STATE OF MARYLAND
BOARD OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTANCY
MINUTES
DATE:
October 6, 2009
LOCATION:
500 North Calvert Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
Third Floor Conference Room
MEMBERS
IN ATTENDANCE
Tim Murphy
Ella Pierce
Raymond C. Speciale
Muhammad A. Khan
ABSENT
Thomas Chambers
H. Terry Hancock
Marjorie Root
DLLR OFFICIALS/STAFF:
Dennis L. Gring, Executive Director
Linda L. Rhew, Administrative Officer
Matthew Lawrence, Counsel
Norbert Fenwick, CPE Consultant
OTHERS PRESENT:
Mary Beth Halpern, MACPA
Shirley Buchanan, MSA
Bobby Buchanan, MSA
The October 6, 2009 meeting of the Maryland Board of Public Accountancy was called to
order by Acting Chairman Tim Murphy at 9:15 AM.
Upon a motion (I) by Ms. Pierce, and seconded by Mr. Speciale, the minutes of the
September 1, 2009 meeting were approved, with amendments, unanimously.
Executive Director’s Report
Mr. Gring reported that 96 examination candidates passed the CPA Examination in the
July/August 2009 period. The total number of passing candidates for the year is 268.
Maryland candidates sat for 965 examination sections in the 3rd quarter. Candidates
performed best on the Audit and Attestation section of the exam with a 59.4% pass rate.
Candidate passing rates for the other sections of the exam were Financial Accounting and
Reporting (55.9%), Regulation (50.4%) and Business Environment and Concepts (49.0%).
Mr. Gring reported that participation in the NASBA Accountancy Licensing Database has
been slowed due to security issues with the DLLR firewall. The Department IT department is
working to resolve this issue as soon a possible.
Mr. Gring also reviewed the project task list with the Board.
CPA Board Minutes
October 6, 2009
Page 2
CPA Examination Appeal
The Board considered the appeal of an examination candidate denial (EA 10-01). Upon a
motion (II) by Ms. Pierce and seconded by Mr. Khan, the Board affirmed the denial due to the
applicant’s lacking of three semester hour course in ethics.
Education Report
Mr. Speciale reported two (2), regular reciprocal application approvals during the period
September 1, 2009 through October 6, 2009.
Upon a motion (III) by Mr. Khan, and seconded by Ms. Pierce, the Board unanimously
approved the Education Report.
Experience Committee Report
Ms. Pierce presented the Experience Committee Report. Thirty (30) Maryland applicants
and 17 reciprocal (4 in 10) applicants were approved during the period September 1, 2009
through October 6, 2009.
Upon a motion (IV) by Mr. Speciale, and seconded by Mr. Khan, the Experience Committee
Report was unanimously approved.
New Business
Upon a Motion (V) by Ms. Pierce, and seconded by Mr. Khan, the Board approved the
request of Craig Rezac for a one-time exception to the peer review requirement.
Upon a Motion (VI) by Mr. Speciale, and seconded by Mr. Khan, the Board granted a 90-day
extension for Richard Vogt to file his peer review acceptance letter.
Upon a Motion (VII) by Ms. Pierce, and seconded by Mr. Khan, the Board approved the
request of Francis J. Kenney for a one-time exception to the peer review requirement.
Upon a Motion (VIII) by Mr. Speciale, and seconded by Ms. Pierce, the Board established
$1,000 as the amount of civil penalty to be assessed in a consent agreement involving a
licensees misrepresentation of continuing professional education credits claimed on a
renewal application. Licensees will maintain the right to a hearing in lieu of signing the
consent agreement.
Mr. Speciale explained the Board’s evaluation policy regarding foreign education that
appears on U.S. collegiate transcripts. He said that any foreign course that appears on a
U.S. transcript must also be evaluated by a foreign credential evaluation service that is a
member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES).
Mr. Speciale also advised the Board that if a student passes a college department
examination, for the purpose of demonstrating proficiency in introductory course work, the
credit awarded is acceptable to the Board.
CPA Board Minutes
October 6, 2009
Page 3
Upon a motion (IX) by Mr. Speciale, and seconded by Ms. Pierce, the Board unanimously
adopted the requirement that an applicant submitting CLEP credits to meet the education
requirements for exam candidacy or licensure also provided documentation of the official
CLEP transcript in addition to appearing on the transcript of a regionally accredited institution
of higher learning.
Upon a motion (X) by Ms. Pierce, and seconded by Mr. Khan, the Board denied the request
of Nkosi Nantambu to extend the effective date of the Notice to Schedule for the CPA
Examination.
Executive Session
The Board upon a motion (XI) by Ms. Pierce, and seconded by Mr. Khan, went into
Executive Session at 10:30 AM in the 3rd Floor Conference Room, 500 N. Calvert Street,
Baltimore, Maryland 21202. The purpose of this session was to consult with counsel. This
session is permitted to be closed pursuant to State Government Title Section 10-508(a), (7).
Upon completion of the session, the Board resumed its public meeting at 10:32 AM
Complaint Committee Report
Mr. Murphy reported the Board received 6 complaints during the period September 1, 2009
7, 2009 through October 6, 2009. Five complaints were closed: CPAS 10-0007, CPAS 100009, CPAS 10-0010, CPAS 10-0011, and CPAS 09-0012.
Upon a motion (XII) by Mr. Khan, and seconded by Mr. Speciale, the Board approved the
Complaint Committee Report.
Upon a motion (XIII) by Ms. Pierce and seconded by Mr. Khan, the Board adjourned the
meeting at 10:33 AM.
NEXT MEETING
Tuesday, November 3, 2009, 500 North Calvert Street, Third Floor, 9:00 AM
__ ___ With corrections
__X___ Without corrections
_______________________________________
Chairman
____________________
Date