SB 823, as introduced, Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development. Accountancy: licensure.
Existing law provides for the licensing and regulation of accountants by the California Board of Accountancy in the Department of Consumer Affairs. Existing law prohibits a person from engaging in the practice of public accountancy in this state unless he or she holds either a valid permit issued by the board or a practice privilege, as specified.
Existing law sets forth education, examination, and experience requirements for accountancy licensure. Existing law provides that certain licensure requirement provisions shall become inoperative on January 1, 2014, unless other particular licensure requirements are reduced, eliminated, amended, or repealed.
This bill would allow applicants who have satisfied the examination requirement on or before December 31, 2013, and who meet all remaining requirements for the issuance of a certified public accountant license on or before December 31, 2015, to be issued a license, notwithstanding that particular licensure requirement provisions may become inoperative as of January 1, 2014.
Existing law sets forth the requirements for an applicant for admission to the examination for a certified public accountant, including the production of evidence that the applicant has completed a baccalaureate or higher degree. Existing law requires that an applicant shall provide documentation of the completion of particular ethics studies.
This bill would allow an applicant who has not been conferred a baccalaureate degree solely because he or she is enrolled in a program that confers master’s and baccalaureate degrees concurrently, to be eligible for admission to the examination if the applicant’s educational institution mails materials to the board showing the applicant has satisfied certain requirements.
This bill would also allow an applicant who successfully passed the accountant examination on or before December 31, 2013, to qualify for a license without satisfying other particular educational requirements, provided that the applicant completes other requirements for the issuance of a license on or before December 31, 2015.
This bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these provisions.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Vote: 2⁄3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 5092 of the Business and Professions
2Code is amended to read:
(a) To qualify for the certified public accountant license,
4an applicant who is applying under this section shall meet the
5education, examination, and experience requirements specified in
6subdivisions (b), (c), and (d), or otherwise prescribed pursuant to
7this article. The board may adopt regulations as necessary to
8implement this section.
9(b) An applicant for the certified public accountant license shall
10present satisfactory evidence that the applicant has completed a
11baccalaureate or higher degree conferred by a college or university,
12meeting, at a minimum, the standards described in Section 5094,
13the total educational program to include a minimum of 24 semester
14units in accounting subjects and 24 semester units in business
15related subjects. This evidence shall be
provided prior to admission
16to the examination for the certified public accountant license,
17except that an applicant who applied, qualified, and sat for at least
P3 1two subjects of the examination for the certified public accountant
2license before May 15, 2002, may provide this evidence at the
3time of application for licensure.
4(c) An applicant for the certified public accountant license shall
5pass an examination prescribed by the board pursuant to this article.
6(d) The applicant shall show, to the satisfaction of the board,
7that the applicant has had two years of qualifying experience. This
8experience may include providing any type of service or advice
9involving the use of accounting, attest, compilation, management
10advisory, financial advisory, tax, or consulting skills. To be
11qualifying under this section, experience shall have been performed
12in accordance with applicable
professional standards. Experience
13in public accounting shall be completed under the supervision or
14in the employ of a person licensed or otherwise having comparable
15authority under the laws of any state or country to engage in the
16practice of public accountancy. Experience in private or
17governmental accounting or auditing shall be completed under the
18supervision of an individual licensed by a state to engage in the
19practice of public accountancy.
20(e) begin insert(1)end insertbegin insert end insert This section shall become inoperative on January 1,
212014, but shall become or remain operative if the educational
22requirements in ethics study and accounting study established by
23subdivision (b) of Section 5094, Sectionbegin delete 5094.5end deletebegin insert
5094.3end insert, and
24Section 5094.6 are reduced or eliminated.
25(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), this section shall remain
26operative and continue to apply to an applicant who has
27successfully passed the examination requirement specified under
28Section 5082 on or before December 31, 2013, and who meets all
29remaining requirements for the issuance of a certified public
30accountant license on or before December 31, 2015.
Section 5093 of the Business and Professions Code is
32amended to read:
(a) To qualify for the certified public accountant license,
34an applicant who is applying under this section shall meet the
35education, examination, and experience requirements specified in
36subdivisions (b), (c), and (d), or otherwise prescribed pursuant to
37this article. The board may adopt regulations as necessary to
38implement this section.
39(b) (1) An applicant for admission to the certified public
40accountant examination under the provisions of this section shall
P4 1present satisfactory evidence that the applicant has completed a
2baccalaureate or higher degree conferred by a degree-granting
3university, college, or other institution of learning accredited by
4a regional or national accrediting agency included in a list of these
5agencies published by
the United States Secretary of Education
6under the requirements of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as
7amended (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1001 et seq.), or meeting, at a minimum,
8the standards described in subdivision (c) of Section 5094. The
9total educational program shall include a minimum of 24 semester
10units in accounting subjects and 24 semester units in
11business-related subjects. This evidence shall be provided at the
12time of application for admission to the examination, except that
13an applicant who applied, qualified, and sat for at least two subjects
14of the examination for the certified public accountant license before
15May 15, 2002, may provide this evidence at the time of application
16for licensure.
17(A) An applicant enrolled in a program at an institution as
18described in this paragraph that grants concurrent conferral of a
19master’s and a baccalaureate degree may
satisfy the requirements
20of this subdivision if the applicant’s institution mails the applicant’s
21official transcript or its equivalent together or separately with a
22letter signed by the institution’s registrar, or its equivalent, directly
23to the board pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 5094. The letter
24shall include all of the following:
25(i) A statement that the applicant is enrolled and in good
26standing in a program that will result in the concurrent conferral
27of a master’s and a baccalaureate degree.
