Rhode Island Code of Regulations
Title 400 - Board of Accountancy
Chapter 00 - N/A
Subchapter 00 - N/A
Part 1 - Rules and Regulations of the Rhode Island Board of Accountancy
Section 400-RICR-00-00-1.5 - Experience Requirement

1. Applicants shall have their experience verified to the Board by a CPA with a license/permit to practice in the applicable jurisdiction.

1. Public practice. Experience may be gained through employment as a staff accountant of a firm of certified public accountants or a firm of public accountants where such experience is of a non-routine accounting nature that continually requires independent thought and judgment on important accounting matters. The work must involve application of appropriate technical and behavioral standards such as the standards contained in the Code of Professional Conduct, Generally Accepted Auditing Standards, Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements, Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services, the Statement on Standards for Tax Services, or the Statements on Standards for Management Consulting Services (the "Professional Standards").

2. Government. Experience may be gained through employment with accounting agencies or groups within Federal, State or municipal government where such experience is of a non-routine accounting nature that continually requires independent thought and judgment on important accounting matters. The applicant shall obtain experience in assessing the adequacy of the accounting agency or group's internal controls by developing an understanding of the accounting agency or group's transaction streams and information systems. Such experience will include obtaining an understanding of the areas and/or industries with which the applicant's agency operates, including the operations of similar service providers. The Board will review on a case-by-case basis experience that does not clearly meet the criteria identified in §§1.5.2(A)(2)(a) through (e) of this Part below. Acceptable government work experience includes:

3. Industry. Experience may be gained in industry where such experience is of a non-routine accounting nature that continually requires independent thought and judgment on important accounting matters. The applicant shall obtain experience in assessing the adequacy of the employer's internal controls by developing an understanding of the employer's transaction streams and information systems. The applicant shall also obtain experience in tax return preparation and research, preparation and analysis of financial statements, cost accounting, budgeting and the application of accounting principles. Such experience will include obtaining an understanding of the industry in which the applicant's employer operates, including the employer's competition and key competitiveness factors that affect the industry. Professional services performed under this category include any services offered in the course of the practice of public accountancy, even though such services are not offered to the public.

4. Education. Experience may be gained as an instructor at a college or university which has gained accreditation from an accrediting agency which is recognized by the United States Secretary of Education where evidence is presented showing independent thought and judgment was used on non-routine accounting matters. Only the teaching of upper division courses as approved by the Board will be considered.

1. Understanding of the Code of Professional Conduct promulgated and adopted by the Board of Accountancy as demonstrated by a grade of ninety (90) or above in the Professional Ethics, the AICPA's Comprehensive Course;

2. Ability to assess the achievement of an entity's objectives by demonstrating knowledge of various business organizations, understanding of the objectives and goals of business entities, ability to develop and analyze performance measures and critical success factors, and understanding of the economic and regulatory trends that affect an entity's environment;

3. Experience in preparing work papers that include sufficient relevant data to support the analysis and conclusions required by the applicant's work;

4. Experience in the preparation and analysis of financial statements together with explanations and notes thereon; and

5. Understanding transaction streams and information systems, including the ability to understand how individual transactions aggregate at the organizational level, to infer how transactions impact the organization as a whole, and to evaluate the integrity and reliability of various client information systems, including relevant computer aspects.