Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1)
Professional misconduct.
(a) A licensee shall not commit any act or
engage in any conduct that reflects adversely on the licensee's fitness to
practice public accountancy.
(b)
Professional misconduct may be established by reference to acts or conduct that
would cause a reasonable person to have substantial doubts about the
individual's honesty, fairness and respect for the rights of others or for the
laws of the state and the Nation. The acts or conduct in question must be
rationally connected to the person's fitness to practice public
accountancy.
(c) A licensee shall
not act in a way that would cause the licensee to be disciplined for violation
of laws or rules on ethics by a federal or state agency or by any jurisdiction
for the practice of public accountancy.
(d) Professional Misconduct may be
established by violation of a disciplinary order by a federal or state agency
or by any jurisdiction for the practice of public accountancy.
(e) Professional Misconduct may be
established by failure to comply with any settlement agreement issued by the
Board.
(f) A licensee shall not
engage in acts of gross negligence including, but not limited to:
(A) Failure to disclose a known material fact
which is not disclosed in the financial statements, but disclosure of which is
necessary to make the financial statements complete or not misleading,
or
(B) Failure to report any known
material misstatement which appears in the financial
statements.
(2)
False or Misleading Statements on any Board Application. By
signing any Board application, the Candidate, Applicant, Licensee or Registered
Firm certifies to the truth and accuracy of all statements provided on
application and supplemental documents. False or misleading statements or
supplementary documents shall be a violation.
(3)
Reporting requirements.
(a)
Licensee must notify the Board
within 45 days of:(A) Resolution of
any civil action against a licensee that relates to professional services and
business operations involving an Oregon licensee or Oregon clients;
(B) Initiation of any regulatory action
against the licensee;
(C)
Resolution of any regulatory action against the licensee;
(D) Any inquiry into the licensees conduct
through a professional organization; or
(E) Resolution of any professional
organization inquiry.
(b)
Licensees must notify the Board within 10 days of:
(A) Initiation of any criminal investigation
against the licensee; or
(B)
Resolution of any criminal investigation against the
licensee.
(c)
Firm
must notify the Board within 45 days of:
(A) Resolution of any civil action against
the Firm that relates to professional services, business operations or
practices of the registered firm in Oregon;
(B) Resolution of any civil action against
any Oregon licensee affiliated with the firm that relates to professional
services, business operations or practices of the registered firm in
Oregon;
(C) Initiation of any
regulatory action against the firm;
(D) Resolution of any regulatory action
against the firm;
(E) Initiation of
any regulatory action against any Oregon licensee affiliated with the
firm;
(F) Resolution of any
regulatory action against any Oregon licensee affiliated with the
firm;
(G) Any inquiry into an
Oregon firms conduct through a professional organization; or
(H) Resolution of any inquiry of an Oregon
firm from a professional organization.
(d)
Firm must notify the Board within
10 days of:
(A) Initiation of any
criminal investigation against the Firm;
(B) Resolution of any criminal investigation
against the Firm; or
(C) Initiation
of any criminal investigation against any of the following individuals
affiliated with the firm:
(i) Oregon
licensee
(ii) Oregon
Partner
(iii) Oregon
Owner
(e)
Licensees and Firms must provide the following information to the Board when
reporting any of the events above:
(A) Name
of the regulatory agency, court or professional organization;
(B) Title of matter;
(C) Docket number if applicable;
(D) Date of occurrence of the
event;
(E) Name of any legal
representatives involved;
(F)
Statement of the facts; and
(G)
Copies of relevant documents, including but not limited to, regulatory notice,
civil complaint, criminal charging document, and any settlement
documents.
(f) The
reporting requirements set forth in this rule may not be not negated by the
terms of a non-disclosure agreement or court protective order.
(g) The notices required by this rule shall
be signed by the person or persons against whom the regulatory action, civil
action and/or criminal investigation or action is raised. If the regulatory
action, civil action, or criminal investigation or action is against a
registered firm only, the notice(s) must be signed by an authorized Oregon
partner or owner of the firm.
