Maryland Gov. Lawrence Hogan this morning ordered all non-essential businesses in the state to close, but the Maryland Association of CPAs (MACPA) is asking Hogan to make an exception for CPAs.

Anticipating the shutdown, a March 21 letter to Hogan asked that the CPA profession be included on the list of essential critical infrastructure workforce exceptions.

MACPA president and CEO Tom Hood requested the designation, which would allow public accountants to go to their physical offices as needed, while maintaining appropriate social distancing by staffing at less than 50% of office capacity. Hood’s argument notes that while many CPAs have implemented remote work, there are some critical functions that are required to be done in the office, including payroll and banking in secure systems, as well as processing mail with checks, invoices and other financial correspondence.

He further argues that CPAs are essential to the U.S. economy due to their work on compliance with federal and state tax and financial reporting requirements, the preparation of taxes, audits and financial reports for business financing and loans, and projections and contingency planning for businesses. And, since the financial services sector has been designated as one of 16 essential critical infrastructure areas by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, MACPA believes CPAs should surely be included in that designation.

This is a fluid situation, so please check with your state societies for any updates.