28(ii) A statement that the applicant has completed all
29requirements, including general education and elective
30requirements, for a baccalaureate degree and the only reason the
31college or university has yet to confer the degree is because the
32applicant is enrolled in a program that confers a master’s and a
33baccalaureate degree concurrently.
34(iii) The date on which the applicant met all of the college’s or
35university’s requirements for conferral of a baccalaureate degree.
36(B) The total educational program for an applicant described
37in subparagraph (A) shall include a minimum of 24 semester units
38in accounting subjects and 24 semester units in business-related
39subjects. This evidence shall be provided at the time of application
40for admission to the examination, except that an applicant who
P5 1applied, qualified, and sat for at least two subjects of the
2examination for the certified public accountant license before May
315, 2002, may provide this evidence at the time of application for
4licensure.
5(2) An applicant for issuance of the certified public accountant
6license under the provisions of this section shall present satisfactory
7
evidence that the applicant has completed at least 150 semester
8units of college education including a baccalaureate or higher
9degree conferred by a college or university, meeting, at a minimum,
10the standards described in Section 5094, the total educational
11program to include a minimum of 24 semester units in accounting
12subjects, 24 semester units in business-related subjects, and, after
13December 31, 2013, shall also include a minimum of 10 units of
14ethics study consistent with the requirements set forth in Section
155094.3 and 20 units of accounting study consistent with the
16regulations promulgated under subdivision (c) of Section 5094.6.
17This evidence shall be presented at the time of application for the
18certified public accountant license. Nothing herein shall be deemed
19inconsistent with Section 5094 or 5094.6. Nothing herein shall be
20construed to be inconsistent with prevailing academic practice
21regarding the completion of units.
22(c) An
applicant for the certified public accountant license shall
23pass an examination prescribed by the board.
24(d) The applicant shall show, to the satisfaction of the board,
25that the applicant has had one year of qualifying experience. This
26experience may include providing any type of service or advice
27involving the use of accounting, attest, compilation, management
28advisory, financial advisory, tax, or consulting skills. To be
29qualifying under this section, experience shall have been performed
30in accordance with applicable professional standards. Experience
31in public accounting shall be completed under the supervision or
32in the employ of a person licensed or otherwise having comparable
33authority under the laws of any state or country to engage in the
34practice of public accountancy. Experience in private or
35governmental accounting or auditing shall be completed under the
36supervision of an individual licensed by a state to engage in the
37practice of
public accountancy.
38(e) Applicants completing education at a college or university
39located outside of this state, meeting, at a minimum, the standards
40described in Section 5094, shall be deemed to meet the educational
P6 1requirements of this section if the board determines that the
2education is substantially equivalent to the standards of education
3specified under this chapter.
4(f) An applicant who has successfully passed the examination
5requirement specified under Section 5082 on or before December
631, 2013, may qualify for the certified public accountant license
7without satisfying the 10 semester units of study set forth in Section
85094.3 or 20 semester units of accounting study consistent with
9the regulations promulgated under Section 5094.6, if the applicant
10completes all other requirements for the
issuance of a license on
11or before December 31, 2015.
Section 5094.3 of the Business and Professions Code
13 is amended to read:
(a) An applicant for licensure as a certified public
15accountant shall, to the satisfaction of the board, provide
16documentation of the completion of 10 semester units or 15 quarter
17units of ethics study, as set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision
18(b) of Section 5093, in the manner prescribed in this section.
19(b) (1) Between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2016,
20inclusive, an applicant shall complete 10 semester units or 15
21quarter units in courses described in subdivisions (d), (e), and (f).
22(2) Beginning January 1, 2017, an applicant shall complete 10
23semester units or 15 quarter units in courses described in
24subdivisions (c), (d), (e), and (f).
25(c) A minimum of three semester units or four quarter units in
26courses at an upper division level or higher devoted to accounting
27ethics or accountants’ professional responsibilities, unless the
28course was completed at a community college, in which case it
29need not be completed at the upper division level or higher.
30(d) Between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2016, inclusive,
31a maximum of 10 semester units or 15 quarter units, and on and
32after January 1, 2017, a maximum of 7 semester units or 11 quarter
33units, in courses containing the following terms in the course title:
34(1) Business, government, and society.
35(2) Business law.
36(3) Corporate governance.
37(4) Corporate social responsibility.
38(5) Ethics.
39(6) Fraud.
40(7) Human resources management.
P7 1(8) Business leadership.
2(9) Legal environment of business.
3(10) Management of organizations.
4(11) Morals.
5(12) Organizational behavior.
6(13) Professional responsibilities.
7(14) Auditing.
8(e) (1) A maximum of three semester units or four quarter units
9in courses taken in the following disciplines:
10(A) Philosophy.
11(B) Religion.
12(C) Theology.
13(2) To qualify under this subdivision, the course title shall
14contain one or more of the terms “introduction,” “introductory,”
15“general,” “fundamentals of,” “principles,” “foundation of,” or
16“survey of,” or have the name of the discipline as the sole name
17of the course title.
18(f) A maximum of one semester unit of ethics study for
19completion of a course specific to financial statement audits.
20(g) An applicant who has successfully passed the examination
21requirement specified under Section 5082 on or before December
2231, 2013, is exempt from this section unless the applicant fails to
23obtain the qualifying experience as specified in Section 5092 or
245093 on or before December 31, 2015.
This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
26immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
27the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
28immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
29In order that accountants be permitted to lawfully provide
30services to their clients in California as soon as possible, it is
31necessary that this bill take effect immediately.
O
99