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Opinion of the Court
Justice Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court.
Petitioner Silvia Safille Ibanez, a member of the Florida Bar since 1983, practices law in Winter Haven, Florida. She is also a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), licensed by respondent Florida Board of Accountancy (Board) 1 to "practice public accounting." In addition, she is authorized by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, a private organization, to use the trademarked designation "Certified Financial Planner" (CFP).
Ibanez referred to these credentials in her advertising and other communication with the public. She placed CPA and CFP next to her name in her yellow pages listing (under "Attorneys") and on her business card. She also used those designations at the left side of her "Law Offices" stationery. Notwithstanding the apparently truthful nature of her communication—it is undisputed that neither her CPA license nor her CFP certification has been revoked—the Board reprimanded her for engaging in "false, deceptive, and misleading" advertising. Final Order of the Board of Accountancy (May 12, 1992) (hereinafter Final Order), App. 178, 194.
The record reveals that the Board has not shouldered the burden it must carry in matters of this order. It has not
Sydney S. Traum, and Philip D. Brent; for the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards et al. by Peter E. Zwanzig; and for the Florida Bar by Steven E. Stark and Scott D. Makar.
Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants by Louis A. Craco, Richard I. Miller, Michael R. Young, and Kelly M. Hnatt; and for the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants by Kenneth R. Hart and Steven P. Seymoe.
1 The Board of Accountancy, created by the Florida Legislature, Fla. Stat. § 473.303 (1991), is authorized to "adopt all rules necessary to administer" the Public Accountancy Act (chapter 473 of the Florida Statutes). Fla. Stat. § 473.304 (Supp. 1992). The Board is responsible for licensing CPA's, see Fla. Stat. § 473.308 (1991), and every licensee is subject to the governance of the Act and the rules adopted by the Board. Fla. Stat. § 473.304 (Supp. 1992).
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