Arkansas Administrative Code
Agency 019 - State Board of Accountancy
Rule 019.00.03-003 - Code of Conduct Rule 412 - Requires a licensee to report any criminal convictions or disciplinary action within a required time frame; Rule 7.1 (f) - Is to define the term "good standing"; Addition to Board Rule 3 - Implementation of the CPA computer-based testing.
Universal Citation: AR Admin Rules 019.00.03-003
Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 2, February 2024
The current Board Rule 3 (Examinations), as cited in paragraphs 3.1 through 3.9, will remain in effect until implementation of the computer-based examination. Upon the implementation of the computer-based examination, the current Board Rule 3 will be replaced by the rules which follow below (paragraphs 3.11 through 3.20).
Rule 3.11 Semester hour; accredited colleges, universities, schools and programs; credit for courses.
(a) As used in these Rules, a "semester hour"
means the conventional college semester hour. Quarter hours may be converted to
semester hours by multiplying them by two-thirds.
(b) As used in these Rules, "accreditation"
refers to the process of quality control of the education process. There are
three different levels of accreditation referred to in these Rules and the
degree to which the Board relies on accreditation differs according to the
level at which the degree-granting institution is accredited. The three levels
of accreditation are:
(1) Level one
accreditation (the educational institution) is granted to a four-year
degree-granting college or university which is accredited by one or more
recognized regional accrediting agencies (or successor agencies). A college or
university will be considered accredited by one of the major regional
accreditation associations if accredited by one of the six (6) accrediting
agencies or its successor agency as follows:
Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools;
New England Association of Schools and Colleges;
North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools;
Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges;
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools;
Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
Colleges and Universities accredited by these associations are listed in Accredited Institutions of Postsecondary Education published by the Council of Postsecondary Accreditation of the American Council on Education.
(2) Level two
accreditation (the business school) is granted to a business school or college
of business that has been accredited by a national accreditation agency
recognized by the Board such as the AACSB INTERNATIONAL - The Association to
Advance Collegiate Schools of Business following a specific and comprehensive
review of their faculty, resources, and curricula. In evaluating a candidate's
credentials, the Board may choose to rely on this accreditation as evidence
that the institution's business school has met minimum overall standards of
quality for such schools.
(3) Level
three accreditation (the accounting program or department) is granted to an
accounting program or department that has been accredited by a national
accreditation agency recognized by the Board such as the AACSB INTERNATIONAL.
Accounting programs or departments accredited in this manner have met standards
substantially higher and much more specific than those required for level one
or two accreditation. For level three accreditation, the accounting program or
department must meet a stringent set of standards that addresses faculty
credentials, student quality, physical facilities, and curricula. Graduates who
submit transcripts from accredited accounting programs may be deemed to have
met the Board's specific accounting and business course requirements.
(c) A candidate is considered as
graduating from an accredited educational institution if at the time the
educational institution grants the applicant's degree, it is accredited at the
appropriate level as outlined in these Rules.
(d) If an educational institution was not
accredited at the time an applicant's degree was received but is so accredited
at the time the application is filed with the Board, the institution will be
deemed to be accredited for the purpose of subsection (c), provided that it -
(1) certifies that the applicant's total
educational program would qualify the applicant for graduation with a
baccalaureate degree during the time the institution has been accredited;
and
(2) furnishes the Board
satisfactory proof, including college catalogue course numbers and
descriptions, that the pre-accrediting courses used to qualify the applicant as
an accounting major are substantially equivalent to post-accrediting
courses.
(e) If an
applicant's degree was received at an accredited educational institution
pursuant to subsection (c) or (d), but the educational program which was used
to qualify the applicant as an accounting major included courses taken at
non-accredited institutions, either before or after graduation, such courses
will be deemed to have been taken at the accredited institution from which
applicant's degree was received, provided the accredited institution either -
(1) has accepted such courses by including
them in its official transcript; or
(2) has certified to the Board that it will
accept such courses for credit toward graduation.
