2008-2009 NORTH CAROLINA ON-LINE CERTIFICATE RENEWAL
INSTRUCTIONS
We encourage you to renew
early. If there is a problem with your renewal and staff finds it at the
beginning of the renewal season, you may have time to correct it. If you renew
close to the June 30 deadline, you may encounter renewal server slowdowns and
you may have missed your opportunity to correct problems. Licensees who fail to
renew will forfeit their CPA certificates. You may print the final renewal
acknowledgement page to confirm that your renewal was processed; your credit
card statement also serves as your receipt. If you wish to keep a copy of the
information submitted, you may print each page of the on-line renewal after you
have completed the information required, but before hitting the “submit”
button. You may also check your personal record in the “Licensee Search”
section of our web site, www.nccpaboard.gov,
to confirm an updated expiration date for your certificate. The web site is
updated in real time. Should you encounter errors during the renewal, please
restart your computer and try again. Restarting the computer fixes the majority
of problems that occur.
You will need four things to complete your
renewal, 1) your North Carolina CPA certificate number;
2) your Social Security number; 3) the number of CPE hours earned to meet the 2007
requirement; and 4) a valid MasterCard or VISA number and valid expiration
date. The Board’s web site is certified as secure by Comodo for web-based
transactions.
I. Page 1 of the on-line renewal lists your
personal information from our files. Please review and correct the information
as necessary so that our records are current and complete. You must provide the
Board with a full address, including business name, mailing address, e-mail
address, and telephone number so that the Board will have complete and accurate
information and will be able to contact you if necessary. To update your address(es), click on the blue highlighted link (such as
Mailing Address) to change each type of address (mailing address,
business/practice address, or home address). You will not be allowed to
complete your renewal and exit the system without providing a mailing address. If
you are using your home address or business address as your mailing address,
you do not need to list the same address in two categories (such as mailing
address and home address or mailing address and business/practice address). Do
not list an address change that is more than two weeks in advance. Use only the
occupation and concentration categories provided in the pop-up lists.
II. Page 2 of the on-line renewal pertains to the
mandatory CPE requirement.
A. If you completed the 40-hour requirement in
calendar year 2007, including at least eight (8) hours of non-self study credit
and the required Board-approved ethics course, check item "A." If you
were certified in
B. If you were certified in
C. If you took some of your 2007
CPE after the December 31, 2007, deadline, but before
June 30, 2008, and you need to use those courses to meet your 2007
requirement, check item "C." Note that taking CPE after the deadline may
result in a letter of warning pursuant to 21 NCAC 08G .0406(b). If you did not
meet the CPE requirement by June 30, 2008, you do not qualify
for renewal.
D. If you took some of your 2007 CPE after the
December 31, 2007, deadline, but before
June 30, 2008, and you were granted an extension, please check item
"D." Note that your extension must have already been formally approved
by the Board and you should have received written confirmation that the
extension was granted.
III. Report your CPE hours on Page 3. The Board
will audit a sample of licensees to ensure compliance. Individuals selected for
the CPE audit will be contacted by the Board and must provide the required
documentation by the deadline specified.
A. Block A shows the number of carry-forward
hours brought forward from 2006 (20 maximum). If this number does not agree
with your records, please e-mail Cammie Emery at cemery@nccpaboard.gov before completing
the on-line renewal. Staff will verify your claim so that you may properly
complete your renewal after the issue has been resolved.
B. Enter the total number of CPE hours for the
courses earned in 2007. If you completed courses between January 1 and June 30,
2008, you may renew by combining the 2007 and 2008 hours, but you may be issued
a letter of warning.
C. The renewal system will automatically add the carry-forward
hours earned in 2006 (Block A) to the CPE hours earned in 2007 (Block B), and
put the total in the Total Hours Reported block (Block C). Forty hours is the
minimum total unless your 2007 CPE requirement was prorated [21 NCAC 08G
.0401(e)].
