STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

MARIANTIO MANALO ILAGAN, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 80-210

) STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTANCY, )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, this cause was heard by Linda M. Rigot, the assigned Hearing Officer of the Division of Administrative Hearings, on April 22, 1980, in Gainesville, Florida.

The Petitioner, Marianito Manalo Ilagan, represented himself. Samuel Hankin, Esquire, Gainesville, Florida, appeared on behalf of the Respondent, State Board of Accountancy (hereinafter referred to as the Board").

Petitioner's application for a reciprocal certified public accountant's certificate was denied by the Board on the basis that Petitioner was not a graduate of an "accredited four-year college or university." Petitioner testified on his own behalf, and the Respondent presented the testimony of Douglas H. Thompson, Jr.

The parties were allowed ten days from the date of hearing in which to submit proposed recommended orders for consideration, and the Respondent availed itself of that opportunity. To the extent that the Respondent's proposed findings of fact have not been adopted in this Recommended Order, they have been rejected as not having been supported by the evidence, or as having been irrelevant to the issues under consideration herein.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Petitioner is A graduate of the University of the East in Manila, Philippines. Petitioner is the holder of the state of Illinois C.P.A. Certificate No. 18012. On July 11, 1979, Petitioner filed an application to obtain a reciprocal certified public accountant certificate in Florida (licensure by endorsement) based upon his certificate issued by the State of Illinois. On December 14, 1979, the Board denied Petitioner's application for a reciprocal certificate for the reason that Petitioner had not graduated from an accredited four-year college or university and, accordingly, failed to satisfy the requirements set forth in Section 7(3)(b), Chapter 79-202, Laws of Florida, now codified as Section 473.308(3)(b), Florida Statutes (1979)

   
   

2. The University of the East in Manila, Philippines, is not recognized by the Board as an accredited university in Florida and was not so recognized at the time that Petitioner received his certificate as a certified public accountant in the State of Illinois. The University of the East is not listed

   among the institutions of post secondary education by the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation, the official listing of accredited colleges and universities adopted by the Board to ensure the minimum competence of public accounting practitioners. Additionally, the University of the East in Manila, Philippines, has not been accredited by any of the regional accrediting agencies recognized by the Board.

   
   

3. Douglas H. Thompson, Jr., the Respondent's Executive Director since 1968, is the Board's chief executive officer and, as such, carries out the Board's functions respecting applications for licensure. Mr. Thompson examined Petitioner's application pursuant to Petitioner's Illinois certificate to ascertain whether Petitioner's certificate was issued under criteria substantially equivalent to Florida's licensing criteria and determined that the criteria were not substantially equivalent. Petitioner's application was considered by the Board on two occasions and was rejected.

   
   

   CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

   
   

4. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction over the subject matter and the parties hereto. Section 120.57(1), Florida Statutes (1979). Chapter 473, Florida Statutes (1979), regulates the licensing of certified public accountants in the State of Florida, establishes the Board, and requires the Board to establish rules to implement the regulatory scheme. The educational requirements include graduation from an accredited four-year degree granting institution. Sections 473.306 and 473.300, Florida Statutes (1979). Pursuant to the statutory mandate, the Board has established standards for determining which educational institutions shall be deemed to be accredited colleges or universities by listing approved regional accrediting agencies and by further approving the listing of accredited colleges and universities contained in the 1978-79 Accredited Institutions of Postsecondary Education published for the Council on Post-secondary Accreditation by the American Council on Education. Section 21A-27.01(1) [formerly Section 21A-9.01(1)] and Section 21A-27.01 (2), Florida Administrative Code. Since Petitioner's alma mater is not recognized by the regional accrediting agencies and is not listed in the approved publication, he has failed to satisfy the educational requirements to be licensed in the State of Florida.

   
   

5. Section 473.308(3), Florida Statutes (1979), sets forth two statutory schemes under which an applicant may be certified for a license by endorsement. The procedures set forth in Subsection (a) of that Section are not available to the Petitioner herein, since he does not qualify to take the licensure examination in this state due to his failure to satisfy the educational requirements discussed above. Subsection (b), the other method, provides in pertinent part that an applicant is entitled to a reciprocal certificate in Florida if the state from which the applicant received his certificate issued it under criteria substantially equivalent to the requirements existing in Florida at the time the license was issued. Petitioner also fails to qualify under Subsection (b) due to his failure to possess a degree from an accredited educational institution.

   
   

6. The Board, pursuant to its statutory requirements, was obligated to determine which schools satisfied the "substantially equivalent" criteria in assessing an applicant's qualifications under the equivalency standard. Florida State Board of Architecture v. Wasserman, 377 So.2d 653 (Fla. 1979). Competent and substantial evidence was offered to establish that the Respondent properly denied Petitioner's application for a license to practice public accounting in the State of Florida based upon his failure to satisfy the educational

   requirements of graduation from an accredited institution thereby entitling him to sit for the examination required in Section 473.306, Florida Statutes (1979), or entitling him to licensure under the equivalency standard set forth in Section 473.308, Florida Statutes (1979).

   
   

7. Respondent has provided Petitioner an alternative method under which he may obtain a Florida certificate. Section 21A-27.01(5), Florida Administrative Code (formerly Section 21A-9.01(4), Florida Administrative Code), provides in pertinent part:

A graduate of a four-year degree granting institution not accredited at the time applicant's degree was received or at the time of filing application will be deemed to be a graduate of a four-year accredited college or university course provided an accredited college or university as defined by Rule 21A-27.01(1) and (2) accepts appli cant's nonaccredited baccalaureate degree for admission to a graduate business degree program; the applicant satisfactorily com pletes at least 15 semester or 22 quarter hours, or the equivalent, in post bacca laureate education at the accredited insti tution of which at least 9 semester or 13 quarter hours, or the equivalent, shall

be in accounting; and the accredited college or university verifies that the applicant is in good standing for continua tion in the graduate program (or has main tained a grade point average in these courses that is necessary for graduation)

Petitioner testified that the University of Illinois had certified him; however, the record is devoid of any evidence that petitioner was admitted to a graduate business degree program at that university, that Petitioner satisfactorily completed the required course work, or that Petitioner remains in good standing for continuation in or graduation from that university's program.

RECOMMENDATION

Based upon the foregoing findings of fact and conclusions of law, it is RECOMMENDED THAT:

Petitioner's application for a reciprocal certified public accountant certificate be denied.

RECOMMENDED this 10th day of June, 1980, in Tallahassee, Florida.

LINDA M. RIGOT

Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings Collins Building

Room 101

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

(904) 488-9675

Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 10th day of June, 1980.

COPIES FURNISHED:

Samuel Hankin, Esquire Commerce Building

226 South Main Street Gainesville, Florida 32602

Mr. Marianito Manalo Ilagan 9020 S.W. 56th Street Cooper City, Florida 33328

Ms. Nancy Kelley Wittenberg Secretary

Department of Professional Regulation The Oakland Building

2009 Apalachee Parkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Docket for Case No: 80-000210

Orders for Case No: 80-000210