The Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants, a professional association based in Bellevue, is putting the finishing touches on about 40 pages of amendments to the body of state statutes that regulate the profession. Advocates negotiated the final language of the bill with other business interests, notably small businesses and noncertified accountants. Among other things, the bill would let accounting firms diversify their ownerships and lines of business by relaxing restrictions on business partners and compensation. Authors of the bill are also thinking about widening the regulatory sweep of the state Board of Accountancy. The proposal would let individuals who are not certified public accountants own as much as 49 percent of an accounting firm.
Current law restricts ownership to CPAs.
Proponents say the change would let firms use ownership stakes to reward employees who are not accountants. The bill would let CPAs collect commissions and contingency fees, which are now prohibited. The change would make it easier for accountants to get into complementary lines of business that are based on commissions and contingency fees, such as selling insurance or investment services. Authors of the bill are thinking about extending the regulatory reach of the state Board of Accountancy. About half of all CPAs in the state are not licensed by the board because they work for government or industry employers instead of an accounting firm.