As a certified public accountant (CPA) who serves the public and upholds Nevada’s financial integrity, I feel compelled to warn Nevadans about SB78, now before our Legislature in Carson City. 

As the CEO of the Nevada Society of CPAs, I work with the Nevada Board of Accountancy on a weekly basis. I can call or email and get an immediate response to my request or question. I also work with five other state boards of accountancy on a regular basis and the difference in engagement and knowledge of a dedicated board staff versus a consolidated staff is wildly different. The states that have staff working on functions for many different boards are not knowledgeable in any single profession. They understand their tasks but not how they fit in the grand scheme. Monitoring is nonexistent, communication with board members is less robust and problems are not proactively addressed because the staff does not understand the role administrative functions play in licensure.

We have a nationwide shortage of CPAs and Nevada is a popular relocation destination for businesses that need CPAs and CPAs who are looking to retire in a few years. The Nevada Board of Accountancy understands this dynamic and has designed systems and processes to license new CPAs in less than one business day, handle the various technical questions that licensees have and keep our renewal fees low. 

They protect the public with regulatory functions but also by having knowledgeable staff who handle every aspect of licensing, monitoring, professional issues, administrative functions and website development. All these things tie together. And none of this happens with Nevada tax dollars. The board is completely self-funded. In fact, boards are required to turn fines and civil penalties over to the state when licensees are disciplined so they are adding to the general fund, not taking from it. 

SB78 would compromise these crucial protections by “reforming” the board structure and centralizing functions they deem uniform across all boards. However, you can’t treat the functions the same because boards are not the same. Public trust exposure is not uniform among professions. 

SB78 aims to reduce the number of CPAs serving on the board and increase the number of public members. The bill architect claims that “dominance” of CPAs will silence the public voices on the board. There are no examples of this happening. The need for CPAs from varied backgrounds and who possess different specialties is vital to address the complex technical issues presented during board meetings. 

Public members will not have the specialized knowledge necessary to address these issues in a way that best serves the licensee and the public. Put bluntly: The oversight of complex, technical fields cannot be treated the same way as occupational or vocational licensing. There’s a crucial distinction that SB78 completely ignores: Certain professions are directly responsible for public safety, infrastructure integrity and financial stability.

During bill presentations, it has been noted by the Office of Business and Industry that it has no information regarding board finances or board activities and aims to have greater transparency. The problem with that statement is that boards are required to file multiple reports to the executive branch every month. Those reports are filled with information that provides transparency to their operations. It seems nobody is looking at these reports. 

Perhaps a better solution to SB78 would be to grant funding to the Office of Business and Industry to hire the necessary staff to review the information and follow up with boards that are noncompliant or having difficulties. Those boards may need reform, but don’t paint every board with the same brush.

SB78 is not reform. It is a vague idea that does not understand the harmful impact it will have on certain professions, their licensees and the public. One size does not fit all.

Anna Durst is a certified public accountant and CEO of the Nevada Society of CPAs.

The Nevada Independent welcomes informed, cogent rebuttals to opinion pieces such as this. Send them to submissions@thenvindy.com.