The Role of United States Boards of Accountancy in Monitoring and Sanctioning CPA Misbehavior
46 Pages Posted: 30 Apr 2024 Last revised: 30 Oct 2024
Date Written: October 30, 2024
Abstract
We investigate variation in the attributes of United States (U.S.) Boards of Accountancy across thirty-three states from 2015-2018, and how this variation relates to their monitoring and sanctioning activities. We find that state boards vary substantially along several dimensions including the independence and expertise of board members, the gender and racial diversity of the board, the frequency of board meetings, the board’s licensing and continuing professional education (CPE) requirements, and the board’s budget. In addition, we find that these variations are significantly related to the types of disciplinary cases state boards report and the sanctions they impose. Our results provide insights into factors that affect the ability of the accounting profession to effectively self-regulate and that increase the risk of inconsistent monitoring of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) across states.
Keywords: State boards of accountancy; Professional licensure; Self-regulation; Misconduct; Disciplinary cases; Sanctions, Professional licensure, Self-regulation, Misconduct, Disciplinary cases, Sanctions
JEL Classification: D71, D73, M42, M48
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation