How INCPAS works year-round to protect CPA licensure, mobility and public trust.
What has surprised you most about INCPAS’ legislative and regulatory work?
The amount of coordination and effort that happens out of public view. Seeing the day-to-day work up close—monitoring proposed bills, preparing timely responses and maintaining relationships with lawmakers—has given me a deep appreciation. The entire process is continuous, highly strategic and requires a level of technical precision that most people never see.
From your vantage point at Board of Accountancy (BOA) meetings, what have you observed about INCPAS’ role in shaping and safeguarding CPA licensure in Indiana?
INCPAS plays an essential stabilizing role in those discussions. The BOA relies on the Society for well-researched input, historical context and early identification of emerging risks. INCPAS often serves as the bridge between regulators, practitioners, and policymakers, ensuring that changes to rules or processes maintain the integrity of the license while remaining practical for firms and individual CPAs.
How do Indiana’s efforts align with national peers on issues like licensure protection and mobility?
Indiana is well aligned with the national direction of the profession. The themes we discuss at AICPA Council—mobility, regulatory consistency, workforce pipeline and public trust—mirror the issues INCPAS is managing at the state level. What stands out is how proactive Indiana is in communicating with its national counterparts. Whether it’s monitoring legislation in other states or participating in joint initiatives, the Society consistently ensures Indiana is part of the national conversation and works collaboratively to keep our regulatory framework strong and uniform.
“The Society consistently ensures Indiana is part of the national conversation and works collaboratively to keep our regulatory framework strong and uniform.”
The profession is facing real deregulation threats. How has your experience deepened your understanding of why INCPAS advocacy is critical?
Seeing these proposals emerge firsthand has underscored how quickly a well-established profession can be put at risk. Deregulation efforts are often framed as reducing barriers, but they can unintentionally erode the safeguards that protect the public and maintain confidence in financial reporting. My experience has reinforced that without active monitoring and rapid response, harmful legislation could advance before most CPAs even know it exists. INCPAS’ advocacy work ensures Indiana remains a state where license mobility, public trust and professional standards stay intact.
INCPAS often works behind the scenes to make legislation implementable even when we aren’t setting tax policy. Can you share an example where that “quiet work” made a big difference?
A good example from the recent session involved technical clarifications in a tax administration bill. While INCPAS wasn’t driving the policy, they flagged language that would have created unintended compliance issues for practitioners and taxpayers. Working behind the scenes with legislative staff and agency leaders, the team helped refine the wording so the bill achieved its intended purpose without creating new administrative burdens.
