In June 2013, the New York Department of State quietly asserted, in a letter responding to a formal inquiry by a regional firm, that a CPA performing forensic accounting investigations in New York state needs to obtain another license--for a private investigator. According to a state department attorney at the time, the services a forensic accountant provides to clients fell within the statutory scope of private investigation, thus the requirement for dual licensure. That’s when the NYSSCPA began petitioning the legislature and for an exemption, said NYSSCPA Executive Director Joanne Barry.