PROPOSED RULES
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 99-05-027.
Title of Rule: WAC 4-25-780 Reciprocity for accountants from foreign countries.
Purpose: To prescribe the procedures the board will follow when designating a professional accounting credential issued in a foreign country as substantially equivalent to a Washington CPA certificate.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 18.04.055.
Statute Being Implemented: RCW 18.04.183.
Summary: Lists the requirements for issuance of an initial Washington CPA certificate, license to practice public accounting by reciprocity to accountants from foreign countries and requirements for renewal and discipline of CPA certificate and license based on a foreign accounting credential.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: RCW 18.04.183 was amended by the 1999 legislature to require accountants from foreign countries to complete one hundred twenty hours of continuing education during the preceding thirty-six months in order to obtain a Washington CPA certificate by reciprocity. The board's existing rule conflicts with the new statute. The proposed changes would conform the current rule to the new statute.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation and Enforcement: Dana M. McInturff, CPA, 210 East Union, Suite A, Olympia, (360) 664-9194.
Name of Proponent: Board of Accountancy, governmental.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: RCW 18.04.183 directs the board to grant a certificate or license as a certified public accountant (CPA) to a holder of a permit, license, or certificate issued by a foreign country's board, agency or institute. The rule implements the statute listing the qualifications the board will accept before issuing an initial CPA certificate and license to an accountant from a foreign country, the requirements for renewal, and the procedures the board will take to investigate and discipline CPAs certified (and licensed) based in part on a foreign accounting credential.
Proposal Changes the Following Existing Rules: Changes the time period (preceding thirty-six months from preceding twenty-four months) and number of hours of continuing education (one hundred twenty hours from eighty hours) an applicant for a Washington CPA by reciprocity from a foreign country must complete before the board will issue a Washington CPA certificate.
No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. The changes to the rule will have negligible economic impact on the accounting profession.
RCW 34.05.328 does not apply to this rule adoption. The Board of Accountancy is not one of the agencies required to submit to the requirements of RCW 34.05.328.
Hearing Location: Western Washington University, Viking Addition, Room 461, Bellingham, Washington, on July 29, 1999, at 1:30 p.m.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Cheryl Sexton by July 22, 1999, TDD (800) 833-6384, or (360) 664-9194.
Submit Written Comments to: Dana M. McInturff, P.O. Box 9131, Olympia, WA 98507-9131, fax (360) 664-9190, by July 27, 1999.
Date of Intended Adoption: July 30, 1999.
June 11, 1999
Dana M. McInturff, CPA
Executive Director
by Cheryl M. Sexton
OTS-3154.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 94-10-039, filed 4/29/94, effective 5/30/94)
WAC 4-25-780
Reciprocity for accountants from foreign countries.
RCW 18.04.183 allows the board to designate a professional accounting credential issued in a foreign country as substantially equivalent to a CPA certificate issued under provisions of RCW 18.04.105.
(1) Initial CPA certification.
(a) The board may rely on the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, or other professional bodies for evaluation of foreign accounting credential equivalency.
(b) The board may accept a foreign accounting credential in partial satisfaction of CPA certification requirements if:
(i) The holder of the foreign accounting credential met the issuing body's education requirement and passed the issuing body's examination used to qualify its own domestic candidates; and
(ii) The foreign accounting credential is valid and in good standing at the time of application for a CPA certificate; and
(iii) The body granting the foreign accounting credential permits this state's CPAs equivalent opportunity to receive the foreign accounting credential by reciprocity. The board will, by resolution, specify acceptable foreign accounting credentials and acknowledge reciprocal agreements with bodies granting foreign accounting credentials.
(c) The board may satisfy itself through qualifying examinations that the holder of a foreign credential deemed by the board to be substantially equivalent to a CPA certificate possesses adequate knowledge of U.S. practice standards and the board's regulations. The board will, by resolution, specify the form of qualifying examination(s) and passing grade(s).
(d) The board shall require the foreign reciprocity applicant to demonstrate completion of
((eighty)) one hundred twenty hours of continuing professional education that meet the standards
contained in the board's continuing professional education rules for CPA certificate renewal.
(2) License to practice public accountancy. In addition to the certification requirements contained in subsection (1)(a) through (d) of this section, the board may require a foreign reciprocity applicant for a license to practice public accounting to demonstrate satisfactory experience in a foreign or domestic professional accounting firm. The board will, by resolution, specify experience standards for each foreign accounting credential accepted by the board as basis for certification and licensure by foreign reciprocity.
(3) Renewal of CPA certificate or license granted through foreign reciprocity. An applicant for renewal of a CPA certificate originally issued in reliance on a foreign professional accounting credential shall:
(a) Make application for renewal of the CPA certificate (and license) at the time and in the same manner prescribed by the board for all other CPAs certified (and licensed) by the board.
(b) Pay such fees as are prescribed for all other CPA certificate (and license) renewals.
(c) If still credentialed in the foreign country, present documentation from the body that issued the applicant's foreign accounting credential stating that the credential is in good standing and valid for the practice of public accountancy in the foreign jurisdiction and stating that the applicant is free of a current disciplinary investigation or action or, if the applicant is the subject of such investigation or action, the particulars thereof. If no longer credentialed in the foreign country, present proof from the foreign credentialing body that the applicant was not the subject of any investigations or disciplinary proceedings at the time the foreign credential lapsed.
(d) Show completion of ((eighty)) one hundred twenty hours of continuing professional
education within the ((two)) three-year period preceding renewal application in accordance with
rules applicable to all CPAs.
(4) Investigations and discipline of CPAs certified (and licensed) based in part on a foreign accounting credential.
(a) The holder of a Washington CPA certificate issued in reliance on a foreign accounting credential shall report any investigations undertaken, or sanctions imposed, by a foreign credentialing body against the CPA's foreign credential. Such report shall be made to the Washington state board of accountancy within thirty days of notice to the CPA that an investigation has been started or a sanction imposed.
(b) RCW 18.04.295 authorizes the board to impose discipline for, among other things, violation of state or federal laws. For purposes of enforcement and discipline against CPAs whose CPA certificate (and license) was issued based in part on a foreign accounting credential, the board interprets "state" to include "state, province, or territory" and "federal" to apply to equivalent governmental units of the country in which the foreign accounting credential was issued.
(c) Suspension or revocation of, or refusal to renew, a CPA's foreign accounting credential by the foreign credentialing body is evidence of conduct reflecting adversely upon the CPA's fitness to retain the CPA certificate and is basis for board disciplinary action.
(d) The board may notify foreign credentialing bodies of any sanctions imposed against a CPA whose certificate was issued through foreign reciprocity.
(e) The board may participate in joint investigations with foreign accounting credentialing bodies and may receive evidence supplied by such bodies or their authorized agents or contractors in investigations and disciplinary proceedings.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 18.04.055 and 18.04.183. 94-10-039, § 4-25-780, filed 4/29/94, effective 5/30/94.]