California Board of Accountancy committee moves to implement initiatives to detect unlicensed practice

The Enforcement Program Oversight Committee of the California Board of Accountancy on March 12 received staff recommendations to strengthen detection of unlicensed practice, including monitoring renewal applications and tracking licensees’ online presence, expanding interagency partnerships, and researching artificial-intelligence tools.

"The CBA's mission is to protect consumers by ensuring only qualified licences practice public accountancy in accordance with established professional standards," Chair Carrie Ferrell Hines said as she opened the meeting. Carrie Okconor, Chief of the Enforcement Division, presented the staff plan and asked members for feedback on Objective 1.1 of the board’s 2025–2029 strategic plan, which targets initiatives to identify and investigate unlicensed practice while supporting outreach Objective 4.7 to improve consumer awareness.

Okconor told the committee that preliminary initiatives include reviewing renewal applications for licensees with prior delinquent status and assessing whether their online presence indicates practice during that period, monitoring individuals whose licenses are listed as not practicing, canceled, revoked or surrendered for signs of unlicensed activity, strengthening partnerships with state and federal agencies to identify cases, coordinating with the CBA outreach team to educate consumers on recognizing unlicensed activity, and researching AI-based tools to scan the internet for potential violations. "We are preparing to move forward from the planning to execution stage and begin implementing these initiatives shortly," Okconor said.

Members responded positively to the proposals and offered outreach ideas. One member suggested producing a consumer-facing video explaining how to verify a licensed CPA, noting younger audiences often turn to platforms such as YouTube for information; Okconor said the suggestion could be considered as staff develop public-education materials.

Procedural business: the committee moved to approve the minutes of its Jan. 22, 2026 meeting. Member two moved the motion and Member Dong seconded. The clerk recorded affirmative votes from Member Corrian; Member Dong; Member Hines; Member Lada; Member Thompson; and member two, and "the motion carries." No public comments were offered during the meeting, and Chair Hines adjourned the session.

Next steps: staff said progress toward the initiatives will be reported in regular strategic-plan updates that include timelines, benchmarks and accomplishments since the last update.