Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes: Name changes and license renewal
BOA Business
Julia Shiota, MNCPA communications coordinator | August/September 2024 Footnote
Editor's note: Updated August 1, 2024
What’s in a name? It turns out a lot! If you renewed your CPA license recently, you may have noticed a new check box on the renewal application that states: I affirm that the name above is my full legal name.
If the name on your license was different, whether because of marriage or another legal name change, the applicant would need to follow name change procedures per the Minnesota Board of Accountancy’s website.
While you have always been required to confirm that the information you provided with your renewal is true and correct, the checkbox has caused some confusion because it was added to the form last year. For instance, some CPAs have one name they practice under — such as a nickname, a childhood name or a maiden name — and then the name they apply or fill out forms with. This has become more of an issue because renewing a license under a name that differs from your full, legal name has been labeled “dishonesty in obtaining a certificate.” This is also true of firms who practice or renew their licenses with a different name than the name they hold a permit with the Board under.
By holding out and/or practicing under a name that is not registered with the Board, both individuals and fi rms made it difficult for the public to confirm that an individual or firm was licensed or held a permit with the Board.
The issue grows more significant when you consider the fines, which have ranged from $200 to $2,000 for individuals as well as firms of all sizes. Currently, the BOA has 30-day grace period to notify them for anyone undergoing a legal name change, as laid out by the Minnesota Office of Revisor Statues:
1105.1100 Changes of address and other information. Each licensee or registrant shall notify the board in writing within 30 days of any legal name change, change of address, and, in the case of individual licensees or registrants, change of employment. In addition, each licensee and registrant shall notify the board of correct business and home addresses and telephone number in connection with the renewal of the certificate, permit, or registration. A post office box address is not sufficient to satisfy this requirement, except for a licensee or registrant participating in the address confidentiality program established under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 5B.
Feeling confused by the process? You can always contact the BOA with questions about your CPA license at 651-296-7938. Or visit them online at
www.boa.state.mn.us.
We’re here to help!
When your personal name changes, notifying the Minnesota Board of Accountancy is very important and we encourage all CPAs to comply with the requirements. Recent increases in disciplinary orders and fi nes resulting from not changing a name is concerning because of long term career implications including reputational harm and additional investigations by other regulatory bodies that is disproportionate to the error. We encourage members who are sent a notice of an investigation and orders related to a name change to contact the Geno Fragnito, MNCPA director of government relations (
gfragnito@mncpa.org), to learn about options to address the complaint.
