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2007 Board Meetings and Agendas

Minutes of a Meeting of the Board

Time and Place of Meeting:

Friday, October 19, 2007 - 9:05 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

The Davenport Hotel, Worthy Room
10 South Post Street
Spokane, WA.

Attendance

Sharron J. O'Donnell, CPA Chair
Edwin G. Jolicoeur, CPA, Vice-Chair
Laurie J. Tish, CPA, Secretary
Robin A. Clark, CPA, Board Member
Gerald F. Ryles, Public Board Member
Ronald D Sabado, CPA, Board Member
Mary M. Tennyson, Senior Assistant Attorney General
Richard C. Sweeney, CPA, Executive Director
Thomas J. Sadler, CPA, Director of Investigations
Diane M. Bren, CPA, Chief Investigator
Cheryl M. Sexton, Executive Assistant

Call to Order

Sharron J. O'Donnell, Chair, called the Board meeting to order at 9:05 a.m.

Consent Agenda

The Board approved the Consent Agenda as presented:

Motion for Entry of Order on Default - Paul Shui-chi Yip, CPA-Inactive

The Board reviewed the "Motion for Entry of Order on Default" and related documents in the matter of Paul Shui-chi Yip, CPA-Inactive. The Board entered Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Default Order.

The Board determined Paul Shui-chi Yip's failure to respond to Board inquiries and failure to provide documentation to verify completion of the Continuing Professional Education (CPE) requirements for the 2003/2005 reporting period violated the Public Accountancy Act and Board rules. The Board suspended Paul Shui-chi Yip's inactive CPA certificate and eligibility to obtain an individual license to practice public accounting or a CPA firm license for one year. To reinstate Paul Shui-chi Yip must submit a complete reinstatement application including original documentation supporting the satisfactory completion of qualifying CPE required for reinstatement, reimburse the Board $600 for costs, pay a $500 fine, and complete the AICPA's course Professional Ethics for CPAs with a score of at least 90%.

Executive Session with Legal Counsel

The Board held an Executive Session with legal counsel to discuss enforcement options.

Legal Counsel's Report

The Board's legal counsel, Mary Tennyson: " Provided the Board with guidance regarding Board involvement with legislation and lobbying. " Advised the Board that the Board may use respondent contracts; however, respondent contracts for administrative violations are not considered to be Board orders. A violation of a respondent contract is not a violation of a Board order. Ms. Tennyson advised the Board to write contracts stating what the violations are, as well as the fact that if the respondent violates the contract the Board may reinstate the charge for the original violation.

Board Policies

2000-2 Public Inquiries
The Board reviewed proposed revisions to the Board's Policy 2000-2 Public Inquiries. The Board adopted the revised policy with an amendment changing proposed language "and agency staff" to "and designated agency staff."

Rules Review

The Board accepted the proposed amendments to Board rule WAC 4-25-750 (What are the firm licensing requirements?) and directed staff to:

  • File a CR-102 and amended rule with the Code Reviser.
  • Schedule a rule-making hearing in conjunction with the Board's regularly scheduled January meeting.

Chair's Report

Board Member Appointments
The Board Chair recognized Governor Gregoire's October 1, 2007 appointment of Donald F. Aubrey, CPA, to the Board through June 9, 2010 and reappointment of Robin Clark and Ronald Sabado to the Board through June 9, 2010.

Election of 2008 Officers
The Chair presented the following slate of officers to serve in 2008:

  • Chair - Edwin G. Jolicoeur, CPA
  • Vice-Chair - Laurie J. Tish, CP
  • Secretary - Gerald F. Ryles

No other nominations were made from the floor. The Board cast a unanimous vote for the slate of officers as presented. The new officers will assume their duties January 1, 2008.

2008 Board Meeting Locations and Dates
The Board established the following schedule for the 2008 Board Meetings:

  • January 25, 2008 - SeaTac
  • April 25, 2008 - SeaTac
  • July 18, 2008 - Vancouver
  • October 17, 2008 - Spokane

The Board directed staff to poll Board members in the future regarding better dates.

