[Za Williams]

Hi all,

I’ve taken a look at the CPA application and I’m afraid to even send mine in. I have 3 incidents in my entire life:

1) 4.5 years ago when I was 18, I got caught at a party. I was given a Minor In Possession of Alcohol Ticket (Municipal Ordinance) and paid a $107 fine.

2) 4 years ago I was stopped at a checkpoint and given a myriad of vehicle violations. All of them were dropped in court besides an expired inspection sticker ticket.

3) Last year my family and I went fishing at a local lake at my dad’s suggestion. I received a ticket for fishing without a license. My dad felt bad and said he’d take care of it; he forgot about it, a warrant was issued. The ticket was then paid and nothing came of it.

I know all of these things are minor in the grand scheme of things, but if I disclose all three of
them, do you think I’ll have a problem in the application process? Thank you.

[tcheney3]

None of those are even close to the level where they could prevent you from getting approved for a CPA license. Just be honest and forthcoming and you shouldn't have any issues.

BEC - 82
REG - 86
FAR - 85
AUD - 84 and I'm out!!!!!
Ethics - 95
In Skynet's Honor:
Act I: Shutdown Skynet and prevent Judgment Day.
Act II: Add a comma and three letters to my title.
Act III: Time Travel and marry a young Denise Richards (and prevent subsequent plastic surgery),return to present.
Act IV: Serve as Successor to Elon Musk as CEO of Tesla.
Act V: Ensure Judgment Day has been stopped. Utopia achieved.

[Anonymous]

Dude… unless you got caught for embezzling money or some other financial crime, you are golden. The State Boards of Accountancy are focused on how your criminal history would affect the public's trust in you handling money, not in if you got caught knocking back a sixer back in highschool. Lol. Chill…. there are more important things to worry about in life, like passing the CPA exam.

[aspencookie]

I wouldn't worry about any of the above.

[CPA2BEE]

I think you're OK for all, although if I'm not mistaken, if your state board finds out that you went fishing without a license then you are done for.

Totally kidding and you should be completely in the clear, I actually got a solid laugh from this thread.

FAR - 80
AUD - 82
BEC - 80
REG - 85

ETHICS - 90
EXPERIENCE - COMPLETE
Application for California license mailed 8/4/2016

[TreeFiddy]

@cpa2bee and others

Now for the less funny one..

1. Convicted of felony possession for sale of marijuana by State of California.
2. Did time, ton of community service, got an accounting degree.
3. Successfully petitioned the court for Expungement of all charges.

When I apply for licensure after passing the exams, do I need to disclose this? If so, how will a state like Colorado weigh this when reviewing my application?

Thanks in advance.

[CPA2BEE]

@TreeFiddy that is quite a bit less funny. I would absolutely disclose this on my application if there is any part of the application that requests disclosure of any past charges. On the CA application, there was an entire page exclusively for us to list any offenses other than traffic violations that we have received. So if you have something like that, I suggest disclosing it similarly as you did in this thread – noting that charges have since been expunged. The last thing you want is them finding something out in that area when you were specifically requested to disclose such things.

As far as how its weighted in whether you're cleared as a CPA or not, I can't speak to that but I would suppose it varies from state-to-state. The fact that all charges were expunged, and assuming you don't have any other major charges since then, I think both of those things help your cause. Perhaps Colorado is a more preferable state for the state board to be lenient on marijuana offenses 😉 But in all seriousness, it is best to just be as upfront as possible about it because they are going to run background checks on you and you never know what they are going to find. I don't know how they classify felony-level crimes for possession/sale of marijuana, but it would be hard to believe that is considered a financial crime. But who knows, I know I don't. I'm rooting for you though!

FAR - 80
AUD - 82
BEC - 80
REG - 85

ETHICS - 90
EXPERIENCE - COMPLETE
Application for California license mailed 8/4/2016

[EZ_Sims_4_me_Pls]

fishing without a license is an act discreditable

jk obvi… don't sweat it, you're fine..

but you're on thin ice! 😉

[aaronmo]

I AM NOT AN EXPERT, AND MAY NOT KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT…

I THINK that if it's expunged, you don't need to disclose. That's the whole point. The wording of the question might be asking about expunged things too…in which case I wouldn't be dishonest. If you put it on and get rejected, it's time to get an attorney. I don't THINK it's likely to be an issue if expunged. I might even look for an attorney that specializes in expungement in your state and ask them for piece of mind.

Personally…I think someone who turned things around like you did should be celebrated and rewarded. So please allow me to say…

IMPRESSIVE!

[Missy]

regarding the expungement I would ask your attorney if you do or do not need to disclose it. You can also call the state board and ask them anonymously.

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[TreeFiddy]

Thank you guys for the input. I agree with you all and will disclose if the application verbiage states to disclose even expunged charges. Will seek guidance from and attorney before applying if that is the case.

Apologies to fizzer for hijacking the thread. I believe his question was confidently answered and this was closely related.

[aaronmo]

FWIW…I just checked PA because I was curious…it specifically states not to disclose if expunged.

[Author]

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