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Profession flexes its political muscle at CPA Day 2004

Plenty of room for CPAs' agenda during a crowded day in Annapolis

By Bill Sheridan
MACPA E-Communications Manager

With more than 2,000 doctors chanting and cheering in front of the State House, Maryland's CPAs had to work a bit harder to make their voices heard during the 2004 edition of CPA Day in Annapolis.

Even so, their message came through loud and clear.

Nearly 150 MACPA members and state lawmakers took part in the Jan. 21 event, which offered CPAs an opportunity to discuss relevant issues directly with their legislators.

While Maryland's doctors protested the rising costs of malpractice insurance outside, CPAs took their messages into the offices of their senators and delegates. The issues in this year's spotlight included familiar topics like tort reform and sales tax on services, as well as newer issues related to accounting reform efforts.

An equally important component of CPA Day, though, is the message that a unified profession sends to lawmakers.

"If the MACPA didn't provide its members with (continuing professional education), somebody else would. If the MACPA didn't provide networking and social opportunities for CPAs, somebody else would. But if the MACPA didn't provide legislative action and speak for us, it probably wouldn't happen," said H. Terry Hancock, chair of the association's new Legislative Executive Committee. "It's probably one of the most important things the MACPA does for its members."

"It was once said that every private citizen has a public responsibility," added Pat Reese, chair of the MACPA's board of directors. "Our jobs as private citizens and CPAs is to take a seat at the table and make our voices heard."

CPAs' input 'absolutely critical'

CPAs in attendance did just that on issues ranging from tort reform, sales and use tax on services, non-economic damages and the "cascade" of federal accounting reforms down to the state level.

CPAs also came out in favor of a reform package that has been proposed and submitted by Maryland's State Board of Public Accountancy. The package — strongly supported by the MACPA — includes three separate bills:

• The first would give the state board the ability to set fees and develop its budget as determined by the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, thus giving the board the resources it needs to adequately protect the public.
• The second would modify the grounds for discipline by the State Board to include any type of sanction of a licensee by a state or federal agency.
• The third would require all CPAs who issue compilation, audit and review reports to undergo a peer review once every three years.

And although the latter of those three bills won't be introduced this year, the MACPA's legislative volunteers say the success of CPA Day is hard to deny.

"To move our (legislative) agenda forward, it's absolutely critical that we have CPAs who are active and participate in the process," said Dawson Grove, former chair of the MACPA's State Legislative Committee and a longtime volunteer. "When we bring in CPAs who want to talk to their legislators about the issues, it gives the legislators some important insight into what that part of the constituency is thinking."

"It's my observation that we are one of the groups that are held in high esteem down here," added Karen Syrylo, who has represented the MACPA, the Maryland Chamber of Commerce and various other groups in Annapolis for more than 20 years. "Legislators look to us as people who know what's going on with a lot of the issues that affect the state — things like the budget, fiscal issues, taxes. I think we need to do all we can to capitalize on that respect and help our legislators as they are planning the future of the state."

Legislators value CPAs' expertise

Del. Brian Feldman, himself a CPA, agreed.

"I'd like to see the profession start to flex its muscles and get much more involved in the political process," said Feldman, a Democrat who represents District 15 in the House of Delegates and one of only two CPAs in the General Assembly. "In terms of numbers, the CPA profession outnumbers most groups. And in terms of expertise, it brings a lot more to the table than many other groups."

A handful of Maryland accounting students even got into the act, rubbing elbows with CPAs and dipping their feet into the political water. The networking opportunities that CPA Day provides are invaluable, the students say. But at least one got an even bigger payback.

"Before CPA Day, if someone asked me what profession I was in, I would have said, 'I'm a title researcher hoping to become a CPA one day," said Jason Goldstein, a student at Catonsville Community College and member of the MACPA's "Tomorrow's CPA" program. "Now, I would definitely tell them I am beginning my CPA career. That is a huge morale and motivational boost."