Irvine Valley College Auditing Professional Practice Standards of CPAS Discussion

An important element of the public accounting profession is maintaining standards for those approved/licensed to practice.

As discussed in class those who do not live up to the professional practice standards face discipline by their state licensing board, the AICPA, the SEC, and the PCAOB (if the CPA is working on public company audits).

1. Visit the web site for the California State Board of Accountancy and locate the section for Disciplinary Actions. Describe some of the issues that led to Lawrence P. Lichter of Woodland Hills, CA., being disciplined by the California Board of Accountancy and related disciplinary actions. Please comment on how much activity and length of time the Board of Accountancy went through in this investigation. Can you determine if he is still practicing as a CPA?

2. Visit the web site for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and find the section dealing with disciplinary action related to Timothy M. Kosiek of Minneapolis, Minnesota in April of 2019. Describe what led to this firm and individual being disciplined by the PCAOB. Pay attention to the particular accounts involved in this audit and the scale of the adjustments made by the client. When did the infractions occur and what does this say about speed of disciplinary action by the PCAOB? Is he still practicing as a CPA?

For further background on reasons why individuals are disciplined by professional organizations, feel free to browse through the list of individuals in these respective sites. Each state has its own board of accounting which posts disciplinary events for members and both the AICPA and PCAOB have such web sites.