Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 2024
A. If during the current calendar year a
person holds a Virginia license and has not been granted an exemption by the
board pursuant to subsection C of this section, he shall have obtained at least
120 hours of continuing professional education during the three-calendar-year
period ending with the current calendar year. For each of the calendar years in
that period, he shall have obtained at least 20 hours of continuing
professional education, including an ethics course of at least two hours.
1. If the person also holds the license of
another state and Virginia is not his principal place of business , the ethics
course taken to comply with this subsection either shall conform with the
requirements prescribed by the board or shall be an ethics course acceptable to
the board of accountancy of another state in which the person holds a
license.
2. Otherwise, the ethics
course shall conform to the requirements prescribed by the board.
B. If during the current calendar
year a person who holds a Virginia license provided services to the public or
to or on behalf of an employer, has not been granted an exemption by the board
pursuant to subsection C of this section, and did not hold a Virginia license
or the license of another state during one or both of the two preceding
calendar years, he shall determine whether he has complied with the
requirements of subsection A of this section as follows:
1. If the person became licensed during the
current calendar year, he shall be considered to have met the requirements of
subsection A of this section for the three-calendar-year period ending with the
current calendar year.
2. If the
person became licensed during the preceding calendar year, he shall be
considered to have met the requirements of the subsection for the
three-calendar-year period ending with the current calendar year if during the
current calendar year he obtained at least the minimum number of hours of
continuing professional education required by subsection A of this section for
the current calendar year, including an ethics course of at least two
hours.
3. If the person became
licensed during the calendar year prior to the preceding calendar year, he
shall be considered to have met the requirements of the subsection for the
three-calendar-year period ending with the current calendar year if during the
current calendar year and the preceding calendar year he obtained at least the
minimum number of hours of continuing professional education required by
subsection A of this section for each of the years, including for each year an
ethics course of at least two hours.
C. If during the current calendar year a
person who holds a Virginia license did not provide services to the public or
to or on behalf of an employer and has demonstrated to the board that he does
not provide those services, he is not required to have obtained continuing
professional education during the three-calendar-year period ending with the
current calendar year. Any person who holds a Virginia license to whom an
exemption has been granted shall annually affirm and certify to the board his
continued eligibility for the exemption in that he does not provide services to
the public or to or on behalf of an employer. However, in order to begin
providing those services:
1. He is required to
have obtained at least 120 hours of continuing professional education prior to
providing the services, including an ethics course of at least two
hours.
2. The ethics course shall
conform to the requirements prescribed by the board for the calendar year in
which the person begins providing the services.
Continuing professional education obtained during the three
calendar years prior to the current calendar year and from the start of the
current calendar year to when he begins providing the services shall be
considered in determining whether the person has complied with the requirements
of this subsection.
D. If a person who has not held the license
of any state applies for a Virginia license after the end of the calendar year
in which he passes the CPA examination, he shall obtain continuing professional
education prior to applying for the license, including an ethics course of at
least two hours.
1. The required minimum
number of hours of continuing professional education shall be 40, 80, or 120
depending on whether he applies for the Virginia license by the end of the
first calendar year after the calendar year in which he passes the CPA
examination, by the end of the second calendar year, or later.
2. The ethics course shall conform to the
requirements prescribed by the board for the calendar year in which the person
applies for the license.
Continuing professional education obtained subsequent to
passing the CPA examination but during the three calendar years prior to the
calendar year in which the person applies for the license and from the start of
that calendar year to when he applies for the license shall be considered in
determining whether he has complied with this requirement.
E. Continuing professional
education acceptable to the board may be obtained through a variety of forums,
provided there is a means of demonstrating that the education was obtained. The
acceptable forums are:
1. Attending seminars
and educational conferences, provided that the instructors have appropriate
knowledge of the subject matter and use appropriate teaching materials and that
attendance is monitored in a manner that can be verified by the
board;
2. Taking courses at an
accredited institution for credit;
3. Completing self-study courses, provided
there is a method for determining that the person met the learning
objectives;
4. Making a
presentation at a professional seminar, educational conference, or in a
classroom setting, provided the person has appropriate knowledge of the subject
matter and uses appropriate teaching materials;
5. Writing material that is relevant to
providing services to or on behalf of an employer or to the public that is
formally reviewed by an independent party and that is published in a book,
magazine, or similar publication; and
6. Passing examinations and obtaining
certifications that have been approved by the board.
Whether other forums are acceptable shall be determined by
the board on a case-by-case basis.
F. In determining whether a person has
obtained the required number of hours of continuing professional education:
1. Repeat presentations shall not be
considered.
2. No more than 30
hours from preparing for and making presentations shall be considered during
each three-calendar-year period.
3.
One semester-hour of credit for courses at an accredited institution
constitutes 15 hours of continuing professional education, and one quarter-hour
of credit constitutes 10 hours of continuing professional education.
4. Credit for examination and certification
shall be awarded for the calendar year in which the examination was passed and
certification was received. If passage of the examination and certification
occur in different calendar years, credit shall be awarded for the calendar
year in which the examination was passed. The board shall determine how many
hours are credited per certification.
5. No more than 60 hours from examination and
certification shall be considered during each three-calendar-year
period.
G. Depending on
the facts and circumstances, the board may waive all or part of the continuing
professional education requirement for one or more calendar years or grant
additional time for complying with the continuing professional education
requirement, provided that the waiver or deferral is in the public
interest.
Statutory Authority: §§
54.1-4402 and
54.1-4403 of the Code of
Virginia.
