If you are a certified public accountant licensed in the state of Montana, you are aware of the state's many requirements that apply to CPAs, including its continuing education and practice standards obligations. You're also aware of how important your CPA license is to your practice. That's why if you're notified by the Montana Board of Public Accountants (BPA) that a misconduct complaint has been filed against you, it's important to take it seriously and defend the license you've worked so hard to earn. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team understands how vital your CPA license is to you and, more importantly, knows how to vigorously defend and protect you and your license in professional disciplinary proceedings. Call us today at 888.535.3686 or use our contact form to set up a confidential consultation with one of our experienced professional license defense attorneys to learn more about how we can help.
What Standards Does Montana Expect CPAs to Uphold?
The Montana Board of Public Accountants expects CPAs licensed in the state to follow the Association of International Certified Public Accountants' Code of Professional Conduct when providing accounting services in Montana. The AICPA code includes the following standards for CPAs:
- Integrity and Objectivity. CPAs are expected to be free from conflicts of interest, to use their best judgment when providing services, and should not knowingly misrepresent facts.
- Independence. A CPA is expected to be independent when providing professional services.
- Due Care. The CPA should be diligent when providing services to clients and employers.
- Scope and Nature of Services. A CPA should provide only those services that the CPA can deliver competently, or that the CPA can assign to others in their organization who have the skills necessary to competently provide the services.
- Compliance with Standards. The CPA should follow the accounting profession's accounting principles and technical and ethical standards when providing accounting services.
- Records. The CPA should keep appropriate records of the work the CPA performs, and should provide certain records to clients upon request as required by the BPA's Professional Conduct Rules.
- Contingent Fees. CPAs may only accept contingent fees under limited circumstances and are prohibited from doing so when providing a number of types of services, such as audits, preparing certain financial statements, and tax returns.
- Advertising. A CPA must ensure that their advertising is not false, deceptive, or misleading.
If a CPA fails to live up to these or other standards set by the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct or by the Montana BPA's Professional Conduct Rules, the BPA may discipline the CPA.
Grounds for CPA Discipline in Montana
In addition to any failure to follow the required practice standards, the BPA has a number of other grounds for disciplining CPAs in Montana. These include:
- Performing a “fraudulent act” while licensed as a CPA
- Failing to follow the BPA's Continuing Practice Education requirements
- Not responding to correspondence from the BPA or failing to follow BPA orders
- Not notifying the BPA if the CPA's license is suspended, revoked, terminated, or if the CPA is disciplined in any other state
- Being convicted of a crime “related to or committed during the course of the person's practice” as a CPA
- Being convicted of a crime “involving violence, use or sale of drugs, fraud, deceit, or theft”
- Making fraudulent statements in the course of securing or renewing the CPA license
- Disclosing confidential client information without consent, unless required by law to do so
- Practicing while impaired by alcohol or drugs
- Misappropriating client property or funds
There are other grounds that can be used by the BPA to support a disciplinary investigation and proceeding against a CPA. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team has the experience and understanding of Montana's CPA disciplinary laws and proceedings to help you defend yourself when a misconduct complaint has been filed against you. We are here to fight for your rights and to help you protect your license, your reputation, and your livelihood.
Don't Assume the Truth Will Protect You from CPA License Sanctions in Montana
It's very natural to want to resolve issues such as misconduct complaints quickly. Nobody likes to deal with the pressure and uncertainty of a misconduct investigation or disciplinary proceeding. The natural reaction may be to want to reach out to the BPA to “clear up this mess,” and “set the record straight.” Unfortunately, that approach rarely works and may even make the situation more difficult.
When the BPA initiates an investigation of a misconduct complaint, it's safe to assume that the investigation will be conducted diligently, whether or not you contact the BPA to try to put an end to it. Any statements you make to a BPA investigator will simply be collected as potential evidence and are not likely to stop the process. In fact, there is always a danger that your explanation could be used against you, depending on what you say or how it's interpreted by the BPA.
The better approach is to work with an experienced professional license defense attorney, who can advise you when the appropriate time is to present the BPA with evidence you may have in your own defense. At the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team, we will make sure that any helpful information you may have is delivered to the BPA at the appropriate time and in a clear way so that it's not misinterpreted and potentially used against you.
The Disciplinary Process After a Complaint is Filed
The BPA will accept complaints against CPAs from the public, employers, clients, and agencies or organizations that the CPA interacts with within the course of their work. The first step will be to make sure that the complaint addresses matters that the BPA can discipline CPAs for. Not all disputes between a client and their CPA relate to disciplinary matters; for example, disputes over the CPA's fees are generally not considered disciplinary matters, and if a complaint relates to a fee dispute, the BPA will notify the person filing it that the BPA will not be investigating the matter.
In addition, the BPA generally won't pursue anonymous complaints. That's because, in most cases, the BPA will need testimony from the person who filed the complaint as part of the disciplinary process.
