Voices carry

MACPA members speak out in support of the profession during testimony in Annapolis

By Bill Sheridan
Statement Editor

Twelve CPAs strengthened the profession on March 17.

They took time out from busy season, drove to Annapolis and testified to Maryland legislators on behalf of the state's 18,000-plus CPAs. At stake were three key pieces of legislation that, if passed, would have as much positive impact on Maryland CPAs as any bill in recent memory.

But there was more at stake as well. By testifying, the 12 CPAs served as role models for legislative advocacy and sent a message to their fellow MACPA members: If you want things to change, you have to change them yourself.

"You can be part of the solution or part of the problem," said Allen P. DeLeon, CPA, managing partner at DeLeon & Stang in Gaithersburg and a member of the MACPA's Legislative Executive Committee. "If you want to see things get better, you need to get involved."

The testimony, given at a hearing of the House of Delegates' Economic Matters Committee, could have served as a tutuorial on how to get involved and what can happen when you do.

Testimony was heard on a number of bills, but CPAs turned out to support with three in particular:

Mandatory peer review

The cornerstone of the MACPA's 2005 legislative efforts requires peer review for CPAs who perform compilations, audits or reviews. The bill prompted testimony from some familiar names in Maryland accounting — MACPA Chair Ed Rommel, former Chair Graylin Smith, former State Board Chair Alicia Foster and MACPA Regulatory Affairs Director Carol Kirwan among them.

But it also brought out some legislative newcomers, including Malcolm Taylor of Clifton Gunerson and Dan Sandstrom, a principal with Chapin, Owen and Sandstrom, P.A., and a member of the MACPA's Peer Review Committee.

What prompted them to testify?

"I'm a firm believer in the process," Sandstrom said. "This is an opportunity to finally get peer review enacted on a state-wide basis. It would make us all follow the same rules, and that's important for the public."

Sandstrom told members of the House Economic Matters Committee as much.

"The public simply has the right to assume that all CPAs are subject to, and complying with, the same set of professional standards," he testified. "This obligation far outweighs the modest additional time and expense involved in subjecting one's accounting practice to peer review once every three years."

"It's a very helpful practice for both the reviewer and the reviewee," Taylor added.

The testimony capped a few years' worth of debate about peer review between the MACPA and the Maryland Society of Accountants. In the end, the MSA agreed with the MACPA's position that mandatory peer review is a step in the right direction.

"You all got together and came to an agreement," Del. Susan Krebs told those testifying. "I want to applaud you for doing so."

The peer review bill — H.B. 1223 — was passed overwhelmingly by both houses and signed into law on April 12.

Authority to practice

Bruce Arensmeir knows first-hand the challenges CPAs face when they try to practice across state lines. That's what brought him to Annapolis on March 17.

"The need for mobility for our professionals to meet client demands has created stress on the existing state-based licensing system," said Arensmeier, managing partner at Deloitte & Touche's Baltimore office. "For a practice of our size and scope, it is not uncommon for us to mobilize teams of 10 to 20 professionals within 48 hours to go to a client location and address a service need."

Hence his support for House Bill 977, which eases the requirements for out-of-state CPAs practicing in Maryland and, in return, opens the door for Maryland CPAs who perform services in other states.

He wasn't alone in his support. Allen DeLeon of DeLeon & Stang, Arthur Flach of Grant Thornton, and Terry Hancock of Clifton Gunderson (and chair of the MACPA's Legislative Executive Committee) testified in support of the bill as well.

"This puts (Maryland) on par with all of the other states that are moving in this direction," said Del. Brian Feldman, a co-sponsor of the bill and himself a CPA.

The bill passed unanimously in both houses and was signed into law on April 26.

Special fund for State Board

Not as successful was House Bill 1095, which called for the creation of a special fund that would have helped increase the productivity and effectiveness of the State Board of Public Accountancy.

Politics played a role in the bill's demise, but supporters say it's an idea whose time has come. Only 2.5 full-time staff members are on hand to help the State Board meet the needs of Maryland's 18,000-plus licensed CPAs. By comparison, North Carolina's State Board has 12 full-time staff for 16,750 licensees; Washington state has eight full-time staffers for 14,200 licensees; and Oklahoma as eight full-time staffers for 12,942 licensees.

"We had resource problems when I was on the State Board, and those problems are still here today," said Wesley Johnson, an MACPA member who served on the State Board from 1995 to 2000. Johnson joined MACPA Executive Director Tom Hood in supporting the bill. "We have the same number of staff that we had 15 or 20 years ago, and not only do we have more CPAs today, but the profession's standards and accounting transactions have become so complex and difficult to administer. We do what we can, but it's not enough.

"To ensure that CPAs are abiding by professional and ethical standards, the State Board needs to have more resources."

'A team effort'

Impassioned testimony like that is the backbone of the MACPA's legislative efforts. In fact, the 12 CPAs who testified on March 17 were just the tip of the association's legislative iceberg.

Also assisting this year were MACPA members Lawrence Almengor, Jack Anderson, Catherine Askey, Andy Bareham, Chuck Bauermann, Nancy Bechanan, Tamara Bensky, Charles Bridgett, James Bryant, Sandra Calton, Thomas Chambers and Jacob Cohen (each of whom also represented the State Board), Jess Crouch, Jo Anne Crowder, Joseph Estabrook, Henry Grandizio, Katherine Grice, Dawson Grove, Salli Hartman, Joseph Healy, Carter Heim, Amelia Hillman, Brian Lutters, Larry Kamanitz, Carol Katz, Norman Lorch, Harvey Milhiser, Leonard Miller, Neil LeCompte, Alissa Perteet, Terrence Regan, Conlyn Regester, Chris Rosenthal, Lou Satchell, Joseph Saynuk, Jere Shawver, Randall Snyder, James Stangroom, Karen Syrylo, David Uhlfelder, Benny Walker, George Whitehouse, Arnold Williams, John Wilson and Mike Young.

"We could not do this without the support of the people who go down (to Annapolis) and testify, and those who write letters and e-mails to their legislators," he said. "It is truly a team effort."

Contact this Author: < William Sheridan > bill@macpa.org

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