§ 5-3.1-5 - Certified public accountants.
SECTION 5-3.1-5
§ 5-3.1-5 Certified public accountants.– (a) Upon application for a certificate and payment of the required fee, theboard shall issue a certificate to any person who:
(1) Is of good moral character;
(2) Has a principal residence in Rhode Island as defined in§ 5-3.1-3 or a primary place of employment in Rhode Island;
(3) Has received a baccalaureate degree from a college oruniversity acceptable to the board, the total educational program of whichincludes an accounting concentration or its equivalent and courses in anyrelated subjects that the board determines to be appropriate; provided, theeducation requirement for a certificate, shall be at least one hundred fifty(150) semester hours of college education, including a baccalaureate or higherdegree conferred by a college or university acceptable to the board, the totaleducational program of which includes an accounting concentration or equivalentas determined by board rule to be appropriate; provided, that a candidate whohas not met the one hundred fifty (150) hour education requirement may sit foran examination if the candidate has, at the time of the examination, completednot less than one hundred twenty (120) semester hours of education, providedthat such candidate who successfully passes the examination will not beeligible to receive a certificate until the applicant completes the one hundredfifty (150) hour education requirement and the experience requirement;
(4) Has passed examinations in accounting and auditing andany related subjects that the board deems appropriate and specifies by rule;
(5) [As amended by P.L. 2001, ch. 336, § 1.]Has one year of experience in providing any type of service or advice involvingthe use of accounting, attest, management advisory, financial advisory, tax orconsulting skills all of which was verified by a licensee, meeting requirementsprescribed by the board by rule. This experience would be acceptable if it wasgained through employment in government, industry, academia or public practice.After December 31, 1999, the person must also have completed one hundred fifty(150) hours or received a master's or doctorate degree in accounting, businessadministration, or other related curriculum from a college or universityrecognized by the board; and have satisfactorily completed any number ofsemester hours in accounting, auditing, and other business courses that areprescribed by board rules and regulations; and
(6) If an out of state individual:
(i) Has passed all parts of the uniform certified publicaccountant examination in another jurisdiction, but has not received acertificate or similar certification in that jurisdiction;
(ii) Has established a principal residence in Rhode Island ora primary place of employment in Rhode Island preparatory to seeking acertificate from this state;
(iii) Has complied with the longer of:
(A) The experience requirement in the jurisdiction in whichthe uniform examination was taken; or
(B) The Rhode Island experience requirement;
(iv) Has complied with the educational requirements undersubdivision (3) of this subsection; and
(v) Has satisfactorily complied with any other requirementsthat the board by rule or regulation reasonably determines to be appropriate.
(b) The board, in its discretion, may accept the educationalcredits of any person who is a candidate for a certificate if it is satisfied,by appropriate means of evaluation, that the credits are an acceptablesubstitute for the credit requirements of subdivision (a)(3) of this section.The board, in its discretion, may waive the residency or primary place ofemployment requirements relating to the issuance of a certificate as stated insubdivisions (a)(2) and (a)(6) of this section.
(c) The examinations described in subdivision (a)(4) of thissection are held by the board and shall take place as often as the boarddetermines to be desirable, but in any event not less frequently than once eachyear. The board shall prescribe by rule the procedures to be followed inapplying for and conducting the examinations and the methods to be used ingrading the examinations and determining a passing grade. The board may makethis use of any or all parts of the uniform certified public accountantexamination and advisory grading service provided by the American Institute ofCertified Public Accountants, and may contract with third parties to performany administrative services with respect to the examinations that the boarddeems appropriate to assist it in performing its duties under this section.
