Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 3, March 20, 2024
A.
Definition
In Good Standing-the applicant is in
compliance with the rules and regulations of the appropriate licensing board,
including payment of the annual registration fee, and any penalties and other
costs attached thereto. In the case of board-imposed disciplinary or
administrative sanctions, the applicant must have complied with all of the
provisions of the appropriate licensing board order.
B. The board shall issue a certificate to an
applicant pursuant to
R.S.
37:76(C)(2) who holds a
valid and in good standing certificate, license or permit issued by a
substantially equivalent state as determined by the board or its designee. The
applicant's experience shall be substantially equivalent to the requirements of
R.S.
37:75(G) and the rules there
under.
1. Verification of substantial
equivalency under
R.S.
37:94.A(1) and
R.S.37:94.A(2)
may be made by the board or its designee.
2. Repealed.
C. For those applicants who do not qualify
for reciprocity under the substantial equivalency standard, the board shall
issue a certificate to a holder of a valid and in good standing certificate,
license or permit issued by another state upon showing that:
1. the applicant possesses a baccalaureate
degree or higher and satisfies the educational requirements of §503;
and
2. the applicant has
successfully completed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant examination.
Successful completion of the examination means that the applicant passed the
examination in accordance with the rules of the other state at the time it
granted the applicant's initial certificate and in the opinion of the board
such rules for examination are substantially equivalent to Louisiana's
examination rules;
3. the scores
achieved by the applicant on all examinations are certified to the board by the
state which issued the applicant's original certification; and
4. the applicant has no less than four years
experience as described in
R.S.
37:75 during the 10 years immediately
preceding the date on which the application for reciprocity certification is
received by the board;
5. if the
applicant's initial certificate, license, or permit was issued more than four
years prior to the date of application, he/she must have fulfilled the
continuing education requirements for a full compliance period as described in
§1301.
D. An applicant
otherwise eligible for reciprocity certification under §1103. C, except for
possession of a baccalaureate degree, or the credit for not less than 150 hours
of university or college education, shall nonetheless be eligible for
reciprocity certification by the board, provided that the applicant's original,
initial certification as a certified public accountant by any state was issued
on or before September 1, 1975, or the applicant has been in active, continuous
practice as a certified public accountant for not less than four years during
the 10 years immediately preceding the date on which the applicant's
application for reciprocity certification is received by the board.
E.
1.
Applicants for reciprocal certificates shall not be required to reside or have
a place for the regular transaction of business in Louisiana, but shall be
required to take the CPA oath.
2. A
CPA who has established a principal place of business in Louisiana must obtain
a reciprocal certificate. Principal place of business is defined as a primary
location in Louisiana where the applicant conducts his or her practice or
business activity.
3. Complete
applications for reciprocal certificates must be received in the board's office
30 days prior to a regular board meeting (§309).
F. Foreign Credentials-Reciprocity Based on
Equivalent Experience
1. The board may
designate a professional accounting credential issued in a foreign country as
substantially equivalent to a CPA certificate.
a. The board may rely on the International
Qualifications Appraisal Board for evaluation of foreign credential
equivalency, and may presume that an applicant with a foreign accounting
credential that is covered by a current valid mutual recognition agreement
(MRA) is substantially equivalent (subject to other qualifying requirements as
provided in the MRA).
b. The board
may accept a foreign accounting credential in partial satisfaction of its
domestic credentialing requirement if:
i. the
holder of the foreign accounting credential met the issuing body's education
requirement and passed the issuing body's examination used to qualify its own
domestic candidates; and
ii. the
foreign credential is valid and in good standing at the time of application for
a domestic credential.
2. The board may satisfy itself through
qualifying examination(s) that the holder of a foreign credential deemed by the
board to be substantially equivalent to a CPA certificate possesses adequate
knowledge of U.S. standards and the board's regulations. The board may rely on
the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, the American Institute
of Certified Public Accountants, or other professional bodies to develop,
administer, and grade such qualifying examination(s). The board will specify
the qualifying examination(s) and process by policy.
3. An applicant for renewal of a CPA
certificate originally issued in reliance on a foreign accounting credential
shall:
a. apply for renewal at the time and
in the manner prescribed by the board for all other certificate
renewals;
b. pay such fees as are
prescribed for all other certificate renewals.
4. If the applicant has a foreign credential
in effect at the time of the application for renewal of the CPA certification,
he/she must present documentation from the foreign accounting credential
issuing body that the applicant's foreign credential has not been suspended or
revoked and the applicant is not the subject of a current investigation. If the
applicant for renewal no longer has a foreign credential, the applicant must
present proof from the foreign credentialing body that the applicant for
renewal was not the subject of any disciplinary proceedings or investigations
at the time that the foreign credential lapsed; and either show completion of
continuing professional education substantially equivalent to that required
under §1301. A within the three year period preceding renewal application, or
petition the board for complete or partial waiver for the CPE requirement based
on the ratio of foreign practice to practice in the state.
5. The holder of a CPA certificate issued in
reliance on a foreign accounting credential shall report any investigation
undertaken, or sanctions imposed, by a foreign credentialing body against the
CPAs foreign credential or license, or any discipline ordered by any other
regulatory authority having jurisdictions over the holders conduct in the
practice of accountancy.
6.
Suspension or revocation of, or refusal to renew, the CPA's foreign accounting
credential by the foreign credentialing body may be evidence of conduct
reflecting adversely upon the CPA's fitness to retain the certificate and may
be a basis for board action.
7.
Conviction of a felony or any crime involving dishonesty or fraud under the
laws of a foreign country is evidence of conduct reflecting adversely on the
CPA's fitness to retain the certificate and is a basis for board
action.
8. The board shall notify
the appropriate foreign credentialing authorities of any disciplinary actions
or sanctions imposed against a CPA.
9. The board may participate in joint
investigations with foreign credentialing bodies and may rely on evidence
supplied by such bodies in disciplinary hearings.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S. 37:71
et seq.
