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Could An Honest Work Experience Mistake Mean Losing a CPA License?

Posted on by Adrienne Gonzalez

Having trouble picking out your KPMG ice cream? Need help drafting a professional email to your interns? Facing a life crisis and Psychic Friends Network won't even take your calls? Get in touch and we'll do what we can.

Question:  I just noticed that my state requires my work experience take place after I finished the education that allowed me to sit for the CPA exam a few years ago, because my license is up for renewal and it's a universal application.  I submitted my CPA application with a work experience form filled out by a supervisor with work experience well before my education was completed.  This was a while ago, but not so long that the rules have changed.  Should I do anything?  Should I worry that someday they will come back and take away my license?

Now, there are times in your life when you should pound out an email to the GC yogis seeking enlightenment or maybe abuse and there are times you should Google your state board's phone number and ask them directly. Can you guess which situation the above is?

Please note it's difficult for us to answer questions like these if you don't tell us what state you are in since A) states have different rules when it comes to this stuff and B) without knowing what state you're talking about, I can't Google your state board's phone number, call them and get your answer. Huzzah!

So our only option here is to look at this strange question from a generic perspective. Knowing what I do about how state boards of accountancy operate, we can pretty safely assume that no one is tasked with the job of matching up old licenses with old work experience forms deep within the depths of the state board headquarters. On the off chance someone has some time on their hands over there (highly unlikely), there are probably way bigger fish to fry than your misaligned work experience. It's not like you didn't actually do the work, you just did it wrong according to your state's rules.

NOW, that said, you're still a CPA and that means you're expected to be slightly more ethical than the guy who rotates your tires. So you need to look up your state board, get your story straight and call them. I'm pretty sure no one will care but won't you feel better just knowing  that? It seems like an honest mistake to me, and one that can ultimately be blamed on the board for approving your license anyway even if you did not technically meet the work experience requirement on their specific time table.

Let us know how it turns out, hopefully you don't end up destitute and robbed of your CPA dreams over a simple error on your part.

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Hi GC,

I am a junior majoring in accounting at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign set to graduate in May 2012. I am in the process of applying to our school’s MAS program to get my 150 hours to sit for the CPA in the state of New York. Last fall, I had an office visit with PwC in NYC for their Summer 2011 Audit Intern. I was not given the job. A few weeks ago, I interviewed for Deloitte for their Winter 2012 Audit internship in NYC as well. I moved onto the second round but my second round interview was a 30 minute phone call from a partner. I thought the interview went well with him but I was not given an offer. I am now 0/2 in second round interviews with the Big 4. What am I doing wrong? I read somewhere about the facial hair article that partners generally do not come into contact with associates much and I am only interviewing for an internship. How can I connect with a partner who seems disinterested in interviewing college kids? I connect easier with HR and managers that do first round campus interviews but it’s hard for me to establish rapport with a partner. I do have another office visit scheduled in mid April for NYC EY-FSO so maybe the third second round interview will be the charm. These are the questions I usually ask managers and partners:

• Where did you see yourself 5, 10 years down the road when you first started?
• Did you take it step by step or did you know you wanted to become a partner?
• What has been your most rewarding moment or biggest accomplishment here?
• What are your plans for the next 5 years and what about the firm’s goals?

[Thanks!]

Dear Intern with no Ice Breakers,

Rather than complain about your lack of partner relations, you should simply be thankful that you’re not a grad assistant at UI. Since you didn’t ask for perspective I’ll let your lack of gratitude slide and address your query directly. Here goes.

You listed four questions that you ask of managers and partners and frankly, they’re terrible. They are trite, predictable and shallow. Plus they’re nearly identical, as they all are related career path. There are other things to consider, after all. Partners and managers want to know that you’ve really got something going on upstairs, not if you’ve read all the listicles on the Internet that have job interview tips. Also, partners are human (well, most of them) so asking them strictly business questions make you seem stiff and impersonal. If you can demonstrate an ability to relate a partner on a personal level, he/she will see you as a team player and someone who has interests outside accounting. You do have interests outside accounting, don’t you?

If you don’t have interests outside accounting: A) GET SOME and B) ask a question that isn’t about career path. What about work-life balance or volunteer opportunities sponsored by the firm or studying for the CPA exam and working OR what he/she likes best about their job? ANYTHING other than re-asking the question you just asked.

So next time you go into an interview and it comes time to ask a partner or manager questions, ask a diverse set of questions. If your questions are one a single track, your interviewer will think your brain is on a single track.

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