(4)
Verification of experience for CPA
or PA applicants. Licensees who supervise the work experience of CPA or
PA applicants for the purpose of verifying the applicant's eligibility under
ORS 673.040 shall provide to the
Board an accurate and complete certificate of experience for the applicant.
Licensees who provide any certificate of experience for an applicant shall not:
(a) Make any false or misleading statement as
to material matters in any certificate of experience, or
(b) Commit any act that would unjustly
jeopardize an applicant's ability to obtain a certificate in this or any other
jurisdiction.
(5)
Acting through others.
(a) A
licensee shall not permit others to perform any acts on behalf of the licensee,
either with or without compensation, which, if performed by the licensee would
place the licensee in violation of the Code of Professional Conduct.
(b) A licensee shall not ratify, endorse,
facilitate, solicit, plan or otherwise assist another licensee to violate any
Board law or rule.
(c) A licensee
is bound by the Board laws and rules notwithstanding that the licensee acted at
the direction of another person. A subordinate licensee does not violate this
rule if the licensee acts in accordance with a supervisory licensee's
reasonable resolution of an arguable question of professional duty.
(6)
Public communications
and advertising. A licensee shall not use or participate in the use of
any form of public communication, including the use of internet domains, e-mail
names, advertising or solicitation by direct personal communication, having
reference to the licensee's professional services that contains a false,
fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive statement or claim. A false, fraudulent,
misleading, or deceptive statement or claim includes, but is not limited to, a
statement or claim that:
(a) Includes a
misrepresentation of fact;
(b) Is
intended or likely to mislead or deceive because it fails to disclose relevant
facts;
(c) Is intended or likely to
create false or unjustified expectations of favorable results;
(d) Falsely states or implies educational or
professional attainments or licensing recognition;
(e) Falsely states or implies that the
licensee has received formal recognition as a specialist in any aspect of the
practice of public accountancy;
(f)
Falsely represents that professional services can or will be competently
performed for a stated fee, or misrepresents fees for professional services by
failing to disclose all variables affecting the fees that will in fact be
charged; or
(g) Contains other
representations or implications of fact that would cause a reasonable person to
misunderstand or be deceived.
(7)
Professional designations. A
licensee shall not represent that the licensee is a member of any professional
society, association, organization or an association of firms, or that the
licensee has a correspondent relationship with another licensee unless the
representation is true at the time it is made or published.
(8)
Board communications and
investigations.
(a) Communications
from the Board to licensees shall be sent by first class mail or certified mail
and addressed to the licensee at the last official address or the alternate
address furnished to the Board by the licensee.
(b) Licensees who receive any Board
communication requesting the licensee to provide a written response shall:
(A) Provide a written response to the Board
within 21 days of the date the Board communication was mailed; and
(B) Respond fully and truthfully to inquiries
from and comply with all Board requests.
(c) The Board of Accountancy shall provide
written notice to licensees of complaints filed against the licensee and of any
Board investigation that affects the licensee. Licensees who receive notice of
a complaint investigation:
(A) Shall
cooperate fully with all Board investigations, including any request to appear
to answer questions concerning such investigations; and
(B) Shall not engage in any conduct or
activity that would hinder or obstruct a Board investigation.
(9)
Business
transactions with clients.
(a) Except
for business transactions that occur in the ordinary course of business,
licensees shall not enter into a business transaction with a client if the
licensee and client have differing interests therein unless the client has
consented in writing to the transaction after receiving full written disclosure
of the differing interests from the licensee. Both written disclosure and
client's written consent shall be made prior to the time the business
transaction is accepted.
(b) A loan
transaction between a licensee and a client does not require disclosure under
this rule if the client is in the business of making loans of the type obtained
by the licensee and the loan terms are not more favorable than loans extended
to other persons of similar credit worthiness and the transaction is not
prohibited by other professional standards.
