Get to know the new NASBA president: Daniel J. Dustin
| February/March 2025 Footnote
With a career that spans decades, Daniel J. Dustin, CPA may be the newest president and chief executive officer for the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), but he is no stranger to the organization. In his previous role as NASBA’s vice president of state board relations, he identified key opportunities to provide support to member boards, an interest that he maintains. We sat down with Dustin to hear more about his new role and his vision for the organization.
You’ve been in this position since Aug. 1. How has it been going and how has it been an advantage to be promoted from within?
Overall, the transition process went very well. I have been associated with NASBA for 26 years, first as a volunteer when I worked with the New York State Board for Public Accountancy and then as a NASBA employee. Due to my longtime association, I was able to leverage my familiarity with NASBA, regulatory bodies and the profession during the transition.
One of my first tasks as president and CEO involved realigning operations, which resulted in the creation of new positions, hiring new staff and promoting some existing staff. Currently, we are working on several new projects that will benefit NASBA, the boards of accountancy and the accounting profession.
What has surprised you most about the job so far?
I have been surprised by the amount of fun I’m having while working with an extraordinary group of talented and dedicated staff. We often speak about NASBA’s unique culture; we call ourselves the “NASBA family.” It has been personally rewarding to work with and learn more about each of my staff directors and to walk through our offices, spending time getting to know the employees.
What are the key topics NASBA is working on for the next five years?
We have identified several key areas, many of which involve the implementation of IT solutions to benefit NASBA operations, the boards of accountancy, CPA candidates and the profession. In the near term, we are in the process of developing a CPA mobile app that will allow CPA candidates to navigate their exam journey from application to score release from the convenience of their mobile phones. We hope to launch the app in fall 2025. A little further down the road, we will look to other improvements in our systems and on our website, as well as the many systems we have developed that are used by NASBA’s member boards of accountancy. We will also continue to seek input from the boards on initiatives, topics and issues that are important to them. For example, last year we hosted webinars and presented on private equity investments in public accounting firms. We are also in the process of educating our state board members on Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) ownership of public accounting firms, which we have received numerous inquiries on recently.
How do you see NASBA’s relationship with individual state boards of accountancy changing, if at all, in the future?
I don’t see a significant change in our relationship with the individual boards of accountancy. We work diligently to maintain an ongoing dialog with each of the boards to provide whatever information or resources they need to meet their regulatory responsibilities. In recent years, there has been additional pressure on the boards of accountancy due to proposed consolidation and/or the current anti-regulatory environment. Through it all, the boards of accountancy continue to provide high-quality licensing and regulatory services that benefit the public interest and, in turn, enhance public protection.
What advice did former NASBA president, Ken Bishop, share with you about taking over the role?
Ken and I have a longstanding admiration and respect for each other. We started with our respective boards of accountancy (Missouri and New York) about a week apart and we both became involved as NASBA volunteers during our first Executive Directors Conference in 1999. We have worked together on many important issues over the years, including computerization of the Uniform CPA Examination and — more recently — CPA Evolution. Ken’s advice to me was to enjoy my new position and to remember that he is just a phone call away. It’s always enjoyable to get together with Ken for lunch or dinner to reconnect and to discuss current events and regulation of the profession.
Public confidence and effective regulation are included in NASBA’s vision statement. How does NASBA, along with its partners throughout the accounting profession, continue to build that confidence in a time when scrutiny of expertise and a push for deregulation are at a high?
The profession is well respected and has a long history of rising to the challenges faced in the capital markets. NASBA, the boards of accountancy, the AICPA and the state CPA societies each play a pivotal role in upholding the licensure and practice standards that maintain the public perception of the profession. Through continued dialog and collaboration, NASBA and its partners will continue to address the outside forces that seek to undermine a profession that has stood the test of time for almost 130 years.
