Clallam County Auditor Cathleen McKeown is not likely to face criminal charges for falsely representing herself for 15 years as a certified public accountant.
But the state Board of Accountancy — which regulates CPAs, CPA firms and the practice of public accounting — has issued a default order prohibiting McKeown from using the CPA title and preventing her from seeking a CPA license for at least five years.
She is also barred from referring to herself as a “public accountant,” “certified accountant,” or any title likely to cause confusion over her actual professional status.
McKeown, serving her first elected term as county auditor after being appointed by county commissioners in 2001 to fill a vacancy, came under fire just before the 2002 general election for having referred to herself as a CPA in phone book listings, on building signs and in client correspondence since opening her Port Angeles practice in 1991.
She also used the title following her signature in an official county audits after taking over as county auditor.
Though she passed the CPA exam in 1987, McKeown never applied for the CPA license — a requirement to use the professional title in Washington.
The board’s order, issued Friday, gives McKeown 10 days to petition its decision.
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The rest of the story appears in Tuesday’s Peninsula Daily News Clallam County edition.