Fingerprinting all California CPAs – proposal from CBA

Something else for you to keep an eye on – The California Board of Accountancy just announced a proposal to require all CPAs to submit fingerprints to the Department of Justice as a condition for renewing licenses.  Would apply for the next renewal after 6-30-14.

Hearing on the proposed rule will be on 1-27-12. Written comments must be submitted by 1-23-12. Send a letter if you have a comment.

Overall announcement of several rule making issues here.

Regulation notice here.

Text of proposed reg here.

Two select paragraphs from the notice. 

The first explains the proposal:

Before Section 144 of the Business and Professions Code became effective, a certified public accountant or public accountant licensed prior to January 1, 1998 was not routinely required to submit fingerprints to the Board for purposes of securing a background check by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). This proposed regulation would require all Board licensees for whom an electronic record of his or her fingerprints does not exist in the DOJ’s criminal offender record identification database to successfully complete a state and federal level criminal offender record information search conducted through the DOJ prior to renewing after June 30, 2014.

The second provides the reason:

Requiring all licensed certified public accountants and public accountants to submit fingerprints for processing during their next renewal will ensure that the Board receives timely notification of any arrest(s) or conviction(s) from the DOJ in the future in furtherance of its mandate to protect the public.

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