(10)
Notification of change of address,
employer or assumed business name. Licensees are required to maintain a
current record with the Board of the information described in this rule, and to
provide written notice to the Board of any change in such information within 30
days of such change. Written notice required under this rule may be provided by
US mail, private delivery service, fax transmittal, e-mail or personal
delivery. The information required under this rule will not be accepted over
the telephone:
(a) Licensee's current
business and residential addresses. If the number of a post office box, mail
drop or pick-up service is provided for either address, the licensee must also
provide the physical address;
(b)
The name and address of licensee's current employer; and
(c) Any assumed business name used by
licensee, if licensee is conducting the practice of public accountancy under an
assumed business name.
(11)
Child support defaults. In
accordance with ORS 25.750 to
25.783, the Board shall provide
the Support Enforcement Division of the Department of Justice with
certification and licensing information which may be electronically
cross-matched with Support Enforcement Division's records for persons under
order of judgment to pay monthly child support and who are in arrears according
to 25.750(a), (b) and/or (c).
(a) The Board
shall suspend a licensee's certificate or license and permit to practice upon
notice from the Support Enforcement Division or the appropriate District
Attorney that such licensee is in arrears of any judgment or order requiring
the payment of child support and such payment is being enforced under the
provisions of ORS 25.080.
(b) Pursuant to ORS
25.762 or
25.765, the Board shall notify
the licensee of the action being taken and refer such licensee to the Support
Enforcement Division or the District Attorney for resolution of the support
payment issue.
(c) Upon
notification by the Support Enforcement Division or District Attorney and
receipt of a release notice that the conditions resulting in the action have
been resolved, the Board shall reinstate the licensee's certificate or license
and permit to practice upon compliance with any additional requirements for
issuance, renewal or reinstatement.
(12)
State tax defaults. In
accordance with ORS 305.385, and upon request by the
Department of Revenue (DOR), the Board shall provide DOR with license
information for the purpose of determining whether a licensee has neglected or
refused to file any tax return, or neglected or refused to pay any tax without
filing a petition with DOR as stated in ORS
305.385(4)(a).
(a) The Board shall issue a notice of
proposed action against a licensee who is identified by DOR under this rule.
The licensee shall be provided with the opportunity for hearing as provided in
ORS 183.310 to
183.550 for contested
cases.
(b) Upon notification by DOR
and receipt of a certificate issued by DOR that the certificate/license holder
is in good standing with respect to any returns due and taxes payable to DOR as
of the date of the certificate, the Board shall renew or reinstate the
certificate or license and permit to practice upon compliance with any
additional requirements of the Board for issuance, renewal, or
reinstatement.
(13)
Continuing violation. A continuing violation is a violation of any
provision of ORS 673.010 -
673.457 or OAR chapter 801 that
remains in place (&"continues") without additional conduct on the part of
the violator. For example the continued existence of an office sign purporting
to offer public accounting services by an unregistered firm would be a
continuing violation. The Board shall provide written notice of the alleged
continuing violation to the individual or firm. The duration of the violation
prior to the date of notice from the Board shall be deemed a single violation,
and each day of continuance after the date of notice from the Board is a
separate violation and may be subject to a civil penalty.
(14)
Non-Disclosure Agreement.
"Non-disclosure agreement" means any written or oral agreement that inhibits
any party to the agreement from reporting an alleged violation of ORS Chapter
673 or OAR chapter 801 to the Board, or that inhibits any party from
cooperating with an investigation by the Board, an agency of any state, or an
agency of the Federal government.
(a)
Licensees shall not enter into, nor benefit directly or indirectly from, any
non-disclosure agreement.
(b) Any
licensee who is a party to a non-disclosure agreement and who receives written
notice from the Board, an agency of any state, or an agency of the Federal
government requesting information that is subject to the provisions of such
non-disclosure agreement, shall provide a written release for information
requested within 30 days of the date of notice.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS
670.310 &
673.410
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS
673.160 &
673.410
