State Assembly Sponsors Introduce Bill to Update Accountancy Law

June 1999 Issue

New York state Assembly Majority Leader Michael J. Bragman (Syracuse) and Assembly Higher Education Committee Chair Edward C. Sullivan (Manhattan) introduced legislation to update the current laws that establish and regulate public accountancy in New York on May 27. The Assembly bill (A. 8600) is essentially the same as S. 4402, the bill introduced in the Senate in April.

A. 8600 reflects the reforms discussed by the NYSSCPA board of directors as it deliberated the merits of the Uniform Accountancy Act, the model bill and the accompanying regulations proposed by the AICPA and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. It seeks to:

redefine scope of practice to include only assurance services, such as audits, reviews, compilations, and other attest engagements;

amend the current licensure requirements to require 150 hours of education and one year of experience in general accounting skills verified by a CPA;

allow for interstate practice of public accountancy through substantial equivalency;

require CPA firms that provide attest services to be registered by the State Education Department;

allow for 49 percent ownership of CPA firms by non-CPAs;

authorize CPAs to accept commissions and referral fees from nonattest clients; and

establish in state law a peer review process for CPA firms that engage in attest services. *