(f) A graduate of a four-year degree-granting
college or university not accredited at the time applicant's degree was
received or at the time the application was filed will be deemed to be a
graduate of an accredited educational institution if -
(1) a credentials evaluation service that is
a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services or one
approved by the Board certifies that the applicant's degree is equivalent to a
degree from an accredited educational institution defined in subsection (b)(1);
or
(2)
(A) an accredited educational institution as
defined by subsection (b)(1) accepts applicant's non-accredited baccalaureate
degree for admission to a graduate business degree program;
(B) the applicant satisfactorily completes at
least fifteen semester hours, or the equivalent, in post-baccalaureate
education at the accredited institution, of which at least nine semester hours,
or the equivalent, shall be in accounting; and
(C) the accredited educational institution
certifies that the applicant is in good standing for the continuation in the
graduate program, or has maintained a grade point average in these courses that
is necessary for graduation.
(g) The advanced subjects completed to
qualify under subsection (f)(2) may not be used to satisfy the requirements of
section (h).
(h) The accounting and
business concentration or equivalent shall consist of the semester hours
specified in Rule 3.12 below. No more than 6 semester hours will be recognized
for internships or life experience.
Rule 3.12 Education requirement.
(a) An applicant will be deemed to have met
the education requirement if the applicant has met any one of the following
four conditions:
(i) Earned a graduate degree
with a concentration in accounting from an accounting program or department
that is accredited (level three accreditation) by an accrediting agency
recognized by the Board.
(ii)
Earned a graduate degree from a business school or college of business that is
accredited (level two accreditation) by an accrediting agency recognized by the
Board and completed 30 semester hours in accounting at the undergraduate (with
a minimum grade of "C" in each course) or graduate level, including coverage
of, but not necessarily separate courses in, the subjects of financial
accounting, auditing, taxation, management accounting, and
governmental/not-for-profit accounting
(iii) Earned at least 150 semester hours
including a baccalaureate degree from a business school or college of business
that is accredited (level two accreditation) by an accrediting agency
recognized by the Board and completed 30 semester hours in accounting at the
undergraduate (with a minimum grade of "C" in each course) or graduate level,
including coverage of, but not necessarily separate courses in, the subjects of
financial accounting, auditing, taxation, management accounting, and
governmental/not-for-profit accounting.
(iv) Earned at least 150 semester hours
including a baccalaureate or higher degree from an accredited educational
institution (level one accreditation) including:
(1) at least 30 semester hours of accounting
at the undergraduate (with a minimum grade of "C" in each course) or graduate
level, including coverage of, but not necessarily separate courses in, the
subjects of financial accounting, auditing, taxation, management accounting,
and governmental/not-for-profit accounting; and
(2) at least 24 semester hours in business
courses (other than accounting), with a minimum grade of "C" in each course, at
the undergraduate or graduate level.
(b) To meet the education requirement in
paragraph (a) of this section, a candidate shall complete all applicable
semester hours (including correspondence, distance learning or other courses in
which students are not expected to attend classes in person) no later than the
end of the school term of the institution offering the course(s) in which the
candidate is enrolled, and during which the candidate first sits for and
receives official credit for any score(s) on the Certified Public Accountant
Examination. For purposes of this paragraph, school term means the semester,
quarter, trimester or other term of the institution offering courses for
students who are expected to attend class in person. Regardless of the course
delivery mechanism (classroom, correspondence, distance learning, or other
courses in which the student is not expected at attend class in person), an
official transcript containing the grade for the course(s) completed must be
received in the Board office within the time period set forth in Rule 3.13(b).
Rule 3.13 Applications for examination.
(a)
Applications to take the Certified Public Accountant Examination must be made
on a form provided by the Board and received by the Board on or before a date
specified by the Board in the application form.
