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Following are the procedures employed by the Accountancy Board
("Board") to expedite complaints against individuals
or firms licensed with our agency. You should verify an individual's
or firm's license status with the Board before filing
a complaint. There are some firms which provide accounting,
tax preparation, or consulting services that are not required
to be licensed by the Board. No legal action can be taken by
the Board against these firms, unless these firms advertise
as CPA firms or as public accountants. It is illegal for an
unlicensed person or firm to operate as a certified public
accountant, public accountant, or public accounting firm.
- Complaints must be submitted in writing.
- You may use our complaint form (PDF)
for this purpose.
- The complaint must contain the names, addresses, and telephone
numbers of all parties to the complaint, including the complainant.
Complaints and supporting documentation may be filed by electronic
mail or fax, but originals of these documents may be required
by the Board at a later date.
- The details and events leading to the complaint, as well
as any supporting documentation, should be included.
If the complaint is a fee dispute, you must have an engagement
letter
(contract between the complainant and the CPA) that specifies
a fee or fee range and invoices that violate the engagement
letter's terms. The mere fact that some CPAs charge more
than others, or some CPAs provide better service for
the same fee than others, is not sufficient grounds for
filing
a complaint with the Board.
- All complaints are the property of the Board. Investigative
files, by statute, are not public records.
- Complaints are processed in the order received. Complaints
which are sent to the Board by express delivery do not have
priority once received in our offices.
- Complaints submitted anonymously or hypothetically are
given due consideration.
- The Board does not give legal advice. All requests for
legal interpretations of fact situations that are not specifically
covered in the accountancy law or Board rules should be forwarded
to an attorney.
- The complainant will be given written notification of complaint
that has been received and the complaint status as events
warrant.
- All complaints are processed by initially determining
the extent of the Board's legal jurisdiction in the matter.
It
is possible that a particular complaint is outside the
Board's jurisdiction. In such a case, we cannot take action
and we
will inform the complainant of this fact. Many cases
that involve fee disputes or related monetary issues, claims
of
criminal wrongdoing not related to the practice of public
accounting or the accountancy law, and violations of
employment contracts or covenants not to compete are outside
the Board's
jurisdiction
and should
be pursued with the appropriate courts. The Board does
have an interest in the outcome of civil or criminal proceedings
against CPAs, and if a civil action is filed against
a CPA we would appreciate being informed of the
results of such action.
All complaints should be sent to: Robert D. Joseph, Ph.D.,
CPA, Assistant Director, Accountancy Board of Ohio, 77 South
High Street, 18th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215-6128.
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