LCPA’s Political Action Committee

A certified public accountant from Lafayette, Louisiana, James Castille owns and operates LUMA Capital LLC, a CPA firm where he serves as a business consultant, insurance consultant, and turnaround specialist. James Castille maintains his affiliation with the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (LCPA).

LCPA is a non-profit organization of over 6,000 accounting professionals in Louisiana representing the sectors of public practice, education, government, and industry. Its mission is to enhance its members’ working environment and to support them to boost their competence and professionalism, promote their public service, and advocate their causes in the government. To ensure that the voice of its members is heard in the legislative arena, LCPA has established the Political Action Committee (PAC).

In the past, there had been much Louisiana legislation that had adverse effects on the accounting profession in particular and the public in general. To engage state lawmakers and express the concerns of the profession in the legislature, LCPA set up the PAC. This makes the role of the PAC crucial to LCPA members.

Through the PAC, LCPA members maintain their relationship with CPA-friendly legislators. The enduring relationship enables CPAs to be well-versed with state tax laws and audit regulations. The PAC operates solely on the LCPA members’ donations.

The Disaster Response and Recovery Initiatives of the LCPA

A certified public accountant (CPA) in Lafayette, Louisiana, James Castille owns and operates LUMA Capital. Supplementing his career as a CPA, James Castille also holds active membership with the Society of Louisiana CPAs (LCPA).

The leading association of accounting professionals in Louisiana, the LCPA has a membership base of roughly 5,500 CPAs and more than 2,000 aspiring CPAs. Moreover, it provides comprehensive resources to ensure that CPAs and taxpayers have adequate representation in the wake of natural disasters.

From its general guide for CPAs who provide disaster assistance to its list of phone numbers for filing insurance company claims, the LCPA offers valuable disaster response and recovery resources to its membership base and the general public. It also publishes online updates that cover news and alerts from various disaster relief and tax organizations. In particular, the LCPA has a wealth of information regarding financial returns related to 2021’s Hurricane Ida.

LCPA Advances the Field through Legislative Impact

A Certified Public Accountant from Lafayette, Louisiana CPA, James Castille has worked for various organizations as an accountant for more than 25 years. In addition to his professional work, James Castille is a member of the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (LCPA), an organization that supports and advocates for those who belong to the accounting profession.

One way that the LCPA has been able to advance the profession is through its legislative impact. Most of these accomplishments have happened through the effort of the LCPA political action committee or PAC.

The LCPA PAC assists accounting professionals with passing laws to create positive outcomes for the accounting community. One of the major pieces of legislation that the PAC supported was related to the no notification-no fee rule, which allows Louisiana CPAs to move among the states without the need to notify state boards or pay a fee.

Another major piece of legislation the LCPA PAC helped get passed was a revision of Louisiana accounting laws to align with the Uniform Accounting Act. This particular legislation allows non-CPAs to own CPA firms where they can receive commission and contingent fees in certain instances. Moreover, it allowed non-CPAs to own CPA firms after having one year of broad-based experience. These are just two of the extensive list of legislative impacts resulting from LCPA PAC activities.

LCPA Legislative Achievements Benefit Louisiana CPAs

A business turnaround specialist and Certified Public Accountant (CPA), James Castille is a resident of Lafayette, Louisiana. Possessing more than 25 years of management, sales, and accounting experience, James Castille belongs to the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (LCPA).

The LCPA represents the state’s most prominent association for accounting professionals and supports the profession through efforts such as advocating for legislation that improves the landscape for CPAs and those that they serve. This work is performed by the LCPA Political Action Committee (PAC), which educates and informs federal, state, and local lawmakers on key issues.

The PAC has played a role in the success of several pieces of legislation that has benefitted CPAs. For example, it helped pass measures that made Louisiana a no notification, no fee state, enabling CPAs to move from one state to another without the need to notify state boards unless audits of out-of-state companies are involved. Furthermore, the PAC granted protections for CPA-client communications by backing legislation that provided them the same privileges as attorney-client communications. This undertaking also altered laws for obtaining a CPA’s records via subpoena.

Other political-action accomplishments include passing legislation that exempted annuity contracts and tax-deferred arrangements from seizure in bankruptcy cases, established pre-trial review panels for malpractice suits against CPAs, and prevented the levying of sales tax on accounting services.