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California Board of Accountancy reviews use of supervised practice as probation condition
Summary
The California Board of Accountancy’s enforcement committee discussed guidance and proposed clarifications for supervised practice terms used when licenses are reinstated or placed on probation, including plan requirements, practice monitor criteria, reporting and staff review timelines.
The California Board of Accountancy’s Enforcement Program Oversight Committee received an informational overview March 2025 on the board’s growing use of supervised practice as a condition of probation for licensees.
The presentation, given by Malcolm Mitchell, enforcement manager for the intake and probation monitoring unit, explained that supervised practice is an optional probation term used in stipulated settlements, proposed decisions or when a petition for reinstatement is granted. "Supervised practice is an optional condition of probation that may be included in stipulated settlements, proposed decisions, or when a petition for reinstatement is granted," Mitchell said. He told members staff have seen an increase in cases including this term over the past year.
The committee was briefed on the plan of practice that a probationer must submit when the term is included in an order. Under current practice described to the committee, a probationer must file a plan of practice within 30 days of the start of probation. The plan, provided to members as attachment 1, must identify the licensee’s practice areas and propose a practice monitor who is a qualified certified public accountant responsible for evaluating work and submitting quarterly reports to the board. The practice monitor must hold a license in good standing, have expertise in the probationer’s practice areas, and maintain an independent professional relationship with the probationer.
Mitchell said staff have received suggested improvements to the plan, including adding a monitor affirmation that there is no personal or professional relationship with the probationer and specifying that the probationer will pay monitoring costs. He also said staff will explore adding information to the plan or to probation orientation about the probationer’s responsibility to protect confidentiality for materials provided to the practice monitor.
Quarterly monitoring reports are reviewed by CBA staff; the board may request engagements identified as problem areas for further examination by an investigative CPA or the Enforcement Advisory Committee. When negotiating stipulated settlements or reinstatement conditions, staff typically tailor the supervised practice term to specify a practice area for review, the frequency and number of engagements to be reviewed during each reporting period, and whether reviews should occur pre-issuance or post-issuance.
During questions from the committee, Tony Lin asked whether the board has a time frame for reviewing and responding to submitted reports. Mitchell said the probation monitor reviews submissions and discusses them with management as soon as they are submitted and that staff generally respond to the probationer within a couple of days so that the probationer may select a new monitor quickly if the plan is denied. When a monitor has not fulfilled responsibilities, Mitchell said staff notify the probationer that they must select a new practice monitor and submit a revised plan; he said there have been instances where monitors did not fulfill responsibilities but that the board did not pursue discipline against the former monitor in the examples discussed.
Votes at a glance
The committee approved the minutes from its Jan. 23, 2025 meeting. Doug Aguilera moved to approve the minutes; Joe Rosenbaum seconded. Roll-call votes recorded Aguilera, Nancy Dong, Tony Lin and Rosenbaum as "yes" and Patricia Bachelor and Theresa Thompson as "abstain." The motion carried (yes 4; abstain 2).
