Marcia L. Stephenson

The agenda includes committee reports from the Finance & Audit and Education Assistance Committees, as well as an Executive Director's report on CPA exam trends. The board will review information reports regarding budgets, financials, and investigations, alongside updates on the status of past hearings. Additionally, the meeting covers requests for licensure reconsideration, a waiver request, and formal hearings, followed by quasi-judicial deliberations and a summary of board requests.

The board meeting featured a presentation on accounting profession trends, education at The Ohio State University, and deregulation issues. Financial reports indicated a decrease in revenue, leading to a discussion on potential application fees. Investigations staff provided updates on open issues, CPE verification audits, and rule review progress. The Board also discussed biannual audits, college outreach efforts, and authorized travel for members to an upcoming regional meeting. Several formal disciplinary and reinstatement hearings were conducted, resulting in board decisions regarding certificate revocations, stays of revocation with specified conditions, and reinstatements. Additionally, the board approved specific peer review program budgets and responses to exposure drafts.

The committee discussed travel authorization for members and staff to attend an upcoming regional conference, with a focus on seeking scholarship support. They reviewed the schedule for a future Board meeting in light of disciplinary hearings and analyzed a decline in collected fines, attributing the trend to increased retirements and a drop in license renewals. Additionally, the committee reviewed the status of the ongoing audit process and received an update on recent and planned outreach visits to universities to promote the CPA profession and examination.

The committee meeting featured a presentation by the Ohio Society of CPAs covering a proposal regarding the transfer of specific ethics cases to the peer review program, the current supply of peer reviewers in Ohio, and statistical data from the 2025 annual report on peer review activity. The committee also recommended the OSCPA's 2027 budget to the Board, which includes a proposed 2% increase in peer review fees. Additionally, the committee approved the submission of a response to an exposure draft from the AICPA Professional Ethics Executive Committee regarding the Alternative Practice Structure model.

The Board discussed budget and financial reports, investigation statistics, and CPE non-compliance fines. The Executive Director provided an update on the post-renewal survey, CPA certification metrics, and upcoming office relocation for board meetings. Board members addressed requests for reconsideration regarding CPA exam requirements, licensure, and a formal complaint. Additionally, the Board conducted several formal disciplinary hearings involving CPA certificates and firm registrations, resulting in various revocation and fine decisions, and reviewed and acted upon several waiver requests.