D. The hours available for carry-forward will be automatically
calculated in Block D (carry-forward hours cannot exceed 20). NOTE: If your CPE
requirement for 2007 was prorated, you may carry over up to 20 hours in excess
of your requirement.
IV. Moral character data is requested on Page 4.
Please answer the appropriate item(s) affirmatively and type a brief
explanation in the text box at the bottom of Page 4. The moral character data
for licensees who have not previously filed a certificate renewal is applicable
for the period since the filing of their certificate application.
V. Page 5 is an affirmation which states that
you have read the North Carolina Accountancy Statutes and Rules. The most
current copy may be accessed on our website, www.nccpaboard.gov, or by clicking the
links embedded in the renewal. You are also certifying that the information provided
on the on-line renewal is correct and complete.
VI. We only
accept MasterCard and VISA for payment. The renewal is considered incomplete if
a credit card charge is not authorized by the issuing financial institution. If
you wish to mail your completed form with a check or money order, you may do so
by signing the last page of the renewal and submitting all pages of the completed
form and the required fee to the Board at
Change of Status: You may elect retired or
inactive status by submitting the proper form. CPAs on inactive or retired status
are not required to renew their certificates, report CPE, or pay a renewal fee.
You may obtain forms for inactive or retired
status by printing them from our website, www.nccpaboard.gov,
or calling the Board office at (919) 733-4222. The deadline to
request retired or inactive status is June 30. You may qualify for retired
status if you are completely retired, will not receive compensation for any personal services (accounting or
otherwise), and verify your intention never to return to active status. You
must also verify that you will not sign as a CPA if you do any volunteer
accounting work. You may request inactive status by sending the proper form by
June 30. CPAs on inactive status may keep their CPA certificates but must
confirm that they will not use the CPA title in any way while on inactive
status.
Rev. 2/26/08
ESSENTIAL CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION INFORMATION
General Information -- All CPAs on
active, conditional, form of practice, or probationary status must comply with
the CPE requirements and pay an annual renewal fee. You are required to
complete at least 40 hours per calendar year to renew your certificate. The
deadline for reporting CPE credit earned is June 30. CPE hours are reported during
the on-line certificate renewal process. Do not send a detailed listing of
courses unless you are selected as part of the CPE audit sample or have received
a letter specifically requesting documentation. CPE hours must be rounded down
to the nearest half-hour after the first full hour of credit has been earned.
The Board's CPE rules are found in Title 21, North Carolina Administrative Code
(NCAC), Chapter 08G, Section .0400. Please refer to the Board's web site www.nccpaboard.gov for the current
CPE rules.
Self-Study Courses -- At least eight
(8) hours of CPE credit earned in any calendar year must be non-self study,
excluding any carry-forward hours used to meet the minimum requirement. Another
self-study rule stipulates that the amount of credit for all self-study courses
is based on the average completion time in 50-minute hours as determined by the
sponsor. If you have questions about how the sponsor has calculated the hours
recommended, you must contact the course provider directly.
One example of
self-study material that does not
meet the Board’s requirement for appropriate instructional design is a “course”
that consists of an examination on periodicals, guides, magazines, subscription
services, books, reference manuals and supplements (e.g., Journal of Accountancy, CPE Direct, tax services and handbooks,
audit guides, etc.). Such programs do not meet this requirement because the
material studied is not designed primarily for CPE purposes [21 NCAC 08G .0404(e)].
Ethics CPE
Requirement
– The Board has adopted 21 NCAC 08G .0410, that requires all licensees to take
annually either two hours of Board-approved ethics CPE in a group study format
or four hours of Board-approved ethics CPE in a self-study format. Information
on courses that will satisfy the requirement is made available to licensees
through the Activity Review and the Board’s website, www.nccpaboard.gov. A non-resident
licensee who does not have an office in
Registered Sponsors -- The Board
registers sponsors who agree to conduct programs that enhance a CPA's
professional skills and meet other minimum standards. These organizations have
also agreed to keep records of their programs for five years. This requirement
removes some of the burden of record-keeping for CPAs taking the course, but it
does not automatically mean that a CPA may claim credit for a course. You are
responsible for selecting the CPE courses you attend, and you should pick only those courses that will improve your
professional competence. The Board's office maintains a database of registered
CPE sponsors on its web site, www.nccpaboard.gov. The Board's staff can only confirm that a
sponsor is registered, not that a
particular course can be used for CPE purposes. Due to the large number of
licensees and the volume of courses offered, the Board staff cannot
“pre-approve” CPE courses.
