Current through September 24, 2024
(1) A license
holder seeking regular biennial renewal shall, as a prerequisite for such
renewal, show that he or she has completed no less than eighty (80) hours of
qualified continuing professional education during the two (2) year period
immediately preceding renewal, with a minimum of twenty (20) hours in each year
with specifications as follows:
(a) All
license holders shall complete at least forty (40) hours in technical fields of
study;
(b) All license holders
shall complete a board-approved two (2) hour state-specific ethics course
designed to familiarize the licensee with accountancy law and rules as well as
professional ethics;
(c) License
holders engaged in the attest function, shall biennially complete at least
twenty (20) hours in the subject areas of attest and accounting theory and
practice in fulfilling the above requirements;
(d) License holders engaged to testify in a
Tennessee court(s) as expert witnesses in areas of accounting, attest,
management services, or tax shall have completed, within the current or most
recent renewal period, at least twenty (20) hours in the subject area(s) (as
noted in this paragraph) concerning such expert testimony; and
(e) Up to twenty-four (24) CPE hours taken in
excess of the eighty (80) hour requirement for each two (2) year period may be
applied to the requirement of the next succeeding two (2) year renewal cycle.
License holders must submit certificates of completed CPE courses which will be
used for carry forward as requested by the Board. Failure to do so will result
in the disallowance of carry-forward hours.
(2) A license holder seeking to renew an
initial certificate issued less than two (2) years but more than one (1) year
prior to expiration must provide evidence of having completed at least forty
(40) hours of continuing education, of which twenty (20) hours shall be in
technical fields of study. Of the forty (40) hours required, at least two (2)
hours shall consist of a board-approved state-specific ethics course designed
to familiarize the licensee with accountancy law and rules as well as
professional ethics. Up to twelve (12) CPE hours taken in excess of the forty
(40) hour requirement for the initial licensing period may be applied towards
the requirement of the next succeeding two (2) year renewal. Licensees seeking
to renew an initial certificate issued less than one (1) year prior to
expiration will be exempt from CPE requirements for that renewal
period.
(3) Upon application
supported by such evidence as the Board may require, those licensees not
practicing in Tennessee, who do not perform or offer to perform for the public
one (1) or more kinds of services involving the use of accounting or auditing
skills, including the issuance of reports on financial statements or one or
more kinds of management advisory, financial advisory or consulting services,
or the preparation of tax returns or the furnishing of advice on tax matters,
may be exempted from any continuing professional education requirements
provided that:
(a) For purposes of
disciplinary action, the board shall retain jurisdiction over all certificate
holders whose license is in inactive status.
(b) Certificate holders who are granted
inactive status by the board shall be required to place the word "inactive"
adjacent to their CPA or PA designation when using such designation for any
lawful purpose, including, but not limited to use of such designation on any
business card, letterhead, resume, or biography.
(c) A certificate holder who has been granted
inactive status may not for compensation perform or offer to perform for the
public, including the providing of any accounting service from a licensed
accounting firm, any of the following services: any accounting or auditing
service which involves the issuance of reports on financial statements
(including opinions, reviews, compilations, or attest engagements), any
consulting engagement which would constitute the attest function, or furnishing
advice on tax matters.
(d) A
certificate holder who has been granted inactive status may perform the
services set forth in (c) above if:
1. The
services are provided without compensation to the certificate holder;
2. The services are performed solely for the
certificate holder's employer and such employer is not a licensed accounting
firm; or
3. The certificate holder
does not use the CPA or PA designation in association with his or her name
while providing such lawful services.
(e) A certificate holder who is 65 years old
or older and possesses a certificate in inactive status shall not be required
to pay the biennial license renewal fee required for licensees as set forth in
these rules.
(f) Certificate
holders who are granted inactive status must complete eighty (80) hours of CPE
in technical fields of study during the twenty-four (24) month period preceding
the date of their request for reactivation of their license. Of the eighty (80)
hours required, at least two (2) hours shall consist of a board-approved
state-specific ethics course designed to familiarize the licensee with
accountancy law and rules as well as professional ethics. The CPE hours
required to reactivate a license may also be used as credit toward the renewal
requirement so long as those hours are completed within the two (2) year window
prior to the licensee's next December 31 renewal date.
(4) Licensees who surrender their licenses in
good standing may reactivate a license by complying with the requirements of
rule 0020-05-.03(3)(f).
(5) Upon
application supported by such evidence as the Board may require, licensees
disabled for more than six (6) months or in active military service may be
exempted from payment of a license renewal fee and/or CPE requirements so long
as they do not practice public accountancy or offer accounting services to the
public.
(6) An applicant for
renewal whose license has expired as set forth in Rule 0020-01-.08(7) shall
complete no less than eighty (80) hours of CPE in technical fields of study
during the six (6) month period preceding the date of reapplication. Of the
eighty (80) hours required, at least two (2) hours shall consist of a
board-approved state-specific ethics course designed to familiarize the
licensee with accountancy law and rules as well as professional ethics. The CPE
hours required to reinstate an expired license are considered penalty hours and
may not be used to offset the CPE hours required for renewal of a
license.
(7) A non-resident
licensee seeking renewal of a license in this state shall meet the CPE
requirement of this rule by meeting the CPE requirements for renewal of a
license in the state in which the licensee's principal office is located.
(a) Non-resident applicants for renewal shall
demonstrate compliance with the CPE renewal requirements of the state in which
the licensee's principal office is located by signing a statement certifying to
that effect on the renewal application of this state.
(b) If the state in which a non-resident
licensee's principal office is located has no CPE requirements for renewal of a
license, the non-resident licensee must comply with all CPE requirements for
renewal of a license in this state.
(c) If the state in which a non-resident
licensee's principal office is located does not require a course in ethics, the
non-resident licensee shall complete the ethics requirement for this state as
set forth in rule 0020-05-.03(1)(b).
Authority: T.C.A. §§
62-1-105,
62-1-107, and 62-1-111.
