A JOINT MEMORIAL
REQUESTING THE STATE AUDITOR TO STUDY
THE NEED FOR STRICTER CONFLICT OF INTEREST STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS.
WHEREAS, recent public
accountancy scandals have highlighted the dangers that exist and the corruption
that can result when certified public accountants and auditors have multiple
and conflicting business relationships with their clients; and
WHEREAS, stockholders and the
general public must be able to rely upon the statements and reports of
certified public accountants and auditors to be honest, unvarnished reports of
a corporation's financial affairs; and
WHEREAS, corporate corruption
aided and abetted by certified public accountants and auditors costs not only
individual stockholders millions of dollars, but also governmental investors
such as the state of New Mexico that invest taxpayer dollars; and
WHEREAS, such corruption
further weakens the public's faith in its governmental and corporate
institutions; and
WHEREAS, New Mexico law
currently prohibits certain practices by certified public accountants, but
might benefit from a review to determine if other practices should be
prohibited;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the state auditor, with the
assistance of the performance audit staff of the legislative finance committee,
the New Mexico public accountancy board and the New Mexico society of public
accountants, be requested to study the current ethical and conflict of interest
standards for New Mexico's certified public accountants and the need, if any,
to revise those standards and report his findings and recommendations, if any,
to the second session of the forty-sixth legislature; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that
copies of this memorial be transmitted to the state auditor, the director of
the legislative finance committee, the New Mexico public accountancy board and
the New Mexico society of certified public accountants.