Non-Registered
Sponsors
– Pursuant to 21 NCAC 08G .0404(f), you may claim CPE credit for continuing
education programs that are conducted by non-registered sponsors. You should
refer to 21 NCAC 08G .0403 and .0404 for the types of coursework that might
qualify, as well as the standards that such courses must meet. You do not need to submit your
documentation to the Board at the end of each year; keep it in your files for
five years. Complete and accurate information regarding sponsors and
courses is essential. Such documentation should include, but is not limited to:
1) Proof of completion of a course (must include
your name as the course participant, course title, date of completion, and CPE
hours recommended). This is the most
important piece of documentation that you should save. Proof of
registration or copies of course agendas are not adequate proof of attendance;
2) The instructor's biography, indicating both
general teaching competence and particular mastery of the subject matter of the
course;
3) A description of the facilities used and the
number of other participants;
4) Information about the course developer and
sponsor; and
5) A description of course objectives,
prerequisites, experience level, content, required advance preparation,
teaching method used, and CPE credit recommended.
General Guidelines -- CPE courses
offered by any sponsor should be on a professional
level and should relate to the field of accountancy. The seven approved subject
areas for CPE programs as set forth in 21 NCAC 08G .0404(b) are:
1) Accounting and Auditing
2) Consulting
3) Ethics
4) Management
5) Personal Development
6) Special Knowledge and Applications
7) Tax
Examples of courses that may not meet such criteria are:
1) Basic courses in accountancy and related
technical subjects;
2) Programs not designed for professional
competence, such as:
a) Information
for the general public on matters such as personal money management, personal
investments, elementary income tax, social security, and retirement benefits,
b) Sales-oriented
presentations for office equipment and other system applications;
3) Programs that do not contribute to knowledge
of the field of accounting, such as:
a) Programs
restricted to the policies and procedures of a particular company or
organization,
b) Programs presenting sophisticated scientific
and technical knowledge generally considered beyond the scope required for the
practice of accountancy.
Audit of CPE Reports – Staff will audit a
computer-generated, random
sample of licensees each year. If you are selected, it is your responsibility
to contact sponsors and obtain verification from them if needed.
On-line License
Renewal--
The license renewal must be used to
report CPE hours. Do not send CPE certificates unless you are being audited. Fractional hours must be rounded down to
the nearest half-hour for each course after the first full hour of credit has
been earned.
Carry-Forward Hours – Carry-forward
hours are designed to be an "insurance policy" to guard against
situations where circumstances prevent a licensee from completing the full
40-hour CPE requirement by December 31. If you do not maintain 20 hours of carry-forward,
you increase the risk of receiving a letter of warning or being ineligible to
renew your certificate. Twenty (20) hours is the maximum carry forward. New
North Carolina CPAs should also be aware that they may not claim carry-forward
from the calendar year before the year they were certified in
Extensions of Time to
Complete CPE
-- Extensions of time to complete CPE requirements may be requested by
submitting a completed extension request form that is available on our web site. However the Board will
generally approve extensions only when circumstances indicate a severe personal hardship (e.g., severe
illness). Failure to complete courses
on time due to business circumstances probably will not be approved. Note that extensions are not granted past June 30.
Extension requests should be submitted by April 1.
Penalties for
Noncompliance
-- Licensees who fail to comply with the CPE requirements are subject to a letter
of warning or forfeiture as outlined in 21 NCAC 08G .0406(b).
Rev. 02/26/2008