AICPA Chair Promotes Firm Mobility in NASBA Speech
November 21, 2016
In recent remarks to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), AICPA Chair Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, CPA, CGMA said one of the issues the CPA profession must address head on is the increasing need to support CPA firms that work across borders. “Sixteen states have responded to that need by adopting firm mobility,” she said. “Washington and Louisiana led the movement this year by adopting firm mobility into their laws, and Illinois is poised to do the same. I want to congratulate those state CPA societies and state boards of accountancy for paving the way on this issue, and I’m encouraged to hear how many more states want to move on it in 2017.” Firm mobility allows CPAs to provide attest services across state lines without first having to obtain a license or pay additional fees in each state in which they provide such services.
Addressing NASBA’s Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas, on October 31, Ellison-Taylor explained that firm mobility provides an amazing opportunity to modernize the profession. “It enables smaller- and medium-sized firms to more easily offer their services to clients across the country, keeping them competitive,” she explained. “At the same time, firm mobility also protects the public by requiring that out-of-state firms meet the same exact peer review and firm ownership requirements as in-state firms, and it gives state boards the same enforcement capabilities that they already have over out-of-state firms. So, as your state is looking at legislative priorities and issues for 2017 and even 2018, I encourage you to reach out to us. Together, the AICPA, NASBA, boards, and societies can promote robust competition, help protect the public, and ensure our profession is responding to the ways in which businesses and organizations are working today.”
