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California Board of Accountancy hears petition from Donald D. Osborne to reinstate attestation privileges
Summary
The Board heard a petition on Nov. 21, 2025 from Donald David Osborne seeking to lift a restriction that bars him from performing attestation work after a 2018 disciplinary order; the board admitted petition materials, questioned Osborne about experience and continuing education, and closed the record to deliberate in closed session; a written decision will follow.
SACRAMENTO — The California Board of Accountancy on Nov. 21, 2025 held a petition hearing for Donald David Osborne, who asked the board to reinstate his ability to perform attestation (audit) work after a 2018 disciplinary order.
Administrative Law Judge Patrice De Guzman Huber opened the hearing and confirmed appearances. Deputy Attorney General Ted Durkar presented the state's packet (marked exhibit 1) and summarized the disciplinary history: Osborne admitted the allegations in a 2018 stipulated settlement, including departures from professional standards on multiple 401(k) plan audits and false peer-review reporting. Durkar told the board the 2018 order imposed three years of probation and a permanent restriction prohibiting attestation engagements.
Osborne testified that he regretted his past conduct and sought reinstatement to perform mostly tax and pro bono services, including audits for parent-teacher organizations in his wife's community. "I had a serious lapse of judgment," he said, repeatedly expressing remorse and describing steps he has taken to read current standards and undertake continuing professional education.
Board members and the deputy attorney general questioned Osborne about the scope of his prior attestation experience (limited to audits done before 2002 and the Ken Grody Ford 401(k) audits), the provenance and unsigned nature of two recently submitted letters (admitted as exhibit 2), and whether he had completed audit-focused continuing education. Osborne said he had submitted certificates totaling 86 hours of CPE but acknowledged he had not documented specific coursework in accounting and auditing or in fraud detection and prevention and said he would complete those courses if reinstated.
Durkar referenced legal precedent and emphasized that petitioners seeking relief must present strong proof of rehabilitation. After closing arguments and brief remarks from both sides, the ALJ asked whether the matter was submitted; both parties answered yes. "With the matter being submitted, the record is now closed," De Guzman Huber said. The board recessed to closed session to deliberate; the decision will be issued in writing at a later date and not at the hearing.
The hearing record includes the petition packet (DBO-PET001–062), disciplinary documents and the two additional letters the petitioner submitted the day before the hearing; the board admitted both exhibit sets into evidence. The board did not vote or issue a public ruling at the session.