Stakeholder Receptions
The Board will continue to hold receptions with stakeholders prior to Board meetings. Board Members directed staff to structure the receptions differently to encourage better participation, such as offering an hour of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) and/or having them as breakfast meetings prior to the start of the Board meeting (on the same day).

Committee Structure
The Board will retain the current Board committees and structure and discuss the Outreach Committee at its January 2008 meeting.

Committee Assignments
Board Member Gerald Ryles volunteered to serve on the Board's Legislative Liaison Committee.

The Board Chair asked that any Board member who has an interest in serving on a committee to please contact her.

Stakeholder List
The Board directed staff to update the list and provide the revised list to the Board. Board members suggested the addition of business organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce and Association of Washington Business, top businesses listed by Puget Sound Business Journal; and the addition of student organizations.

Monitoring of Board Approved Ethics Courses
The Board directed staff to provide a complete listing of courses to Board members for member monitoring of courses.

Mobility Committee

Laurie Tish, Committee Chair, reported on the status of draft mobility legislation. Laurie will email the next draft to Board members.

Survey
Board members reviewed a draft survey. The Committee will revise the survey to include more unbiased education into the survey and develop two surveys - one to go to CPAs and one to go to businesses.

Outreach
The Washington Society of CPAs (WSCPA) is scheduled to hold eight town hall meetings around the state. The WSCPA extended an invitation to Board members to attend. Laurie will provide Board members with the dates of the meetings to facilitate attendance by members of the Board. The Executive Director reported on outreach activities with WSCPA chapters, the Office of the Insurance Commissioner, and other selected State agencies.

Practice Review Committee

Compliance Assurance Oversight Committee
Thomas Sadler presented the concept of Board oversight of peer review programs. Twelve boards of accountancy have adopted some sort of compliance assurance oversight and eight boards are developing oversight programs. The Executive Director and Tom have opened discussions with the WSCPA.

The Board authorized the Executive Director and Tom to proceed with dialogue with the WSCPA to work toward oversight agreement, forms, and process. Edwin Jolicoeur asked to be included in discussions.

Quality Assurance Review (QAR) Committee

2007 Desk Review Statistics
Sharron O'Donnell, Committee co-chair, presented the 2007 desk review statistics to the Board. The Executive Director reported that of the 43 reports graded "unacceptable" during 2007, 18 submitted reports graded "unacceptable" in the past.

Executive Director's Report

Agency Activities
The Executive Director reported on the following agency activities:

  • Meeting with Board Officers
  • Personnel changes
  • Agency information technology activities

WBOA-News
As of October 9, 2007, 1,199 individuals have subscribed.

Investigation Management Report
The Executive Director reported on investigation management and committed to add case aging to the reports for the January 2008 Board meeting. The Executive Director and Director of Investigations' strategy is to stay on top of current cases and to take the most egregious old cases and work towards settlement. The Executive Director set a goal of 50 open cases excluding QAR.

AICPA Exposure Draft (PDF 159kb)
The Board will not comment on the AICPA's proposed:

  • Revision of ET Section 92: Definition of Firm
  • Addition to ET Section 92: Definition of Network
  • Addition to ET Section 92: Definition of Network Firm
  • Interpretation 101-17, Networks and Network Firms

Dialogue with the Office of Indian Affairs
The Executive Director reported on an initial meeting with the executive director for the Office of Indian Affairs to discuss authority over CPAs performing work on tribal property. Robin Clark volunteered to attend meetings with tribes to arrange agreements. The Board supports the Executive Director's efforts.

State Ethics Laws
The Executive Director advised the Board to be careful to ensure compliance with the State's ethics laws and to report any lobbying to the Executive Director so that he can include the hours in the mandated quarterly report.

Public Input

During the meeting the Board heard comments from Jerry Miller representing the Washington Association of Accountants (WAA).

Recognition for Service

The Board recognized Sharron for her service as Board Chair during 2007.

The regular Board meeting was adjourned at 2:30 p.m.

 

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