SB532: Bill Text

SB532,17 Section 17. Accy 1.401 (1) and (2) (a) (intro.), (c) and (e) 2. of the administrative code are amended to read:

SB532,8,17 Accy 1.401 (1) No person licensed to practice as a certified public accountant, as defined in the statutes, shall commit an act discreditable to the profession.

SB532,9,8 (2) (a) Client's records and accountant's workpapers. (intro.) Retention of client records after a demand is made for them is an act discreditable to the profession in violation of this section. It would be a violation of the code to retain a client's records to enforce payment. A certified public accountant's working papers are his or her the property of the certified public accountant and need not be surrendered to the client. However, in some instances working papers will contain data which that should properly be reflected in the client's books and records but which that for convenience have not been duplicated therein, with the result that the client's records are incomplete. In such instances, the portion of the working papers containing such data constitutes part of the client's records, and copies should be made available to the client upon request. If a certified public accountant is engaged to perform certain work for a client and the engagement is terminated prior to the completion of such work, the certified public accountant is required to return or furnish copies of only those records originally given to the certified public accountant by the client. Examples of working papers that are considered to be the client's records would include all of the following:

SB532,9,12 (c) Duty discharged. Once the certified public accountant has returned the client's records or furnished the copies of such records and/or and necessary supporting data, the obligation has been discharged in this regard and it is not necessary to comply with any subsequent requests to again furnish such records.

SB532,9,20 (e) 2. On conviction for willful failure to file an income tax return or other another document which, that the certified public accountant as an individual is required by law to file, for filing a false or fraudulent income tax return or other document on his or her or a client's behalf, or for willful aiding in the preparation and/or and presentation of a false or fraudulent income tax return of a client, or for the willful making of a false representation in connection with the determination, collection, or refund of any tax, whether it be in his or her own behalf or in behalf of a client, the board will initiate charges in every instance.

SB532,18 Section 18. Accy 1.401 (2) (f) of the administrative code is amended to read:

SB532,9,23 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.

SB532,19 Section 19. Accy 1.404 (1) of the administrative code is amended to read:

SB532,10,4 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.

SB532,20 Section 20. Accy 1.405 of the administrative code is repealed and recreated to read:

SB532,10,11 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:

SB532,10,16 (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:

SB532,10,20 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.

SB532,10,23 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.

SB532,10,25 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.

SB532,11,2 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).

SB532,11,6 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.

SB532,11,10 (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.

SB532,11,12 (c) A name that claims or implies the ability to influence a regulatory body or official.

SB532,11,16 (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.

SB532,11,18 (2) Any of the following is a permissible type of CPA firm name if it does not otherwise violate this subchapter:

SB532,11,20 (a) A firm name that includes the names of one or more former or present owners.

SB532,11,22 (b) A firm name that excludes the names of one or more former or present owners.

SB532,11,25 (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.

SB532,12,2 (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.

SB532,12,4 (3) A network firm may use a common brand name or share common initials as part of the firm name.

SB532,12,7 (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:

SB532,12,9 (a) Common control, as defined by generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S., among the firms through ownership, management, or other means.

SB532,12,12 (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.

SB532,12,15 (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.

SB532,12,16 (d) A significant part of professional resources.

SB532,12,18 (e) Common quality control policies and procedures that participating firms are required to implement and that are monitored by the association.

SB532,21 Section 21. Chapter Accy 2 (title) of the administrative code is created to read:

SB532,12,20 Chapter accy 2

SB532,12,22 individual certification and licensure

SB532,22 Section 22. Subchapter I (title) of chapter Accy 2 [precedes Accy 2.001] of the administrative code is created to read:

SB532,12,25 Chapter accy 2

SB532,13,1 subchapter I

SB532,13,2 authority and definitions

SB532,23 Section 23. Accy 2.001 of the administrative code is created to read:

SB532,13,5 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.

SB532,24 Section 24. Accy 2.002 of the administrative code is created to read:

SB532,13,7 Accy 2.002 Definitions. In this chapter:

SB532,13,9 (1) "Accredited" means to be listed by an accrediting agency recognized by the secretary of the federal department of education.

SB532,13,12 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.

SB532,13,15 (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.

SB532,13,18 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.

SB532,25 Section 25. Subchapter II (title) of chapter Accy 2 [precedes Accy 2.101] of the administrative code is created to read:

SB532,13,21 chapter accy 2

SB532,13,22 subchapter II

SB532,13,24 application for certification of individuals

SB532,26 Section 26. Accy 2.101 (Note) of the administrative code is created to read:

SB532,14,4 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.

SB532,27 Section 27. Accy 2.101 (3), (4) and (5) of the administrative code are created to read:

SB532,14,8 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.

SB532,14,10 (4) Evidence that the applicant has successfully passed each section of the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination.

SB532,14,13 (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.

SB532,28 Section 28. Subchapter III (title) of chapter Accy 2 [precedes Accy 2.202] of the administrative code is created to read:

SB532,14,16 chapter accy 2

SB532,14,17 subchapter III

SB532,14,18 education

SB532,29 Section 29. Accy 2.202 (1) (a) to (f) and (2) of the administrative code are created to read:

SB532,14,21 Accy 2.202 (1) (a) Intermediate financial accounting.

SB532,14,22 (b) Advanced financial accounting.

SB532,14,23 (c) Cost or managerial accounting.

SB532,14,24 (d) Taxation.

SB532,14,25 (e) Auditing.

SB532,15,1 (f) Accounting information systems.

SB532,15,4 (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:

SB532,15,5 (a) Economics.

SB532,15,6 (b) Finance.

SB532,15,7 (c) Marketing.

SB532,15,8 (d) Management or organizational behavior.

SB532,15,9 (e) Business law.

SB532,15,10 (f) Information technology.

SB532,15,17 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.

SB532,30 Section 30. Subchapter IV (title) of chapter Accy 2 [precedes Accy 2.301] of the administrative code is created to read:

SB532,15,20 chapter accy 2

SB532,15,21 subchapter iv

SB532,15,22 examination

SB532,31 Section 31. Accy 2.305 (1) (g) of the administrative code is created to read:

SB532,15,25 Accy 2.305 (1) (g) Falsifying or misrepresenting educational credentials or other information required for admission to the examination.

SB532,32 Section 32. Subchapter V (title) of chapter Accy 2 [precedes Accy 2.401] of the administrative code is created to read:

SB532,16,3 chapter accy 2

SB532,16,4 subchapter v

SB532,16,5 experience

SB532,33 Section 33. Accy 2.401 (2) of the administrative code is created to read:

SB532,16,9 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.

SB532,34 Section 34. Subchapter VI (title) of chapter Accy 2 [precedes Accy 2.501] of the administrative code is created to read: