Accounting Law & Regulation

The Accountants Professional Services Group at Vedder Price focuses on the sophisticated advice necessary for accountants and accounting firms to preserve, develop and enhance their accounting practices.  Because of the broad experience and the complementary areas of expertise of the attorneys in our Accountants Professional Services Group, we can provide our accounting firm clients with a unique, multi-faceted approach to the legal issues they encounter.  Our litigation attorneys serve as defense counsel in litigations, arbitrations, disciplinary proceedings and enforcement proceedings involving accounting firms, representing both individual accountants and accounting firms.  The firm also advises accounting firms on regulatory matters, including state accounting laws and regulations, PCAOB regulations and proceedings, and securities law matters.  Our corporate attorneys represent accounting firms on internal structuring, joint ventures and alliances, acquisitions, and withdrawals and dissolutions. Employment attorneys at Vedder Price advise our accounting firm clients on employment contracts, severance arrangements, office policies and procedures and employment practices liability issues.  At Vedder Price, accounting firm clients can take advantage of a complete spectrum of legal services necessary for operating an accounting practice.

The Accountants Professional Services Group was organized by Dan Goldwasser in our New York office.  Mr. Goldwasser is one of the nation’s pre-eminent lawyers in the field of accountants liability and regulation of accountants.  He is the author of several treatises and numerous articles in this area of the law.  Mr. Goldwasser has been an active member of several professional associations and has served as the chair of the ABA’s Committee on Law & Accounting and subcommittee chairs of the ABA’s Committees on Federal Regulation of Securities and Professional Liability and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York's Committee on Securities Regulation.  From 1999 to 2002, Mr. Goldwasser served as the ABA co-chair to the National Conference of Lawyers and Certified Public Accountants.  He also has been appointed as one of the five public members of the Auditing Standards Board, the senior technical committee of the AICPA with authority to publish statements of standards for the conduct of financial statement audits.

The Accountants Professional Services Group at Vedder Price advises accountants in managing their domestic and international business and in complying with the rapidly-changing laws and regulations governing professional competence, independence, integrity and structure, including:

• defense of professional liability claims, including audit deficiencies, improper application of accounting principles, failure to detect management fraud, embezzlements, securities law violations, and tax advice
• implementation of measures for reducing professional liability exposure and addressing professional liability insurance issues
• representation of accountants in disciplinary and enforcement proceedings brought by the SEC, PCAOB, state licensing authorities and professional accounting associations
• organization and structuring of accounting firms, and the acquisition of accounting practices
• compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and other securities laws requirements, PCAOB rules and regulations, state laws and regulations and professional codes of ethics

Accounting Firms

The Accountants Professional Services Group advises and regularly represents more than one hundred accounting firms throughout the United States on issues involving actual and potential liability claims, as well as ways in which CPA firms may reduce their exposure to liability claims.  Accountants Professional Services Group attorneys have established relationships with leading professional liability insurers who regularly assign our attorneys to defend claims against accountants and accounting firms.  The accountants, accounting firms and the insurer can thus be assured of an effective and efficient defense by experienced counsel.  In addition, attorneys in our Group advise our accounting firm clients on professional liability insurance questions, including the available market for liability insurance.  We have represented CPAs in enforcement and disciplinary proceedings instituted by the SEC, by state regulatory authorities and by self-regulatory organizations.

Our attorneys also regularly represent accounting firms and individual CPAs in organizational matters, such as the formation of professional corporations, limited liability companies and limited liability partnerships, the drafting of partnership and shareholder agreements, and the acquisition of other accounting practices.  Our attorneys assist firms in structuring alliances and joint ventures, and advise them on regulatory and liability issues.  Attorneys in the Accountants Professional Services Group have also represented CPA firms and individual CPAs in firm break-ups and ousters, and withdrawals of individual partners and shareholders.  Because the attorneys in the Group have extensive corporate and securities law experience, they are able to advise our clients with respect to securities law compliance and disclosure issues.

Commitment to the Accounting Profession

Attorneys within the Accountants Professional Services Group serve the New York State Society of CPAs in a number of ways, including:

• Advising the Society’s Professional Liability Insurance Task Force
• Representing the Society in its amicus curiae activities, including writing amicus briefs that have contributed to the development of the law of accountants’ liability in New York State and in other jurisdictions
• Serving as an editor of The CPA Journal, the Society’s national monthly magazine
• Writing course materials for the Society’s continuing professional education courses
• Appearing on Society-sponsored continuing education programs
• Organizing and editing the risk management section of the Society’s electronic bulletin board
• Commenting on proposed professional and ethical standards

More recently, Vedder Price has been retained by the NYSSCPA to assist it in preparing proposed amendments to the New York State accountancy law and in defending employee claims.

Attorneys in the Accountants Professional Services Group regularly speak and write on issues of importance to the accounting profession.  Our attorneys have chaired the programs on Accountants’ Liability of both the Practising Law Institute and ALI-ABA, and have been frequent speakers at programs sponsored by the New York State Society of CPAs, by the Society’s member chapters and by chapters of the New Jersey Society of CPAs.  Vedder Price attorneys are regularly quoted in professional, business and general interest publications regarding developments of significance to the accounting profession.  Attorneys in our Accounts Professional Services Group have also authored and contributed to treatises on accountants liability, and regularly author articles on that topic as well as professional regulation and accounting firm structuring and agreements.

Show all attorneys in this practice

• Ethical Standards
• Legal Liability
• Risk Management
• Transactional Matters

• PCAOB Adopts Reporting Requirements for Registered Accounting Firms
• Accounting Law Bulletin
• PCAB - Beyond the First Year
• Auditor Independence
• Vedder Price Shareholder Named to Auditing Standards Board
• New York Times / Parmalat Scandal
• Expanded Protection for Professionals Against At-Will Discharge
• Supreme Court Addresses Arbitration Agreements and Refines the Standard for Determining...
• Second Circuit Reaffirms That Employers May Be Liable for Off-Duty Sexual Harassment
• New York State's Highest Court Gives Blessing to Handbook Disclaimers

show all >

• Accounting Law & Regulation