North
Carolina Accountancy Rules
References
are to North Carolina Administrative Code, Title 21 - Occupational Licensing
Boards, Chapter 08 - Board of Certified Public Accountant Examiners, as amended
through February 1, 2011.
subchapter 08F - REQUIREMENTS FOR
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT EXAMINATION AND CERTIFICATE APPLICANTS
section .0100 -
GENERAL PROVISIONS
21 ncac 08f .0101 TIME AND PLACE OF CPA EXAMINATIONS
(a) The Board shall offer the CPA examination
through the examination vendors(s), who have contracted with NASBA, at least
eight months in a calendar year.
(b) The months the CPA Examination is
administered are determined by the examination vendor(s).
(c) The examination vendor(s) shall provide
examination applicants with computer access to the testing centers for the CPA
examination.
21 NCAC 08F .0102 TYPE OF CPA EXAMINATION
The
Uniform CPA Examination prepared by the AICPA shall be the CPA examination used
by the Board.
21 NCAC 08F .0103 FILING OF EXAMINATION APPLICATIONS AND
FEES
(a) All applications for CPA examinations shall
be filed with the Board, accompanied by the examination fee. The Board sets the fee for each examination
at the amount that enables the Board to recover its actual costs of examination
services. If a check or credit card
authorization fails to clear the bank, the application shall be deemed
incomplete and returned.
(b) The initial application filed to take the
examination shall include supporting documentation demonstrating that all legal
requirements have been met, such as:
(1) minimum legal
age;
(2) education;
(3) experience, if
required in order to qualify for the examination; and
(4) good moral
character.
(c) Any person born outside the United States
shall furnish to the Board office evidence of citizenship; evidence of resident
alien status; or
(1) other bona fide
evidence that the applicant is legally allowed to remain in the United States
for the purposes of becoming a U.S. citizen; or
(2) a notarized
affidavit of intention to become a U.S. citizen; or
(3) evidence that
the applicant is a citizen of a foreign jurisdiction which extends to citizens
of this state like or similar privileges to be examined.
(d) Official transcripts (originals – not
photocopies) signed by the college registrar and bearing the college seal are
required to prove education and degree requirements. A letter from the college registrar of the
school may be filed as documentation that the applicant has met the graduation
requirements if the degree has not been awarded and posted to the
transcript. However, no examination
grades shall be released until an official transcript is filed confirming the
information supplied in the college registrar's letter.
(e) In order to document good moral character as
required by G.S. 93-12(5), three certificates of good moral character signed by
persons not related by blood or marriage to the applicant shall accompany the
application.
(f) No additional statements or affidavits
regarding education are required for applications for re-examination.
(g) An applicant shall include as part of any
application for the CPA examination a statement of explanation and a certified
copy final disposition if the applicant has been arrested, charged, convicted
or found guilty of, received a prayer for judgment continued or pleaded nolo
contendere to any criminal offense.
(h) If an applicant has been denied any license
by any state or federal agency, the applicant shall include as part of the
application for the CPA examination a statement explaining such denial. An applicant shall include a statement of
explanation and a certified copy of applicable license records if the applicant
has been registered with or licensed by a state or federal agency and has been
disciplined by that agency.
(i) Two identical photographs shall accompany the
application for the CPA examination and the application for the CPA
certificate. These photographs shall be
of the applicant alone, 2x2 inches in size, front view, full face, taken in
normal street attire without a hat or dark glasses, printed on thin paper with
a plain light background and taken within the last six months. Photographs may
be in black and white or in color.
Photographs retouched so that the applicant's appearance is changed are
unacceptable. Applicants shall write their names on the back of their photos.
(j) If an applicant's name has legally changed
and is different from the name on any transcript or other document supplied to
the Board, the applicant shall furnish copies of the documents legally
authorizing the name change.
(k) Candidates shall file initial and re-exam
applications to sit for the CPA Examination on forms provided by the Board.
(l) Examination fees are valid for a six-month
period from the date of the applicant's notice to schedule for the examination
from the examination vendor.
21 NCAC 08F .0105 CONDITIONING REQUIREMENTS
(a) Passing Grades. A candidate must pass all sections of the
examination with a grade of 75 or higher on each section.
(b) Military Service. A candidate who is on active military service
shall not have the time on active military service counted against Subparagraph
(c)(1) of this Rule unless the candidate applies to take the examination during
the active military service in which case each month a candidate sits shall be
counted toward Subparagraph (c)(1) of this Rule.
