Wisconsin Legislature: 217,22

Accy 1.401 (2) (f) Notification of convictions. A certified public accountant shall notify the board in writing within 60 days 48 hours after being convicted of a crime.

217,19 Section 19. Accy 1.404 (1) of the administrative code is amended to read:

Accy 1.404 (1) A person who is engaged in practice as a certified public accountant, as defined in the statutes, shall not concurrently engage in any business or occupation which that would create a conflict of interest rendering professional services.

217,20 Section 20. Accy 1.405 of the administrative code is repealed and recreated to read:

Accy 1.405 Firm Names. (1) An individual or firm may practice as a certified public accountant in any form of business organization permitted by state law. No person licensed to practice as a certified public accountant may practice under a firm name that is misleading as to the type of organization. A misleading CPA firm name is any of the following:

(a) A name that contains any representation that would be likely to cause a reasonable person to misunderstand or be confused about the legal form of the firm, or about who the owners or members of the firm are, such as a reference to a type of organization or an abbreviation thereof that does not accurately reflect the form under which the firm is organized, including any of the following:

1. A name that implies the existence of a corporation when the firm is not a corporation, such as through the use of the words "corporation," "incorporated," "Ltd.," "professional corporation," or an abbreviation thereof as part of the firm name if the firm is not incorporated or is not a professional corporation.

2. A name that implies the existence of a partnership when there is not a partnership, such as by use of the term "partnership" or "limited liability partnership" or the abbreviation "LLP" if the firm is not such an entity.

3. A name that includes the name of an individual who is not a CPA if the title "CPAs" is included in the firm name.

4. A name that includes information about or indicates an association with persons who are not members of the firm, except as provided in subs. (3) and (4).

5. A name that includes the terms "& Company," "& Associate," or "Group," if the firm does not include, in addition to the named partner, shareholder, owner, or member, at least one other unnamed partner, shareholder, owner, member, or staff employee.

(b) A name that contains any representation that would be likely to cause a reasonable person to have a false or unjustified expectation of favorable results or capabilities, through the use of a false or unjustified statement of fact as to any material matter.

(d) A name that includes the name of an owner whose license has been revoked for disciplinary reasons by the board, whereby the licensee has been prohibited from practicing public accountancy or prohibited from using the title CPA or holding himself or herself out as a certified public accountant.

(2) Any of the following is a permissible type of CPA firm name if it does not otherwise violate this subchapter:

(a) A firm name that includes the names of one or more former or present owners.

(b) A firm name that excludes the names of one or more former or present owners.

(c) A firm name that uses the CPA title as part of the firm name when all named individuals are owners of the firm who hold such title or are former owners who held such title at the time they ceased to be owners of the firm.

(d) A firm name that includes the name of a non-CPA owner if the CPA title is not a part of the firm name.

(3) A network firm may use a common brand name or share common initials as part of the firm name.

(4) A network firm may use the network name as the firm's name, provided that it also shares one or more of the following characteristics with other firms in the network:

(a) Common control, as defined by generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S., among the firms through ownership, management, or other means.

(b) Profits or costs, excluding costs of operating the association, costs developing audit methodologies, manuals and training courses, and other costs that are immaterial to the firm.

(c) A common business strategy that involves ongoing collaboration among the firms whereby the firms are responsible for implementing the association's strategy and are held accountable for performance pursuant to that strategy.

(d) A significant part of professional resources.

(e) Common quality control policies and procedures that participating firms are required to implement and that are monitored by the association.

217,21 Section 21. Chapter Accy 2 (title) of the administrative code is created to read:

Chapter accy 2

individual certification and
licensure

217,22 Section 22. Subchapter I (title) of chapter Accy 2 [precedes Accy 2.001] of the administrative code is created to read:

Chapter accy 2

subchapter I

authority and definitions

217,23 Section 23. Accy 2.001 of the administrative code is created to read:

Accy 2.001 Authority. The rules in this chapter are adopted under the authority in ss. 15.08 (5) (b), 227.11 (2), and 442.04, Stats.

