The Lento Law Firm Defends Mississippi CPAs
Our highly skilled and experienced attorneys are available across Mississippi to help save your accounting license, certification, and practice from Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy disciplinary charges. Certified public accountants (CPAs) hold an enormously valuable credential. Do not let license discipline spoil everything for which you have worked. Suffering license discipline of any kind, not just a license suspension or revocation, can destroy your employment, client base, and reputation. The Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team can help defend you against allegations of misconduct by the Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy. Call 888.535.3686 or chat with us now. Retain qualified counsel for your best license defense outcome.
Mississippi CPA Practice Rewards
It is no exaggeration to assert that licensure as a certified public accountant (CPA) has great financial, reputational, promotional, and personal value. You know the rewards you've already earned as a CPA licensed to practice in Mississippi. Not only does the income of an accountant generally increase substantially with receipt of the CPA certification and license, but your opportunity to gain employment and build a corporate or higher net worth individual clientele also grows markedly. You generally get better assignments, better pay, and more respect. The personal rewards of a satisfying and secure accounting practice are likewise substantial. Mississippi cities and towns like Jackson, Gulfport, Southaven, Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Olive Branch, Tupelo, Meridian, Greenville, Clinton, Pearl, Horn Lake, Oxford, and Madison have businesses and families in need of your CPA services. Mississippi is also home to strong CPA firms like TMH, Wm. F. Horne & Co., Bridgers Goodman, Cronier Tax Service, Nail McKinney, Byrne | Zizzi, Matthews Cutrer & Lindsay, Grantham Poole, Rea Shaw, and William H. Polk & Co., where CPAs can earn a secure and rewarding income. Let us help you defend those rewards against disciplinary charges.
Nationwide Stakes to Mississippi CPA Discipline
Mississippi is one of the many U.S. states that recognize CPA licensure by endorsement, also known as licensing by reciprocity. You may have gained your Mississippi CPA license based on your CPA license already held in another state. Or you may plan to use your Mississippi license to gain a CPA license in another state recognizing reciprocity. Reciprocity is great when moving your practice from state to state. But discipline against your license turns that reciprocal advantage into a disadvantage. Licensing officials in other states won't endorse your Mississippi CPA license if your license is no longer in good standing. Discipline in Mississippi could mean losing your ability to practice accounting as a licensed CPA in other U.S. states. Your Mississippi licensing issue thus has nationwide stakes. Don't think that you can run and hide from Mississippi licensing issues. Instead, face them now with our skilled and experienced help.
Mississippi CPA Licensure
Mississippi's legislature enacted the state's Public Accountancy Statutes, codified in Mississippi Code Sections 73-33-1 et seq., to limit the practice of public accountancy to those qualified individuals who hold a current State Board of Public Accountancy license. Under Section 73-33-1, no person may use the CPA designation or practice public accountancy in the state unless they hold the State Board's license in good standing. Indeed, under Section 73-33-13, any person using the CPA designation or practicing public accountancy in the state without a valid license commits a misdemeanor crime, punishable by a fine of between $500 and $5,000 and up to six months in jail. Mississippi's legislature is serious when it asserts that no person shall practice as a CPA without the State Board of Public Accountancy's approval. Don't risk your license to disciplinary charges, and don't expect to practice without a license. Let us help defend you.
Mississippi CPA Qualifications
In Mississippi Code Section 73-33-5, Mississippi's legislature authorizes the State Board of Public Accountancy to adopt specific requirements for licensure as a CPA in the state. Part I, Chapter 2, of the State Board's rules details those requirements. You know the education, residency, good character, work experience, time, effort, and investment that your Mississippi CPA license took. You once proved to the State Board of Public Accountancy that you had the qualifications to practice as a CPA in the state. Earning a CPA license took more than your accounting education. You also had to pass the accountancy exam, establish residency, associate with a firm, gain work experience, and show the good character necessary to practice, with appropriate references and recommendations. You know the return you expected from that investment. But your disciplinary charges place all that investment at risk. Get our help for your best outcome. Preserve your investment in your CPA practice.
Mississippi CPA Disciplinary Authority
Mississippi's legislature has given the State Board of Public Accountancy the authority not only to license CPAs for practice in the state but also to discipline CPAs right up to suspending and revoking their license. Mississippi Code Section 73-33-11 states that “the Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy may revoke, suspend, impose a civil penalty, or take other appropriate action with respect to any license, practice privilege, or permit” that the State Board has issued. The same section not only authorizes the State Board to sit in judgment of disciplinary charges but also to receive, initiate, and investigate complaints, compel testimony, compel production of documents, administer oaths to witnesses, and take all the other administrative procedures and steps to pursue disciplinary charges. You should expect to face experienced disciplinary investigators and officials when you receive notice of disciplinary charges. Those officials tend to know what they're looking for and know what they're doing. Don't assume that they are taking your interest. Instead, they take the interests of the CPA profession and the public into account. Level your playing field with our representation in defense of disciplinary charges.
Mississippi CPA Disciplinary Decisions
The Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy maintains an online searchable database in which it records disciplinary actions against individual and firm licensees. If you suffer from CPA license discipline, you will likely have to report that discipline to your employer, clients, and other licensing bodies under the terms of the State Board's order of discipline. The State Board itself will record that discipline in its searchable database and may make direct reports to your employer and other licensing bodies. You won't, in other words, be able to hide the discipline in order to retain your employment, clients, reputation, and other licenses that depend on your CPA license and general good professional character. Even friends and family members, and other members of your personal, not just your professional, community, may discover your discipline, costing you trust, confidence, and respect. Face, defend, and, if possible, defeat the charges with the skilled and experienced help of our Professional License Defense Team.
