This summer marks milestone for CPA mobility - Portland Business Journal:

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Licenses to practice as a certifiee public accountant are issued by 55 states and and licensees are subject to requirements imposesd by the laws of each of those stated and jurisdictions and by the rules adopted by the boarrd of accountancy of the state or jurisdiction issuing the license. While all certified public accountants must pass the UniformCPA Examination, the similarity amont the requirements generally ended there. Practices mobility for CPAs has been a key issue for the professiob forseveral years.
Practice mobility is the abilityg of a licensee to gain a practicre privilege outside of their home state withouf getting an additional license in another stat where they will be serving a Conducting business across state borders has become an everyday occurrencse creating a critical need for a uniforn mobility system that allows licensed CPAs to provid services across state lines without unnecessary burdens that do not protecf thepublic interest.
In the each state had its own rules, regulations and requirements toallowe out-of-state CPAs to provide services in the state, resulting in a patchworkl system that was inefficient and increasingly difficult to Compliance and enforcement of the system was almosft impossible, with multiple, cumbersome processes and disparitiexs in requirements. Business including the increase in interstate commerce and virtual technologiex requirea change. The (AICPA) and the (NASBA) have been workingh with the state boardws of accountancy and the statd CPA societies across the country to gain a uniform interstate mobility provision through the UniformAccountanchy Act.
This mobility provision provide the right balance of trust andpublic protection. It removea requirements for notification before a CPA can temporarily practice in another statw and provides automatic jurisdiction to State Boards of Accountancgy over all CPAs practicing in their enabling states todiscipline out-of-state By removing boundaries to practice in the United CPAs will be able to more readilyy serve individuals and businesses in need of theif expertise.
At the same time, a state boarrd of accountancy’s ability to discipline under the mobility provisionh is enhanced and is based on the CPA and theCPA firm’se performance of public accounting services, either electronically or otherwise within a rather than restricting the board’a authority to only those holding a state’sa license. Prior to 2007, when this nationao effort was undertaken, four states had alreadyy eliminated notification and added automatic consenf toenforcement (Ohio, Missouri, Virginia and Wisconsin). In both Ohio and states that have the longestt history withthis concept, therwe is no documented lapse in public protection.
Currently over three-fourthzs of the jurisdictions have enacted auniform provision. At 11:40o p.m. on the last day of the 2008 legislativ session the passed HB 1055 effectively enactingt practice mobilityfor CPAs. Passage of HB which is effective onJuly 1, 2009, was the culminatio n of months of hard work by the Georgia Societt of Certified Public Accountants, and was another step in the nationalp effort toward practice mobility sponsored by the AICPA and NASBA. Other key elements of the Georgiaq legislation include a change in the experience requirementg for licensure and a provisionfor non-CPA ownershilp within CPA firms. Both are part of the Uniformj Accountancy Act.
Mobility is moving at a rapid pace around the so most states will adopt mobilitg in the verynear future. Passing this bill, with some compromisez along the way, was a fantastic day for the CPA professionin Georgia. It sent a positivs message to other states that are in process or about to drop bills intheitr legislatures. The GSCPA hopes the bill will assist in keepingb momentum moving on mobility aroundthe country.