217,24 Section 24. Accy 2.002 of the administrative code is created to read:

Accy 2.002 Definitions. In this chapter:

(1) "Accredited" means to be listed by an accrediting agency recognized by the secretary of the federal department of education.

Note: For a listing of accrediting agencies recognized by the secretary of the federal department of education, see
http:/www2.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/accreditation_pg6.html.

(2) "Bachelor's degree" means a baccalaureate degree normally conferred by universities and colleges at the completion of at least a 4-year, full-time, academic-year program of study.

Note: Some students complete the 4-year bachelor's degree in less than 4 years by attending summer school or maximum course loads over a number of academic semesters.

217,25 Section 25. Subchapter II (title) of chapter Accy 2 [precedes Accy 2.101] of the administrative code is created to read:

chapter accy 2

subchapter II

application for certification
of individuals

217,26 Section 26. Accy 2.101 (Note) of the administrative code is created to read:

Accy 2.101 Note: Application forms are available upon request to the board's office at 1400 East Washington Avenue, P.O. Box 8935, Madison WI 53708-8935 or on the Internet at www.dsps.wi.gov. An applicant with a disability will be provided reasonable accommodations.

217,27 Section 27. Accy 2.101 (3), (4) and (5) of the administrative code are created to read:

Accy 2.101 (3) Evidence of at least one year of public accounting experience as required by s. Accy 2.403 and s. 442.04 (5) (b) 5., Stats.

(4) Evidence that the applicant has successfully passed each section of the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination.

(5) Successful completion of the open book professional ethics examination on statutes and rules governing the practice of public accounting in Wisconsin as set forth in s. Accy 2.306.

217,28 Section 28. Subchapter III (title) of chapter Accy 2 [precedes Accy 2.202] of the administrative code is created to read:

chapter accy 2

subchapter III

education

217,29 Section 29. Accy 2.202 (1) (a) to (f) and (2) of the administrative code are created to read:

Accy 2.202 (1) (a) Intermediate financial accounting.

(b) Advanced financial accounting.

(d) Taxation.

(e) Auditing.

(f) Accounting information systems.

(2) At least 24 semester hours in business courses other than accounting courses, at the undergraduate or graduate level, including at least one course in each of the following subjects:

(a) Economics.

(b) Finance.

(d) Management or organizational behavior.

(e) Business law.

(f) Information technology.

Note: The courses covering the subjects of advanced financial accounting, cost or managerial accounting, taxation, and auditing under s. Accy 2.202 (1), would generally be courses taken beyond the introduction level. A course would generally be considered advanced financial accounting if it covers one or more of the following topics: foreign currency transactions, partnerships, state and local governments, not-for-profit entities, consolidations, mergers and acquisitions, intercompany transactions, fraud investigations, accounting theory, and accounting research.

217,30 Section 30. Subchapter IV (title) of chapter Accy 2 [precedes Accy 2.301] of the administrative code is created to read:

chapter accy 2

subchapter iv

examination

217,31 Section 31. Accy 2.305 (1) (g) of the administrative code is created to read:

Accy 2.305 (1) (g) Falsifying or misrepresenting educational credentials or other information required for admission to the examination.

217,32 Section 32. Subchapter V (title) of chapter Accy 2 [precedes Accy 2.401] of the administrative code is created to read:

chapter accy 2

subchapter v

experience

217,33 Section 33. Accy 2.401 (2) of the administrative code is created to read:

Accy 2.401 (2) Experience may consist of providing any type of services or advice using accounting, attest, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, or related consulting skills.

217,34 Section 34. Subchapter VI (title) of chapter Accy 2 [precedes Accy 2.501] of the administrative code is created to read:

Chapter accy 2

subchapter VI

LICENSURE

217,35 Section 35. Accy 2.501 of the administrative code is created to read:

Accy 2.501 Requirements for renewal and reinstatement of individual licenses. (1) Renewal before 5 years. An individual certified public accountant who files an application for renewal of a license within 5 years after the renewal date may renew his or her license by filing with the board all of the following:

(a) An application for renewal on a form prescribed by the department.