The Lento Law Firm Defends Tennessee CPAs
You didn't earn your CPA certification and license expecting to face disciplinary charges. However, Tennessee's State Board of Accountancy may suspend or revoke your CPA license if it learns of your alleged misconduct. Don't ignore or minimize State Board of Accountancy disciplinary charges. Retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team to protect your Tennessee accounting practice. Our skilled and experienced attorneys are available to you across Tennessee. Call 888.535.3686 or chat with us now for your best defense against Tennessee CPA license disciplinary charges.
Rewards of Tennessee CPA Practice
You know the rewards of your Tennessee CPA practice. Take stock of those rewards, and all that you have invested in earning them, when facing CPA license disciplinary charges. Tennessee is a great state in which to practice accounting. Large metropolitan areas around Nashville-Davidson, Memphis, Chattanooga, and Knoxville support thriving businesses, charitable organizations, and individuals with other concerns needing CPA services. The state's many other thriving cities and towns, like Clarksville, Murfreesboro, Franklin, Johnson City, Jackson, Hendersonville, Bartlett, Kingsport, and Smyrna, also have the population and economy to support strong CPA practices. Tennessee also hosts offices of large and significant mid-sized accounting firms like Crowe, Brown Edwards, Now CFO, Mauldin & Jenkins, Protiviti, Deloitte, Dataprise, Forvis, Taskforce, Paychex, KraftCPAs, and many smaller CPA firms that offer rewarding employment. Disciplinary charges threaten all those rewards and everything for which you've worked. Let us help defend those charges for your best possible outcome.
Nationwide Stakes to Tennessee CPA Discipline
Tennessee is among the many U.S. states that will grant a CPA a reciprocal license if the CPA already holds a license in another reciprocating state. License reciprocity can save a lot of time, money, and trouble in that it avoids having to retake exams and repeat extensive work experience and other education and character requirements. Tennessee CPA reciprocity also means you can take your Tennessee CPA license to another state to qualify for that state's reciprocal CPA license. But all those advantages change to disadvantages when you face disciplinary charges. If you lose your Tennessee CPA license to discipline, other states will no longer grant reciprocity. You may find that your discipline in Tennessee prevents you from obtaining a license or retaining a license you already hold in any other state. You could lose your ability to practice as a CPA nationwide, not just in Tennessee. Don't underestimate the impact. Get our help defending the charges.
Tennessee CPA Licensure
Tennessee's Accountancy Act of 1998 establishes the Tennessee State Board of Accountancy to regulate CPA practice within the state. Tennessee Code Section 62-1-105 authorizes the State Board of Accountancy to set the rules for licensure as a CPA for practice within the state. Section 62-1-106 lists those licensure requirements. Section 62-1-113 expressly prohibits any person not holding a State Board of Accountancy CPA license from using the CPA designation or providing public accountancy services within the state. Section 61-1-112 authorizes the State Board to obtain and enforce an injunction against unauthorized CPA practice without a license, while Section 61-1-114 authorizes prosecutors to seek criminal charges for a Class C misdemeanor for unauthorized CPA practice. You cannot practice as a CPA in Tennessee without risking court injunctions and criminal convictions. If you lose your Tennessee CPA license, you will lose your ability to practice as a CPA in the state and all the rewards that come with it. Let us help you protect your Tennessee CPA license against disciplinary charges.
Tennessee CPA Qualifications
You know how hard you studied, how hard you worked, and the time, trouble, and expense you incurred to obtain your Tennessee CPA license. Tennessee Code Section 62-1-106 listing licensure requirements includes the significant education requirement you completed, the CPA examination requirement you met, and the work experience you must have obtained to qualify for certification and licensure. You also had to demonstrate your good character and complete an exhaustive license application procedure, including a criminal background check and certification of educational degrees and work experience. It wasn't easy for you to qualify for CPA licensure in Tennessee. Protect your investment by retaining our highly qualified attorneys on our premier Professional License Defense Team. Don't entrust your CPA license to unqualified representation.
Tennessee CPA Disciplinary Authority
Tennessee's State Board of Accountancy not only licenses CPAs. The State Board of Accountancy also disciplines CPAs. Tennessee Code Section 62-1-111 expressly authorizes the State Board to investigate complaints, bring disciplinary charges, and suspend or revoke the license of a CPA whose conduct does not conform to the State Board's rules and standards. Your CPA license isn't a given. It isn't a right. It is, instead, a privilege. You must continue to demonstrate your character and fitness to the State Board in order to renew, hold, and maintain your license. The State Board of Accountancy has abundant resources, technical expertise, and statutory authority, and it is responsible for employing and deploying disciplinary officials to pursue sanctions against your CPA license. Level the playing field when facing disciplinary charges by retaining our skilled and experienced license defense attorneys.
Tennessee CPA Disciplinary Decisions
When the Tennessee State Board of Accountancy finds that a CPA has violated its rules and deserves license suspension or revocation, the State Board will write and publicly share a disciplinary decision. The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance compiles and publishes the disciplinary decisions of the state's professional boards, including the State Board of Accountancy. The published reports include the professional's name, the profession, the rules violation, and the penalty imposed. You won't be able to hide your discipline from employers, clients, professional colleagues, friends, acquaintances, or family members. A disciplinary decision of any kind can permanently taint your reputation and affect your employment, clientele, standing, and income for the short or long term. Don't underestimate those impacts. Get our help for the defense of the charges.
