N.J.’s licensed accountants fined over classes

A state audit finds a record number of New Jersey’s licensed accountants are lying about their education.

Four percent of the 20,000 reviewed from 2006 to 2008 falsely reported that they had returned to school for a required ethics course.

State Consumer Affairs director Thomas Calcagni tells the Statehouse Bureau of The Star-Ledger of Newark and The Record it’s troubling such a large group of accountants would be cavalier about the importance of such courses.

Offenders were fined from $500 to $8,000.

Many of the accountants said they intended to complete the requirements when they sent in their renewal forms, but never got around to it. They also said they misunderstood some of the rules.