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CPAs take a seat at legislative table
Support from legislators on important issues make CPA Day 2005 one to remember
By Bill Sheridan
MACPA E-Communications Manager
For a day anyway, CPAs were the toast of Annapolis.
Maryland's House of Delegates cheered them. Commuters read billboards about them. Two state senators, independent of each other, asked to sponsor one of their bills. And early reviews of their political agenda were overwhelmingly favorable.
It all added up to one of the most successful CPA Days in recent memory.
"Our members made it that way," said Ed Rommel, chair of the MACPA's Board of Directors. "They were well prepared and clearly demonstrated that the CPA profession wants a seat the table with lawmakers."
Held Jan. 26, 2005, the event brought nearly 100 MACPA members to Annapolis in search of support for three important issues:
- Mandatory peer review: This proposal is part of the Governor's Bill and comes from the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. The bill would require all CPAs who perform audits, reviews and compilations to undergo peer review once every three years. Read the MACPA's position paper here.
- Notification (substantial equivalency): This is an effort to ease the requirements for out-of-state CPAs practicing in Maryland. More important, it would extend to Maryland CPAs the right to perform services in other states. Read the MACPA's position paper here.
- The creation of a "special fund" for the State Board of Public Accountancy: Fees paid by CPAs for the privilege of practicing public accountancy would cover the cost of administering the State Board, thus giving the Board the resources it needs to carry out its duties and responsibilities. Read the MACPA's position paper here.
CPAs met personally with their legislators to discuss the issues and received overwhelming support in return.
"These are hugely important issues," said Terry Hancock, CPA, managing partner of Clifton Gunderson's Mid-Atlantic Client Service Center and chair of the MACPA's Legislative Executive Committee. "Maryland is behind in both peer review and notification. I think there are more than 40 other states that have both already. We've been fighting for them for years, and I'm pretty sure we'll get them this year."
Pride in the profession
Some legislators took their support one step further.
Take Gail Bates. The Howard County Republican was on her way to a session at the House of Delegates when CPAs Art Flach, Pat Byer, John Szymanski and Malcolm Taylor arrived at her office for their meeting. Bates — herself a CPA — collected their business cards, escorted them to the House and introduced them to the more than 100 delegates in attendance who answered with a round of applause.
"All of the delegates were talking until she did that. Then they all became quiet and looked up at us, and we stood up and waved," Byer said. "It was pretty exciting."
"I'm proud of them and I'm proud to be a member of the MACPA," Bates said. "I wanted to make it known that it was CPA Day, and I wanted them to be introduced. They work hard and deserve a little recognition."
Other legislators listened to their CPAs discuss the issues and signed up to help on the spot.
Sens. Leo Green, D-Prince George's County, and Robert Garagiola, D-Montgomery County, offered to sponsor the substantial equivalency legislation — a hugely supportive gesture and testament to the presentations made by MACPA members.
"I worked really hard to become a CPA, so it's very important to me help advance the profession and the value of being a CPA," said Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, Oracle's national industry director for Health and Human Services, who joined fellow MACPA member Diana Smith in meeting with Green. "It was an amazing feeling to convey the issues that impact all CPAs in Maryland to our legislators and have them so well received. Senator Green was extremely supportive, understood our perspective and didn't hesitate to offer his assistance.
"The value of connecting with our respective legislators in person via CPA Day is critical to demonstrating how serious we are about our profession," she added. "After all, if we don't care — the ones who stand the most to gain — why should anyone else?"
Profession lends a hand
Success stories like these are the reasons why CPA Day has become one of the MACPA's most important annual events. When the association lobbies in Annapolis, it does so on behalf of its members. The more members who take part in CPA Day, the more powerful a legislative force the MACPA becomes.
"We've had the medical profession and the legal profession down here recently — two very well-organized, powerful lobbies going head to head," said Del. Brian Feldman, a Montgomery County Democrat and a CPA. "But in terms of sheer numbers, the CPA profession should be as powerful, if not more powerful than those two groups and exhibit some real clout here in Annapolis."
Beyond that, legislators say their meetings with CPAs serve as an education for lawmakers.
"We've got some bills dealing with recoupling of our tax code and other complicated issues, and we need to have people down here who actually practice in the tax field and understand the practical applications and the burdens on taxpayers," Feldman said. "The only way for most of our legislators — who know very little about the workings of the tax code — to hear how these issues work down in the trenches is for people to come down here and talk about it. You're bringing very practical, everyday experience down here to Annapolis, and that's extremely helpful to legislators."
James "Chip" DiPaula Jr. agreed. Maryland's secretary of budget and management delivered the CPA Day keynote address, in which he presented details of Gov. Robert Ehrlich's proposed $25.9 billion budget and the five "pillars" of Ehrlich's administration — fiscal responsibility, education, health and the environment, public safety and commerce.
He also responded to one member's question by detailing how CPAs can help the governor, his administration and the General Assembly more effectively deal with the state's financial issues.
"Lend us your expertise," he said. "It's been fascinating and valuable for me to have someone who's been trained in business come in from the outside and talk with me about these issues."
A message for the masses
The day's events were followed by a luncheon that gave CPAs a second opportunity to speak with their legislators, this time in a more informal setting. More than 100 senators and delegates took part in the meal.
And legislators weren't the only ones in Annapolis to hear the CPAs' message. A trolley that transports commuters from point to point throughout town carried a billboard on one side that read, "Your doctor is certified. Your lawyer is certified. Shouldn't your accountant be certified?"
The billboard will be visible in Annapolis through the end of March.
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