2007 Board Meetings and Agendas
Minutes of a Meeting of the Board
Time and Place of Meeting:
Friday, January 26, 2007 - 9:00 a.m. - 2:15 p.m.
Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center
17620 Pacific Highway South
SeaTac, WA.
Attendance
Sharron J. O'Donnell, CPA Chair
Edwin G. Jolicoeur, CPA, Vice-Chair
Laurie J. Tish, CPA, Secretary
James W. Caley, CPA, Board Member
Lauren Jassny, Public Board Member
Gerald F. Ryles, Public Board Member
Ronald D. Sabado, CPA, Board Member
Mary M. Tennyson, Senior Assistant Attorney General
Bruce L. Turcott, Assistant Attorney General
Richard C. Sweeney, CPA, Executive Director
Sandra Shoemaker, CPA, Deputy Director
Thomas J. Sadler, CPA, Board Staff
Michelle Paulsen, Board Staff
Call to Order
Sharron J. O'Donnell, Chair, called the Board meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Sharron introduced Bruce L. Turcott and Michelle Paulsen.
Minutes
The minutes of the October 27, 2006 Board meeting were unanimously approved as presented.
Board Policies
2006-1 Directions to Staff
The Executive Director, Richard C. Sweeney, presented a proposed revision to the Board's Policy 2006-1 "Directions to Staff." The Board adopted the revised policy as presented.
2003-3 Interstate Reciprocity
The Executive Director, Richard C. Sweeney, presented a proposed revision to the Board's Policy 2003-3 "Interstate Reciprocity." The Board adopted the revised policy as presented.
Board Rules
WAC 4-25-530 Fees
At the October 2006 Board meeting the Board directed staff to file a CR-101 with the Code Reviser's Office concerning exam fee increases. A copy of this CR-101 was presented to the Board for their records. The Executive Director, Richard C. Sweeney, noted that a proposed rule amendment will be presented at the April 2007 Board Meeting with the goal of holding a rule-making hearing in June 2007 for adoption by August 1, 2007.
WAC 4-25-820 What are the requirements for participating in quality assurance review (QAR)?
The Executive Director, Richard C. Sweeney, presented a draft revision of WAC 4-25-820 and a draft CR-102 for the Board's consideration. After discussion, minor revisions were made to both drafts. Both drafts were adopted as amended by majority vote (1 nay vote).
2007 Board Meeting Schedule
After discussion, the Board voted unanimously to change the meeting date for the Board's annual meeting in 2007 from October 26th to October 19th. The Board also directed staff to:
- Submit a schedule revision for this one meeting, and
- Draft a revision to WAC 4-25-510 allowing Board meetings to be set on the last Friday of the month or as otherwise determined by the Board.
NASBA
NASBA Nominations
After discussion, the Board unanimously voted to recommend Thomas Sadler for nomination to the position of NASBA Vice Chair and directed staff to draft a nomination letter for the Chair's signature.
The Board also voted unanimously to recommend Thomas Sadler for nomination as NASBA Director At Large if Mr. Sadler is not elected as the NASBA Vice Chair.
NASBA Report
Thomas Sadler reported on the NASBA Board of Director's Meeting held on January 18 - January 20, 2007.
Legal Counsel's Report
Mary M. Tennyson, Senior Assistant Attorney General, announced that she will attend the NASBA annual conference for state board legal counsel in March. Mary also introduced Bruce Turcott, Assistant Attorney General, who will be the Board's new Prosecuting Attorney. Bruce shared his background with the Board and his plans for working on the Board's cases.
Chair's Report
The Chair, Sharron O'Donnell, noted that Board staff would be working to update the agency's stakeholder list and begin volunteer recruitment for the Board's various committees.
CPA Exam Liaison Report
No report.
CPE Committee
No report.
Education Rule Review Committee
No report.
Mobility Committee
Laurie Tish, CPA, Committee Chair, reported on the activities of the NASBA CPA Mobility Task Force. Laurie also provided the following handouts to the Board Members:
- Final Report (PDF 792kb) of Activities and Recommendations by the AICPA Special Committee on Mobility, and
- Exposure Draft (PDF 1.15mb) of Proposed Revisions to Section 23 of the UAA (comments are due by May 15, 2007).
Laurie explained that it would require a statutory change to implement the "no-notice" concept in Washington. The Board discussed the "no-notice" concept, and the legislative process in Washington.
Laurie will take all comments to the next NASBA CPA Mobility Task Force meeting and will present an action plan to the Board at the April 2007 Board meeting.
Legislative Liaison Committee
No report.
Outreach Committee
No report.
Policy and Rule Review Committee
No report.
Practice Review Committee
No report.
Qualifications Committee
No report.
Quality Assurance Review (QAR) Committee
No report.
Request Review Committee
Request Review Committee The Executive Director reported in his Executive Director Summary included with the Board's agenda packet the following activity occurred during the last quarter:
CPE Waivers - The Board received 10 waiver requests since the October Board meeting. The Executive Director and a Consulting Board Member took the following action:
- Approved - 4
- Denied - 1
- Pending - 5
Firm Names - The Board received two requests for firm name approval since the October Board meeting. The Executive Director and a Consulting Board Member from the Committee approved the following firm names:
- Tri-Cities Tax Solutions Group, PLLC
- CPA Seattle PS
Late Fee Waivers - The Board received no late fee waiver requests since the October Board meeting.
Professional/Educational Organization Recognition Requests - The Board received no requests for recognition since the October Board meeting.
Executive Director's Report
Agency Activities
The Executive Director reported on the following agency activities:
- Web Site Disciplinary Action Update Project
- Meeting with Board Officers
WBOA-News
As of January 19, 2007, 1,092 individuals have subscribed.
Investigation Management Report
The Executive Director reviewed the following reports with the Board:
- Activity Analysis of Active Cases vs. Pending Cases
- Activity Analysis of Administrative Violations
The Board again expressed its concern with the building number of active investigations. The Executive Director provided an explanation and assured the Board the active cases would be down to 50 by the Board's April 2007 meeting.
Personnel Changes
On January 16, 2007, Lisa Zolman joined the Board staff as the agency's Information Technology Manager.
Other
The Executive Director asked that any Board Member who would prefer to have the agenda packet sent by email to please notify him.
Public Input
During the meeting comments were taken from Rich Jones representing the Washington Society of CPAs (WSCPA), Bea Nahon representing the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and Jerry Miller representing the Washington Association of Accountants (WAA).
Motion for Entry of Order - Henry Chi Yin Lam
The Board reviewed the "Motion for Entry of Order" and related documents in the matter of Henry Chi Yin Lam. The Board entered Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Board Order.
The Board determined Henry Chi Yin Lam's guilty plea to the Eastern Magistrates' Court summons for holding Brodick Capital Limited in Hong Kong out as carrying on a business in a regulated activity namely, advising on corporate finance, when it was not licensed for such activity by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong violated the Public Accountancy Act and Board rules. The Board suspended Henry Chi Yin Lam's CPA license for five years. As conditions for reinstatement, Henry Chi Yin Lam must serve at least two years of the suspension, submit a complete reinstatement application including original documentation supporting the satisfactory completion of qualifying Continuing Professional Education (CPE) required for reinstatement, reimburse the Board $900 for costs, pay a $1,000 fine.
Also, the Board directed staff to bring any reinstatement application from Mr. Lam to the Board to determine if the Board wants to impose any additional requirements.
The regular Board meeting was adjourned at 2:15 p.m.
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