russell reported on the following legislative bills that may have some impact on the board. Mr. Russell summarized the following bills: AB 24 SB 389 SB 310 All criminal action must go through the attorney general s office. Language to remove board s ability to hire outside legal counsel and would require use of the Attorney General s office. Requires the Executive Director to meet certain proficiencies and new board members to attend training at the Attorney General s office. Mr. Russell also provided information on the following bills that may have an impact on the board or the profession: (1) tax bill on services provided which may impact the profession; (2) a bill that would require all public meetings to provide for an open comment session after every agenda item and (3) wording for gaming internal audits. Mr. Russell indicated that he couldn t address the legislature on behalf of the Board, as it would be a violation of the ethics commission rules. Executive Director will prepare a letter in connection with SB 389. Agenda Item 4: Applications for Certification: Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the applications for CPA Certification for the following individuals: Raymond Benetti Carolyn Burkett Ronald Gentry Adam Hodson Gary Krape Mark Little Sharon Mancuso Scott Miller Pattie Montgomery Melissa Olivas Jason Payan Suzanne Perez Russell Steele Elliott Weinberg Kelly Welter 2
Agenda Item 4 Continued Reconsideration of David Hawkins Application for Certification David Hawkins came forward to discuss his application for CPA Certification. Bruce Gamett summarized the application and the basis of the Board s decision to deny licensure to Mr. Hawkins rendered at the last board meeting. Mr. Hawkins answered a variety of questions from the Board and board counsel regarding his involvement in a California disciplinary matter. Following reconsideration of Mr. Hawkins request for certification a motion was made, seconded and carried that the application for CPA Certification is denied. Agenda Item 5: Request for Inactive/Retired Status: Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the requests for Retired Status for Grant Anderson, Merlin Jones, and Bernie Leiter. Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the requests for Inactive Status for Clyde Horner and Dean Walker. Motion was made, seconded and carried to deny the requests for Retired and Inactive Status for Beatrice Moore and Robert Sellers. Agenda Item 6: Review of Income & Expense Statement The board reviewed the Income & Expense Statements for the months of January and February 2003. Agenda Item 7: Bills Paid since last board meeting. Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the bills paid by check numbers 5544 through 5584 totaling $46,241.56 for January 2003 and check numbers 5585 through 5611 totaling $27,247.71 for February 2003. Agenda Item 8: Approval of Temporary Permits: Motion was made, seconded and carried to ratify the following temporary permits: A. David Martin, Self B. Russell Andrews, Schechter Dokken et al C. Michael Carpenter, McKinnon & Assoc. D. Hitesh Adhia, Self E. Gregory Anton, Anton Collins Mitchell F. Dale Rector, Rector & Moffitt, PC 3
Agenda Item 9: Executive Director Report. Executive Director provided the board with the names of the individuals nominated for the various NASBA positions. Executive Director summarized some of the issues from the Executive Director Conference in February. NASBA is looking at providing a state specific ethics examination. Nevada s experience does not follow the UAA and would require a statute change. Another issue that will be discussed at the Regional Conference will be substantial equivalency. The board members scheduled their proctor sessions for the May 2003 CPA Examination. Agenda Item 10: Approval of Fictitious Name request for Refund of Application Fee A. Kim Stemples Motion was made, seconded and carried to deny the request of Kim Stemples for refund of the fictitious name registration fee based on the prior consideration and denial of the fictitious name. Agenda Item 11: Discussion of Proposed Amendments to NAC Chapter 628 Todd Russell summarized the proposed language change to Nevada Administrative Code 628. The notice will be sent out to all licensees 30 days prior to the May 21, 2003 hearing. The board discussed re-wording the language within 628.120 regarding the fee for the CPA Examination. Agenda Item 12: Board Consideration Regarding Hiring of a Disciplinary Investigator The board discussed the advantages of hiring an independent investigator and the requirements and options in seeking a qualified individual. Suggestions included use of the Nevada Division of Investigation or the establishment of a pool of individuals having specific expertise in different areas. It was agreed that an investigator must be a CPA. The Board directed legal counsel to develop a contract for an investigator position in the event one would be required. Agenda Item 13: Board Consideration of CPE Requests Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the request of Patricia Dulin for waiver of the CPE penalty in connection with the 2003 License Renewal based on medical evidence as provided. Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the request of Jim Beshear for waiver of the CPE requirement for the 2003 calendar year based on evidence of medical hardship as provided. 4
Agenda Item 14: Board Consideration Waiver of License Renewal Late Penalty Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the request of Sid Packer for waiver of the late penalty in connection with his 2003 License Renewal based on medical evidence as provided. Motion was made, seconded and carried to deny the request of James Nicholas for waiver of the late penalty in connection with his 2003 License Renewal based on lack of reasonable cause. Agenda Item 15: Report of Individual Review - Joseph Foti Executive Director summarized the individual review report of Joseph Foti for CPA Certification as provided by John Rhodes. Motion was made, seconded and carried to accept the individual review report as provided by John Rhodes indicating Mr. Fotis failure to meet Nevada s experience requirement. Agenda Item 16: Approval of Board Examination Fee to be assessed in connection with the computerized CPA Examination. Board staff described the process involved in the application process for the computerized CPA Examination. The board discussed the fees assessed by the AICPA, NASBA and Prometric. Based on the information provided the board considered the boards costs for processing CPA Examination applications. Agenda Item 17: Request Approval of Formal Complaint for Non-Payment of 2003 License Renewal Fee and Non-Compliance of 2002 CPE Requirement: Motion was made, seconded and carried to file formal complaints against the following individuals for failure to pay 2003 license renewal fees and comply with the 2002 CPE requirement. Harry Parsons was appointed as hearing officer and abstained from the vote. Ryan Albright Dean Bone Kevin Brown Patricia Cherry Margaret Debevec Carol English Joya Frisco Erin Funston Edward Halstead Bruce Hendrix Rafael Herrera Edward Hussman Vahag Kachaturian Kathleen Kelly Diane Kennedy William Kimball Homer Koliba Joelle Mathis Cathy Maurer Dennis McGee Jerry McKnight Carey Means Bryan Merryman Robert Mohler James Moore Mitchell Robins Michael Shapiro Anne Steward Craig Stewart Vernon Todd Kenneth Whitton Mark Williford 5
Agenda Item 18: Report of the 2000, 2001, 2002 CPE Documentation Audit Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve the report of the 2000 2001 and 2002 CPE Documentation Audit as provided. Board staff requested processing the CPE Documentation Audit in April after the renewal processing has been completed. The board discussed the process and directed staff to conduct the audit at the end of the renewal processing. Agenda Item 19: Approval of Board and Staff Attendance at NASBA s Regional Conference, June 11-13, 2003, Portland, OR. Motion was made, seconded and carried to approve board member and staff attendance and related expenses for the NASBA Regional Conference to be held June 11-13, 2003 in Portland Oregon. Board Members Bruce Gamett, Bonnie Houldsworth and Sharon McNair will not be attending the Regional Conference. Agenda Item 20: Request Approval of Late Applicant to sit for the May 2003 CPA Examination Motion was made, seconded and carried to deny the request of Jeremy Walker to sit for the May 2003 CPA Examination based on lack of reasonable cause for his late filing of the exam application. Agenda Item 21: President s Report No report was provided under this agenda item. Agenda Item 22: New Business/Public Comment Sydney Wickliffe advised the board of the public oversight board s intention to develop inspection standards. The board discussed the issue and determined that no change to the regulations would be required. 6