Calling Yourself an Accountant May Be Illegal in Texas
A friend of mine, we’ll call her Joanne, received a curious email from the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy. The Texas State Board of Public Accountancy consists of 15 Board members appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, for six-year staggered terms. Their job is to protect the public and ensure competence in the practice by the profession, examines, certifies and licenses CPAs and restricts the use of these terms to its licensees.
The email that was sent to Joanne stated her use of the word “accountant” in her job description, on her LinkedIn account, was in violation of “Chapter 901 of the Texas Occupations Code, short titled the Public Accountancy Act (Act). As provided in the Act, the terms “accountant” and “auditor” and any derivations of those terms imply competence in the practice of public accountancy. The public relies on that implication of competence when it employs a certified public accountant (CPA).” Since she did not hold a CPA license. She could not use the words “accountant” or “auditor”.
Joanne was confused because she has worked for JPMorgan Chase for a number of years, and her position’s title is Securities Services Ops -Fund Accountant. She is not a CPA but has a Masters of Accountancy from Texas A & M Corpus Christi. The letter said if she did not remove the word…
