Consumers and businesses still can't check a prospective accountant's background online because of the
's botched attempt to update its computer system.
In November, the seven-member board that regulates 6,200 active Certified Public Accountants in the state terminated contracts with two firms after concluding that a 17-month effort to create an online licensing system had failed. The board had fired the agency's executive director over the summer.
The current executive director,
, took over after the problems were discovered. He said Tuesday that he's working with staff members on a "low-tech way" to make disciplinary histories available online.
"I don't want to delay the accessiblity for years," Pittioni said. "That just bothers me. I come from an environment where this stuff is disclosed and was easily accessible."
He estimated that the agency had spent $250,000 on the botched system, "a significant problem" for an agency with $1 million annual budget funded by licensing fees. But, he said, "the profession is taking the hit because the profession pays the fees," not state taxpayers.
Consumers shopping for an accountant can confirm a license on the board's website. But to find out whether the individual has a complaint or disciplinary action, they must call the board.
The online project to change that was originally scheduled to be done by March 2012. But early last year,
that a searchable complaint history would be on the website by April. That didn't happen. The system also wasn't ready in June as promised to CPAs wanting to renew their licenses online, Pittioni said.
The board voted 5-2 in August to fire Hearn. At that meeting, Chairwoman Roberta Newhouse cited a need for more open communication, follow-through and transparency, board minutes show.
The board then brought in Pittioni, executive director of the
, a position he still holds. The board also ordered a review of the online project by the state's
.
The review found the project, after 17 months of work, was not functional and "at high risk of failure." The office recommended the board terminate its contracts with project manager TEK Associates of Hillsboro and software provider
of Bend.
Neither contractor could be reached for comment.
According to minutes of an October board meeting, GL Solutions owner Bill Moseley said the project was 98 percent finished. Board member Larry Brown rejected that, telling him it was only 45 percent done.
Although many factors contributed to the failure, Pittioni said the project ultimately tried to do too much at once. The state's review also blamed poor communication among the parties and lack of technology and project management expertise at the agency.
"In the world that I come from -- small boards, resource constrained environments -- I prefer to manage things one piece at a time," Pittioni said. "That's going to be my default from here on forward."