Title 5
Businesses and Professions

Chapter 3.1
Public Accountancy

§ 5-3.1-7. Permits for public accountants and certified public accountants.

(a) Annual permits to engage in the practice of public accounting in this state shall be issued by the board, upon application for the permit and payment of the required fee, to certified public accountants qualified under § 5-3.1-5 or eligible under the substantial equivalency standard set out in subsection (g), and to public accountants qualified under § 5-3.1-6. Effective January 1, 2009, all permits issued by the board shall be valid for a period of three (3) years and shall expire upon the last day of June of the year in which the permit is scheduled to expire. To transition existing licensees to a three-year (3) licensing cycle, the board shall have the authority and discretion in 2008 to issue permits under this section that are valid for one, two (2), or three (3) years. All such permits issued during 2008 shall expire upon the last day of June of the year in which the permit is scheduled to expire. The board’s authority to issue permits valid for one or two (2) years shall cease as of December 31, 2008.

(b) A certified public accountant who holds a permit issued by another state and who desires to practice in this state shall apply for a permit in this state if that person does not qualify for reciprocity under the substantial equivalency standard set out in subsection (g). Upon the date of filing the completed application with the board, the applicant is deemed qualified to practice, and may practice, public accounting in this state pending board review of the application; provided, that the applicant meets all other applicable requirements under this chapter. Submission of the application constitutes the appointment of the secretary of state as an agent for the applicant for service of process in any action or proceeding arising out of any transaction or operation connected with or incidental to the practice of public accounting in this state by the applicant.

(c) Applications for renewal of a permit under this section shall be submitted to the board by February 15 of the year in which the permit is scheduled to expire and shall be accompanied by evidence that the applicant has satisfied the continuing professional education requirements promulgated by board regulation. That evidence shall be in a form that the board requires. Failure to furnish that evidence constitutes grounds for refusal to renew the permit unless the board in its discretion determines that the failure was due to reasonable cause or excusable neglect.

(d) Applications for renewal of a permit under this section shall also identify any practice unit with which the applicant is affiliated. In the event the practice unit fails to comply with § 5-3.1-9 or § 5-3.1-10, the board may refuse to renew the applicant’s individual permit if the board determines that the applicant was personally and substantially responsible for the failure of the practice unit to meet the requirements of §§ 5-3.1-9 and 5-3.1-10.

(e) All applicants for a permit under this section shall list in the application all other states in which the applicant has applied for or holds a permit to practice. Each applicant for, or holder of, a permit issued under this section, or any individual who has entered the state under the provisions of substantial equivalency, shall, within thirty (30) days of the occurrence of the event, notify the board in writing:

(1) Of the issuance, denial, revocation, or suspension of any certificate, license, degree, or permit by any other state; or

(2) Of the commencement of any disciplinary or enforcement action against the applicant, holder, or individual by any other state.

(f) Fees for the issuance and renewal of permits under this section shall be established from time to time by the board. In no case shall the three-year (3) renewal fee be less than three hundred seventy-five dollars ($375). The required fee shall be paid by the applicant at the time the application is filed with the board.

(g) Substantial equivalency.

(1) An individual having a valid certificate or license as a certified public accountant from any state whose licensure requirements are determined to be substantially equivalent with the conditions of this section shall have all the privileges of certificate holders and licensees of this state without the need to obtain a certificate or permit from this state under this section as long as the conditions of this section are met. The individual must have one year or more of experience. This experience shall include providing any type of service or advice involving the use of accounting, attest, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, or consulting skills all of which was verified by a licensee, meeting requirements prescribed by the board by rule. This experience is acceptable if it was gained through employment in government, industry, academia, or public practice. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an individual who offers or renders professional services, whether in person, by mail, telephone, or electronic means, under this section shall be granted practice privileges in this state and no notice or other submission shall be provided by any such individual. Such an individual shall be subject to the requirements in subsection (g)(3). If this individual is responsible for supervising attest services and signs or authorizes another licensee to sign the accountant’s report on the financial statements on behalf of the firm, this individual shall meet the experience requirements set out in the professional standards for such services. If this individual is responsible for signing or authorizing another licensee to sign the accountant’s report on the financial statements on behalf of the firm, this individual shall meet the experience requirements set out in the professional standards for such services. The board may use the NASBA National Qualification Appraisal Service to determine which other states have substantial equivalence with this chapter.

(2) An individual who holds a valid certificate or license as a certified public accountant from any state that the NASBA National Qualification Appraisal Service has not verified to be in substantial equivalence with the CPA licensure requirements of the AICPA/NASBA Uniform Accountancy Act shall be presumed to have qualifications substantially equivalent to this state’s requirements and shall have all the privileges of certificate holders and licenses of this state without the need to obtain a certificate or permit under this section if such individual obtains from the NASBA National Qualification Appraisal Service verification that such individual’s CPA qualifications are substantially equivalent to the CPA licensure requirements of the AICPA/NASBA Uniform Accountancy Act. Any individual who passed the Uniform CPA Examination and holds a valid license issued by any other state prior to January 1, 2012, may be exempt from the education requirement in § 5-3.1-5(a)(3) for purposes of this section.

(3) Any individual licensee of another state exercising the privilege afforded under this section and the CPA firm that employs that licensee hereby simultaneously consents, as a condition of the granting of this privilege:

(i) To the personal and subject-matter jurisdiction and disciplinary authority of the board;

(ii) To comply with this chapter and the board’s rules;

(iii) That, in the event the certificate or license from the state of the individual’s principal place of business is no longer valid, the individual will cease offering or rendering professional services in this state individually and on behalf of a CPA firm; and

(iv) To the appointment of the board that issued their license as their agent upon whom process may be served in any action or proceeding by this board against the licensee.

(4) A licensee of this state offering or rendering services or using their CPA title in another state shall be subject to disciplinary action in this state for an act committed in another state for which the licensee would be subject to discipline for an act committed in the other state.