Tennessee CPA Disciplinary Sanctions
Tennessee Code Section 62-1-111 expressly authorizes the State Board not only to suspend or revoke a CPA license, or refuse to renew an expiring license, but also to impose other disciplinary sanctions. The statute includes as other sanctions the State Board's right to “reprimand, censure or limit the scope of practice of any licensee,” as well as to “impose a civil penalty” or “place any licensee on probation, all with or without terms, conditions and limitations….” You can see the broad discretion the State Board has to shape the sanction to the circumstances. That discretion gives our attorneys opportunities to negotiate and advocate for remedial training or education, supervision, license limitation, or other acceptable terms that would not affect your reputation, employment, income, or practice.
Tennessee CPA License Reinstatement
Even if you have already lost your Tennessee CPA license, you may be able to get your license back. Tennessee Code Section 62-1-118 authorizes the State Board of Accountancy to reconsider disciplinary sanctions, modify those sanctions, and reissue and reinstate the license. Section 118 gives the State Board broad authority to impose terms and conditions for a license's reinstatement, once again giving our attorneys the opportunity to advocate and negotiate for creative, win-win resolutions that both protect the public, as the State Board must ensure and give you the opportunity to practice public accountancy once again as a licensed CPA. Section 118 states expressly that those conditions may include additional education or periodic peer review. You must also make a written application and attend a hearing for reinstatement. We can help you make your best-written case and oral presentation at the reinstatement hearing.
Grounds for Tennessee CPA Discipline
The Tennessee State Board of Accountancy must have statutory grounds to impose sanctions against you. Its disciplinary officials cannot make up their own grounds. Tennessee Code Section 62-1-111 lists the permissible grounds on which the State Board may bring charges and impose sanctions. Consider here some of the more common grounds and how we may be able to help defend you against those charges.
Credentials Fraud as Grounds for Tennessee CPA Discipline
Tennessee Code Section 62-1-111 authorizes the State Board to discipline for “fraud or deceit in obtaining a license.” This ground may involve cheating on the CPA exam, misrepresenting your education or work experience on the CPA license application, or omitting criminal convictions or other material information from your renewal application. Our attorneys may be able to show that your submissions were accurate or that any inaccuracies or omissions were unintentional and immaterial.
Corrupt Practice as Grounds for Tennessee CPA Discipline
Tennessee Code Section 62-1-111 authorizes the State Board to discipline for “dishonesty, fraud or gross negligence in the performance of services….” Corrupt practices can include failing to file your own tax returns, preparing false returns for others, or deliberately or recklessly preparing false financial statements. Our attorneys may be able to show that your accounting was accurate or that others were responsible for the disputed statements and returns.
Unprofessional Conduct as Grounds for Tennessee CPA Discipline
Tennessee Code Section 62-1-111 authorizes the State Board to discipline for “violation of any rule of professional conduct promulgated by the board” or “any conduct reflecting adversely upon the licensee's fitness to perform services.” Unprofessional charges could include harassing colleagues, inappropriate relationships with clients, impaired practice, or other conduct bringing the profession into disrepute. Our attorneys may be able to show that you did not commit the alleged acts or that you have addressed the issues, which did not cause others harm.
Criminal Conviction as Grounds for Tennessee CPA Discipline
Tennessee Code Section 62-1-111 authorizes the State Board to discipline for felony convictions of any kind, like homicide, assault and battery, arson, and certain domestic violence crimes, or misdemeanor convictions involving fraud or dishonesty like criminal fraud, conversion, or embezzlement. Our attorneys may be able to show that you did not commit the crime or that a court reversed or expunged your conviction.
Tennessee CPA Disciplinary Procedures
You have constitutional rights against losing your CPA license without due process of law. The Tennessee State Board of Accountancy must give you fair notice of the disciplinary charges and a fair hearing before an impartial decision maker. Tennessee Code Section 62-1-111 meets those due process obligations by guaranteeing you advance notice of the charges and a hearing under the state's Administrative Procedures Act. An administrative law judge will hear your disciplinary matter, permitting us to help you by presenting your testimony and the testimony of your other defense witnesses, and cross-examining the State Board's incriminating witnesses. You also have the right to appeal an adverse decision to a higher authority and limited rights of court review. Let us help you invoke these protective procedures for your best outcome. The procedures are not self-executing. You must put them to work for you with appropriate, strategic filings and actions.
Defense Attorney Services for Tennessee CPAs
The rules and procedures of Tennessee's State Board of Accountancy for disciplinary matters are not straightforward and simple. Those rules and procedures differ substantially from criminal and civil court proceedings. You and other CPAs likely won't have the legal education, training, and experience to put the procedures to work in defense of disciplinary charges. Criminal defense lawyers and civil litigators also usually lack significant administrative law knowledge, skill, and experience. Our attorneys, by contrast, have the substantial skill and experience in administrative license defense proceedings to help you make the right moves and decisions. Don't entrust your CPA license to unqualified defense counsel. Retain us for your best possible outcome. We can help you evaluate and answer the charges, raise defenses, identify, acquire, and present evidence, challenge the State Board's evidence, and take appropriate appeals, even if you have already lost your hearing. We can also help with court review.
Premier Tennessee CPA Defense Services
The Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team is available in Tennessee for your CPA license defense. Do as hundreds of professionals in Tennessee and across the nation have done. Trust your professional license defense to the Lento Law Firm's skilled and experienced attorneys. Call 888.535.3686 or chat with us now.