(b) An application will not be considered
filed until the application fee and examination fee required by these Rules and
all required supporting documents have been received, including proof of
identity as determined by the Board and specified on the application form,
official transcripts and proof that Candidate has satisfied or expects to
satisfy the education requirement in the current school term. An applicant who
has not completed the education requirement in paragraph 3.12 prior to making
her/his original application for the examination (provisional candidate) must
include both a current transcript and a certification form from a recognized
school official stating that the candidate may reasonably be expected to
complete the educational requirement as stated in and within the time permitted
by Rule 3.12(b) In addition, provisional candidates shall cause official
transcripts documenting satisfactory completion of their educational
requirement to be received in the Board office within thirty (30) days after
completion of such requirement. All transcripts and certification letters must
be sent from the appropriate school officials directly to the Board. Should a
provisional candidate fail to complete the educational requirement as provided
in or within the time frame permitted by Rule 3.12 or fail to cause the
post-examination transcript described in this paragraph to be received by the
Board within the time periods provided in these rules, the provisional
candidate shall not receive official credit for her/his score(s) on the
examination.
(c) A candidate who
fails to appear for the examination, fails to complete their educational
requirement no later than the end of the school term of the institution
offering the course as cited in paragraph 3.12(b), or fails to cause official
transcripts documenting satisfactory completion of their educational
requirement to be received by the Board office within 30 days after completion
of such requirement shall forfeit all fees charged for both the application and
the examination.
(d) The Board or
its designee will forward notification of eligibility for the computer-based
examination to NASBA's National Candidate Database.
Rule 3.14 Time and place of examination.
Eligible Candidates shall be notified of the time and place of the examination or shall independently contact the Board or a test center operator identified by the Board to schedule the time and place for the examination at an approved test site. Scheduling reexaminations must be made in accordance with Rule 3.17(b) below.
Rule 3.15 Examination content.
The examination required by A.C.A. § 17-12-301 shall test the knowledge and skills required for performance as an entry-level certified public accountant. The examination shall include the subject areas of accounting and auditing and related knowledge and skills as the Board may require.
Rule 3.16 Determining and Reporting Examination Grades
A Candidate shall be required to pass all Test Sections of the Certified Public Accountant Examination in order to qualify for a certificate. The Candidate must attain the uniform passing grade established through a psychometrically acceptable standard-setting procedure and approved by the Board. Upon receipt of grades reported by the examination provider, the Board will review and may adopt the examination grades and will report the adopted grades to the qualified Candidate (one who has met all requirements of Rules 3.12 and 3.13 above).
Rule 3.17 Retake and Granting of Credit Requirements
(a) A Candidate shall be required to pass all
Test Sections of the Certified Public Accountant Examination in order to
qualify for a certificate. A Candidate may take the required Test Sections
individually and in any order. Credit for any Test Section(s) passed shall be
valid for eighteen months from the actual date the Candidate took that Test
Section, without having to attain a minimum score on any failed Test Section(s)
and without regard to whether the Candidate has taken other Test Sections.
(1) Candidates must pass all four Test
Sections of the Uniform CPA Examination within a rolling eighteen-month period,
which begins on the date that the first Test Section(s) passed is
taken.
(2) Candidates cannot retake
a failed Test Section(s) in the same examination window. An examination window
refers to a three-month period in which Candidates have an opportunity to take
the CPA examination (comprised of two months in which the examination is
available to be taken and one month in which the examination will not be
offered while routine maintenance is performed and the item bank is refreshed).
Thus, Candidates will be able to test two out of the three months within an
examination window.
(3) In the
event all four Test Sections of the Uniform CPA Examination are not passed
within the rolling eighteen-month period, credit for any Test Section(s) passed
outside the eighteen-month period will expire and that Test Section(s) must be
retaken.
(b) Candidates
having earned conditional credits on the paper-and-pencil examination, as of
the launch date of the computer-based Uniform CPA Examination, will retain
conditional credits for the corresponding Test Sections of the computer-based
CPA examination as follows:
|
Paper-and-Pencil Examination |
Computer-Based Examination |
|
Auditing |
Auditing and Attestation |
|
Financial Accounting and Reporting (FARE) |
Financial Accounting and Reporting |
|
Accounting and Reporting (ARE) |
Regulation |
|
Business Law and Professional Responsibilities (LPR) |
Business Environment and Concepts |
(1) Candidates who
have attained conditional status as of the launch date of the computer-based
Uniform CPA Examination will be allowed a transition period to complete any
remaining Test Sections of the CPA examination. The transition is the maximum
number of opportunities that Candidates who have conditioned under the
paper-and-pencil examination have remaining, at the launch of the
computer-based CPA examination, to complete all remaining Test Sections, or the
number of remaining opportunities under the paper-and-pencil examination,
multiplied by six months, whichever is first exhausted.
