According to the Journal of Accountancy, the AICPA is pressing the IRS to reconsider a planned merger between the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Return Preparer Office, citing concerns that the change would risk public confusion and blur lines between credentialed and uncredentialed tax preparers. 

In a letter sent Nov. 14 to the heads of both agencies, the AICPA contended that OPR and RPO carry out “dissimilar government functions” and regulate fundamentally different practitioner bases. OPR operates under Treasury Circular 230, which regulates professional standards for CPAs, attorneys, and enrolled agents, whereas RPO is responsible for administering the preparer tax identification number regime and enrollment processes for certain non-credentialed preparer programs. 

“A merger of the OPR and the RPO would give the dangerous and false impression that all return preparers are subject to the same standards of conduct,” the letter said. It went on to warn that the change could allow “unscrupulous and incompetent preparers” to misrepresent their status and exploit taxpayers. 

The letter, signed by AICPA Tax Executive Committee Chair Cheri Freeh, CPA,  CGMA, stresses that clear oversight structures must be maintained. Consolidation, the letter states, would serve only blur distinctions and possibly divert critical resources from OPR’s core disciplinary mission.