Assuming the complaint is about a disciplinary matter that the BPA has jurisdiction to pursue, the BPA will investigate it, typically by asking the CPA for information related to the complaint, interviewing witnesses, and seeking documents from appropriate sources. The investigation can take months before it's complete.
Once the investigation is complete, the results will be submitted to a BPA screening panel made up of BPA board members. The panel has the authority to dismiss the case where it decides that the CPA did not violate the law or the professional standards requirements for CPAs. In cases where the screening panel finds that there are grounds for disciplinary action against the CPA, it will prepare and send a Notice of Proposed Board Action & Opportunity for Hearing to the CPA. The Notice will summarize the allegations against the CPA, the violations that the board believes have occurred, and the consequence or sanction that the BPA is proposing to impose on the CPA.
Whether the matter proceeds to a hearing or not depends on the CPA. Many cases are resolved through stipulations, where the CPA agrees to certain facts and accepts certain sanctions imposed by the BPA. Getting to the point of a stipulation can take some time, and this is one area where the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team can provide a significant amount of help. We regularly represent CPAs across the country, including in Montana, in negotiations with licensing bodies such as the BPA about disciplinary actions. In many cases our experienced attorneys are able to provide evidence or arguments that result in an agreement to reduced sanctions or even dismissal of the disciplinary matter entirely.
In some cases, however, a stipulation can't be reached, and the matter will proceed to a hearing. The BPA uses Montana's uniform procedures for professional license disciplinary hearings, which generally require the following steps:
- Notice. As described above, the BPA will send the CPA a Notice of Proposed Action & Opportunity for Hearing. This starts the process, and one important thing to remember is that if the BPA does not receive your request for a hearing within 20 days of when you receive the Notice, you will be considered to be in default, and the BPA may enter a decision against you based on the Notice.
- The hearing. Hearings proceed according to Montana's Administrative Procedure Act. Each side will have a chance to respond to evidence and arguments presented by the other side. The rules of evidence apply, which means that evidence must meet certain standards or it will be excluded. Witnesses must testify under oath, and can be cross-examined.
- The ruling. The final decision of the board must be in writing, and must include findings of fact and conclusions of law. It must be issued within 90 days after the case is complete; but the board's hearing officer may ask both sides to submit proposed findings and conclusions, which can extend the date for the close of the case past when the hearing ended.
- Appeals. If you disagree with the board's decision, it can be appealed. Appeals are filed with the district court.
Both the negotiation process leading to a stipulation and the hearing process when a stipulation can't be reached can be very complicated and stressful. This is not a situation where representing yourself is likely to help. The experienced attorneys from the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team have done this before. We know the laws, rules, regulations, and procedures that apply to CPA disciplinary proceedings in Montana. We also know what kinds of evidence will help your case and how to protect you when the BPA tries to introduce evidence against you that is incomplete, faulty, or otherwise fails to meet Montana's evidentiary standards. In addition, our experience allows us to suggest, where appropriate, alternative forms of discipline that will allow you to continue to practice as a CPA.
What Happens if You're Disciplined by the Montana Board of Public Accountants?
There are a number of different types of discipline that the BPA has the authority to impose on CPAs in Montana. These include:
- Public or private censure or reprimand
- Appointment of someone to monitor certain aspects of your practice
- An order that you take and complete certain practice courses, including ethics courses
- A limitation on your ability to provide certain types of services; in some cases, you may be allowed to provide services only if your work is supervised or reviewed by someone designated by the BPA
- Probation for a certain time period, sometimes combined with a practice course requirement
- Suspension of your CPA license, for a defined period of time or indefinitely
- Revocation of your CPA license
- A fine of up to $1000 per violation
Losing your ability to practice and hold yourself out as a CPA can be devastating to your career and livelihood, not to mention your reputation. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team will fight to help you protect your rights and your license and will take much of the burden of responding to the complaint off of your shoulders so you can focus on continuing to provide quality accounting services to your clients.
How the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team Can Help
Our experienced attorneys have helped CPAs from across the country, including Montana, protect their licenses from disciplinary sanctions. At the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team, we understand the laws, regulations, rules, and practice standards that Montana CPAs are expected to follow. We can help you at any stage of the disciplinary process, including:
- Being with you when BPA investigators interview you to make sure that they ask you clear, understandable questions, and that your answers aren't misunderstood
- Helping you provide accurate, timely, and helpful responses to BPA information requests
- Representing you in negotiations with the BPA to achieve a favorable resolution of your disciplinary matter
- Defending you at any hearing that may take place
- Preparing, filing, and arguing any appeal that may follow
While the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team can help at any point in this process, we find that clients benefit most when we are involved from the beginning – from the point at which you're notified that the BPA is investigating a complaint made against you.
We know how important your CPA license is to you. Our goal at the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team is to fight for your rights from day one and to use our experience to help you protect your license and your reputation. Call us today at 888.535.3686 or set up a confidential consultation using our online form to learn more about how we can help.