Mississippi CPA Disciplinary Sanctions
When Mississippi Code Section 73-33-11 states that “the Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy may revoke, suspend, impose a civil penalty, or take other appropriate action with respect to any license, practice privilege, or permit,” it grants the State Board the authority to impose terms and conditions on your license. License suspension or revocation likely means loss of employment and clients. However, discipline short of license suspension or revocation can also cost employment, income, time, trouble, expense, and embarrassment. The “other appropriate action” that the statute authorizes could include a limit on your practice to certain clients or certain types of matters, practice under direct supervision, or practice only after you have satisfied additional education, training, counseling, or even medical, mental, or substance abuse evaluation and treatment. Let us help you avoid unjust sanctions.
Alternative Disciplinary Relief
Our attorneys may also be able to help you negotiate alternative relief before the Mississippi State Board of Accountancy that does not cost you the things most important to you, and that preserves your CPA practice. While the other forms of discipline that the State Board may impose can seem and be onerous, that additional authority to shape discipline to fit your individual circumstances gives our attorneys opportunities to negotiate creative win-win relief. The State Board must protect the profession and the public. But that does not mean that it must suspend a practitioner's license when other training, treatment, or supervision may do just as well. We can help you make the case for alternative voluntary relief if your circumstances warrant such relief.
Mississippi CPA License Reinstatement
The Mississippi legislature specifically provided for license reinstatement in Mississippi Code Section 73.33-11: “The board may, at any time, reinstate a license, practice privilege, or permit if it finds that such reinstatement is justified.” The legislature did not define the conditions for license reinstatement. If you have already lost your Mississippi CPA license, contact us to help you evaluate whether you may qualify to get your CPA license reinstated. The State Board's administrative Rule 2.4 only states that the “Board may impose appropriate terms and conditions for reinstatement of a license, impose continuing conditions on a license to be reinstated, or otherwise modify the requirements of a prior order of suspension, revocation, or probation.” That board discretionary authority once again gives our attorneys opportunities to advocate and negotiate both creatively and effectively on your behalf, while recognizing the State Board's interests.
Grounds for Mississippi CPA Discipline
The Mississippi legislature left to the Mississippi State Board of Public Accountancy the grounds on which the State Board may discipline, stating in Mississippi Code Section 73-33-11 that the State Board may discipline “for any unprofessional conduct by the licensee or permit holder, or for other sufficient cause....” The State Board carried that authority into effect when it adopted its administrative Rule 6.17, listing a licensed CPA's seventeen prohibited acts. Consider the following most common forms of disciplinary charges under Rule 6.17, along with ways in which our attorneys may be able to defend you on those charges.
Practice Fraud as Grounds for Mississippi CPA Discipline
The Mississippi State Board's Rule 6.17.1 includes disciplinary grounds: “the CPA or firm permit holder has made misleading, deceptive, untrue, or fraudulent representations in the practice of public accounting.” False tax returns or financial statements, prepared to induce another to rely on them to their detriment, would be examples. Our attorneys may be able to show that you did not prepare the disputed statements, that the statements were accurate, or that you were reasonably unaware of any inaccuracy and, thus, without the requisite fraudulent intent.
Criminal Conviction as Grounds for Mississippi CPA Discipline
The Mississippi State Board's Rule 6.17.2 includes as disciplinary grounds that “the CPA or firm permit holder has been convicted of a felony.” Felonies may include violent crimes like homicide, sexual assault, or assault with a deadly weapon, or property crimes like theft, embezzlement, and criminal fraud. Our attorneys may be able to show that you did not commit the alleged crime, that a court reversed the conviction, or that the crime was not a qualifying felony.
Credential Fraud as Grounds for Mississippi CPA Discipline
The Mississippi State Board's Rule 6.17.3 includes as disciplinary grounds that “the CPA or firm permit holder obtained his license or firm permit to practice public accounting by use of fraud or a material misrepresentation of a material fact.” Credential fraud could include misrepresenting your education or work experience, cheating on the CPA exam to earn your accounting degree, or concealing convictions or other disqualifying conditions. Our attorneys may be able to show that your representations were accurate, that any misstatements or omissions were immaterial, or that you were reasonably unaware of any inaccuracies.
Incompetency as Grounds for Mississippi CPA Discipline
The Mississippi State Board's Rule 6.17.12 includes disciplinary grounds such as “gross negligence, incompetency, or misconduct in the practice of public accounting.” Substandard practice could include inaccurate tax returns, inaccurate financial statements, and audits completed outside of accepted practice. Our attorneys may be able to show that you did not perform the disputed work, that any work you performed was accurate, or that you worked under the supervision of a superior, reasonably accepting the supervisor's instructions.
Mississippi CPA Disciplinary Procedures
Mississippi Code Section 73-33-11 defines the procedures that the State Board of Public Accountancy must follow when initiating, investigating, and determining disciplinary charges. The statutory procedures are relatively elaborate. The state's Administrative Procedures Law supplements those procedures. Procedures can be critical to your successful defense. For instance, Section 73-33-11(3) expressly guarantees you the right to appear before the State Board through your retained counsel. You have the right to a contested hearing before the State Board, at which we can present your evidence while challenging adverse witnesses with appropriate cross-examination. Our attorneys know how to strategically invoke these procedures for your best outcome. You also have the right to appeal the State Board's decision to a state circuit court. Even if you have already lost your disciplinary hearing, let us help you evaluate an appeal or other special relief.
Premier Mississippi CPA Defense Services
The Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team is available in Jackson, Gulfport, Southaven, Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Olive Branch, Tupelo, Meridian, Greenville, Clinton, Pearl, Horn Lake, Oxford, Madison, and across Mississippi for the defense of your CPA license. Do as hundreds of professionals have wisely done, trusting our highly qualified attorneys. Don't delay. Call 888.535.3686 or chat with us now.