(2) If a previously conditioned Candidate
does not pass all remaining Test Sections during the transition period,
conditional credits earned under the paper-and-pencil examination will expire
and the Candidate will lose credit for the Test Sections earned under the
paper-and-pencil examination. However, any Test Section(s) passed during the
transition period is subject to the conditioning provisions of the
computer-based examination as indicated in the aforementioned conditioning
recommendation, except that a previously conditioned Candidate will not lose
conditional credit for a Test Section of the computer-based examination that is
passed during the transition period, even though more than eighteen months may
have elapsed from the date the Test Section is passed, until the end of the
transition period.
(c) A
Candidate shall retain credit for any and all Test Sections of an examination
passed in another state if such credit would have been given, under then
applicable requirements, if the Candidate had taken the examination in this
State.
(d) The Board may in
particular cases extend the term of conditional credit validity notwithstanding
the requirements of subsections (a), (b), (c) and (d), upon a showing that the
credit was lost by reason of circumstances beyond the Candidate's
control.
(e) A Candidate shall be
deemed to have passed the Uniform CPA Examination once the Candidate holds at
the same time official credit for passing each of the four Test Sections of the
examination. For purposes of this section, credit for passing a Test Section of
the computer-based examination is valid from the actual date of the Testing
Event for that Test Section, regardless of the date the Candidate actually
receives official notice of the passing grade.
Rule 3.18 Candidate Testing Fee
The Candidate shall, for each Test Section scheduled by the Candidate to the Board or its designee, pay a Candidate Testing Fee that includes the actual fees charged by the AICPA, NASBA, and the Test Delivery Service Provider, as well as reasonable application fees established by the State Board.
The fees to sit for the examination are enumerated in Rule 12.
Rule 3.19 Cheating.
(a) Cheating by a
Candidate in applying for, taking or subsequent to the examination will be
deemed to invalidate any grade otherwise earned by a Candidate on any Test
Section of the examination, and may warrant summary expulsion from the test
site and disqualification from taking the examination for a specified period of
time.
(b) For purposes of this
Rule, the following actions or attempted activities, among others, may be
considered cheating:
(1) Falsifying or
misrepresenting educational credentials or other information required for
admission to the examination;
(2)
Communication between Candidates inside or outside the test site or copying
another Candidate's answers while the examination is in progress;
(3) Communication with others inside or
outside the test site while the examination is in progress;
(4) Substitution of another person to sit in
the test site in the stead of a Candidate;
(5) Reference to crib sheets, textbooks or
other material or electronic media (other than that provided to the Candidate
as part of the examination) inside or outside the test site while the
examination is in progress.
(6)
Violating the nondisclosure prohibitions of the examination or aiding or
abetting another in doing so.
(7)
Retaking or attempting to retake a Test Section by an individual holding a
valid Certificate or by a Candidate who has unexpired credit for having already
passed the same Test Section, unless the individual has been directed to retake
a Test Section pursuant to Board order or unless the individual has been
expressly authorized by the Board to participate in a "secret shopper"
program.
(c) In any case
where it appears that cheating has occurred or is occurring, the Board or its
representatives may either summarily expel the Candidate involved from the
examination or move the Candidate to a position in the Test Center away from
other examinees where the Candidate can be watched more closely.