(d) The board may, by rule or regulation, provide for thegranting of credit to a candidate for the satisfactory completion by thecandidate of an examination in any one or more of the subjects referred to insubdivision (a)(4) of this section which is given by the licensing authority inany other state. Any rules and regulations shall include the requirement thatany examination approved as a basis for the granting of credit is, in thejudgment of the board at the time of the granting of the credit, at least asthorough as the most recent examination given by the board in the subject orsubjects tested. The board may also, by rule or regulation, prescribe terms andconditions under which a candidate who passes the examination in one or more ofthe subjects referred to in subdivision (a)(4) of this section may bereexamined in the remaining subjects, with credit given for the subjectspreviously passed. It also may provide by rule or regulation for a reasonablewaiting period for a candidate's reexamination in a subject previously failed.Subject to the preceding and to any other rules and regulations that the boardmay adopt governing reexaminations, a candidate is entitled to any number ofreexaminations. Except as the board may provide by a rule or regulation inorder to prevent what it determines to be undue hardship to candidates, acandidate granted credit for satisfactory examination in any one or more of thesubjects referred to in subdivision (a)(4) of this section shall have met theeducational requirement of subdivision (a)(3) or (a)(5) of this section ineffect on the date of the examination by which the candidate successfullycompletes the examination under subdivision (a)(4) of this section.
(e) The board shall charge each candidate for a certificate afee for the initial examination under subsection (a) of this section, forreexamination under subsection (d) of this section for each subject in whichthe candidate is reexamined, and for evaluation of a candidate's educationalqualifications under subsection (b) of this section. The applicable fee shallbe paid by the candidate at the time of application for the examination,reexamination, or evaluation. Fees for examination, reexamination, andevaluation of educational qualifications shall be determined by the board andprescribed in the rules and regulations issued by the board. The liability ofthe board to a candidate taking an examination or reexamination is limited tothe amount of the fee received for the examination.
(f) Persons who on July 1, 1995, hold a certificate issuedunder the laws of this state prior to that date are not required to obtain anadditional certificate under this chapter, but are subject to all theprovisions of this chapter; the certificate previously issued is, for allpurposes, considered a certificate issued under this chapter and subject to theprovisions of this chapter. Reinstatement power is vested in the board as tothose certificates suspended or revoked prior to July 1, 1995, and the holderof those certificates may have them reissued upon application for reissuance inaccordance with § 5-3.1-15. Persons holding certificates on July 1, 1995,who are estopped from obtaining a permit under government employmentrestrictions may apply for a permit under § 5-3.1-7 within one yearfollowing termination of that employment, and upon obtaining the permit mayengage in the practice of public accounting in this state as a certified publicaccountant subject to the provisions of this chapter.
(g) The board shall, upon application for a certificate andpayment of a fee to be determined by the board and promulgated by rule orregulation, issue a certificate to a holder of a certificate issued by anotherstate, provided that:
(i) The applicant meets all current requirements in thisstate at the time application is made; and
(ii) At the time of the issuance of the applicant'scertificate in the other state, the applicant met all requirements thenapplicable in this state unless reciprocity is allowed under the substantialequivalency standard in § 5-3.1-7.
(2) If the holder of a certificate issued by another statemeets all current requirements in this state except the educational orexperience requirements of this state as prescribed in this section, or passedthe examination under different credit provisions then applicable in thisstate, the board shall issue a certificate to the applicant upon applicationfor the certificate and upon payment of the required fee, provided that:
(i) The applicant has four (4) years of experience of thetype described in subdivision (a)(5) or meets comparable requirementsprescribed by the board by rule within the ten (10) years immediately prior tothe application; or
(ii) The applicant has five (5) years of experience in thepractice of public accountancy over a longer or earlier period and hascompleted fifteen (15) current semester hours of accounting, auditing, and anyother related subject that the board specifies by rule, at an accreditedinstitution, and has one year of current experience in the practice of publicaccountancy.
(h) An applicant for issuance of a certificate under thissection shall list in the application all other states in which the applicanthas applied for or holds a certificate. Each applicant for or holder of acertificate issued under this section shall, within thirty (30) days of theoccurrence of that event, notify the board, in writing, of the issuance,denial, revocation, or suspension of a certificate by any other state, or ofthe commencement of a disciplinary or enforcement action against the applicantor holder by any other state.
(i) The board may refuse to grant a certificate on thegrounds of failure to satisfy the good moral character requirement only ifthere is a substantial connection between the lack of good moral character ofthe applicant and the professional responsibilities of a licensee and if thefinding by the board of lack of good moral character is supported by clear andconvincing evidence. When an applicant is found to be unqualified for acertificate because of lack of good moral character, the board shall furnishthe applicant a statement containing the findings of the board, a completerecord of the evidence upon which the determination was based, and a notice ofthe applicant's right of appeal.