(d) In any case where the Board believes that
it has evidence that a Candidate has cheated on the examination, including
those cases where the Candidate has been expelled from the examination, the
Board shall conduct an investigation and may conduct a hearing consistent with
the requirements of the state's Administrative Procedures Act following the
examination session for the purpose of determining whether or not there was
cheating, and if so what remedy should be applied. In such proceedings, the
Board shall decide:
(1) Whether the Candidate
shall be given credit for any portion of the examination completed in that
session; and
(2) Whether the
Candidate shall be barred from taking the examination and if so, for what
period of time.
(e) In
any case where the Board or its representative permits a Candidate to continue
taking the examination, it may, depending on the circumstances:
(1) Admonish the Candidate;
(2) Seat the Candidate in a segregated
location for the rest of the examination;
(3) Keep a record of the Candidate's seat
location and identifying information, and the names and identifying information
of the Candidates in close proximity of the Candidate; and/or
(4) Notify the National Candidate Database
and the AICPA and/or the Test Center of the circumstances, so that the
Candidate may be more closely monitored in future examination
sessions.
(f) In any
case in which a Candidate is refused credit for any Test Section of an
examination taken, disqualified from taking any Test Section, or barred from
taking the examination in the future, the Board will provide to the Board of
Accountancy of any other state to which the Candidate may apply for the
examination information as to the Board's findings and actions taken.
Rule 3.20 Security and Irregularities
Notwithstanding any other provisions under these rules, the Board may postpone scheduled examinations, the release of grades, or the issuance of certificates due to a breach of examination security; unauthorized acquisition or disclosure of the contents of an examination; suspected or actual negligence, errors, omissions, or irregularities in conducting an examination; or for any other reasonable cause or unforeseen circumstance.
Rule 7.1 Definitions
(f)
(1)
"Good standing" as used in A.C.A. §§
17-12-401,
17-12-402,
603 (d), and Rule &¶7.4 (a) is defined as a CPA or PA who holds a
license for the current year issued by the applicable Board.
(2)
"Good standing" as used in §
17-12-504(a) and
(b) means a CPA, public accountant, or a firm
whose license, registration, or inactive license is current or last expired
within one year immediately preceding the date of the Board's receipt of the
application to renew.
Rule 412 Criminal Convictions/Disciplinary Actions
a)
A licensee who is convicted of or pleads guilty or nolo contendre to any
crime other than a traffic violation, regardless of whether the adjudication of
guilt or sentence is withheld, suspended or deferred in any court of this
state, another state, or the federal government, shall make a written report
thereof to the Board within thirty (30) days after the conviction or plea. The
report shall include the date of the offense and of the conviction or plea, the
name and address of the court, the specific crime for which convicted or to
which the plea is entered, the fine, penalty and/or other sanctions imposed,
and copies of the charging document and judgment of conviction or other
disposition, including probation or suspension of sentence. The report shall
also include the licensee's explanation of the circumstances which led to the
charge and conviction or plea, along with any other information which the
licensee wishes to submit.
b)
A licensee who after the initiation
of an investigation, hearing or other administrative action surrenders or who
has a professional, vocational or occupational license, permit certification or
registration to practice public accountancy by an agency of any state or the
federal government denied, revoked, suspended or cancelled or who is subject to
any sanctions, including probation, involving such license, permit
certification or registration shall make a written report thereof to the Board
within thirty (30) days after such action. The report shall include the date of
the action, the name and address of the regulatory agency which has taken the
action and copies of documents pertaining thereto. The report shall also
include the licensee's explanation of the circumstances which led to the
action, along with any additional information the licensee wishes to
submit.
c)
An
applicant for a license who has been convicted of or pleaded guilty or nolo
contendre, as described in paragraph (a) above, to any crime other than a
traffic violation or who after initiation of an investigation, hearing or other
administrative action has surrendered or has had a professional, vocational or
occupational license, permit, certification or registration denied, revoked,
suspended or canceled or who has been subjected to any sanctions, including
probation, as described in paragraph (b) above, involving such a license,
permit, certification or registration shall furnish the written report referred
to in paragraph (a) and/or (b) above to the Board at the time the application
is submitted if such action has already occurred; otherwise, such report shall
be made immediately after the action
occurs.
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