(c) A candidate is subject to the following
conditioning requirements:
(1) A candidate shall obtain a passing grade
on all sections of the examination within an 18-month period;
(2) A candidate may sit for any section of
the examination individually;
(3) A candidate may sit for each section of
the examination up to four times during a one-year period but not more than one
time in a three-month testing window as defined by the examination vendors(s);
(4) Credit awarded by the Board for passage
of a section of the examination is valid for an 18-month period beginning on
the date the section is taken.
21 NCAC 08F .0106 GRANTING EXAMINATION CREDIT FROM OTHER
JURISDICTIONS
(a) The Board may grant candidates credit for
passing parts of the AICPA Uniform CPA Examination in another jurisdiction or
territory of the United States.
(b) To be considered for credit, the passing
grades must meet the requirements of 21 NCAC 08F .0105. To transfer credit, the
candidate must file an application with the Board on a form provided by the
Board. Such application may be made simultaneously with the application to take
the CPA examination.
21 NCAC 08F .0107 COMMUNICATION OF RESULTS OF CPA
EXAMINATIONS
(a) The Board shall communicate to candidates in
writing the result achieved in each of their examinations. Grades awarded to
candidates shall not be released to third parties except by written consent of
the candidate.
(b) In no event shall any information concerning
answers of candidates be given to anyone other than the candidate.
(c) Examination grades shall be mailed to the
candidates upon receipt by the Board.
21 ncac 08f .0111 INELIGIBILITY DUE
TO VIOLATION OF ACCOUNTANCY ACT
(a) A person may not be eligible to take the CPA
examination or receive the North Carolina certificate of qualification as a CPA
if the Board determines that the person has engaged in conduct that would
constitute a violation of G.S. 93 or the Rules of Professional Ethics and
Conduct.
(b) Any individual found to have engaged in
conduct which subverts, or attempts to subvert the CPA Examination process may
have his or her scores on the examination withheld and declared invalid, be
disqualified from holding the CPA certification and may be subject to the
imposition of other appropriate sanctions.
(c) Conduct which subverts or attempts to subvert
the examination process includes but is not limited to:
(1) conduct which
violates the standard of the test administration such as communicating with any
other examinee during the administration of the examination;
(2) having in one's
possession during the administration of the examination any books, notes,
written or printed material, or data of any other kind, other than the
distributed examination materials;
(3) failure to
cooperate with testing officials;
(4) conduct which violates the credentialing
process, such as falsifying or misrepresenting educational credentials or other
information required for admission to the examination, impersonating an examinee, or having an impersonator take the examination on
another's behalf;
(5) conduct which
violates the nondisclosure prohibitions of the examination or aiding or
abetting another in doing so; and
(6) retaking or
attempting to retake an examination section by an individual holding a valid
CPA certificate in this State or a candidate who has unexpired credit for
having already passed the same examination section unless directed to do so by
the Board.
21 ncac 08f .0113 CANDIDATE'S REQUEST TO REVIEW CPA
EXAMINATION
The Board may
allow a North Carolina candidate pursuant to G.S. 93B-(8) to review his or her
CPA Examination within 60 days after the release of the grades in
question.
SECTION .0300 ‑
EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EXAMINATION
21 NCAC 08F .0302 EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
PRIOR TO CPA EXAM
(a) Applicants who intend to demonstrate their
possession of sufficient education to become a CPA by showing that they possess
a bachelor's degree shall submit official transcripts with their application to
take the CPA examination. Official
transcripts shall show the grades the applicant received on courses completed
and shall also show degrees awarded. An
official transcript bears the seal of the school and the signature of the
registrar or assistant registrar.
(b) The Board may approve an application to take
the CPA examination prior to the receipt of a bachelor's degree, if:
(1) the concentration in accounting which shall
be included in or supplement the bachelor's degree is already complete or is
reasonably expected to be completed by the end of the school term within which
the examination falls; and
(2) an applicant
reasonably expects to receive the bachelor's degree within 120 days after the
application is received by the Board.
However, if the applicant fails to receive the degree within the
specified time, the CPA examination grades shall not be released and if the
applicant wishes to retake the examination, the applicant shall reapply.
21 NCAC 08F .0303 SEMESTER HOUR EQUIVALENT
One
quarter hour of undergraduate study shall equal two‑thirds of a semester
hour.
21 NCAC 08F .0401 WORK EXPERIENCE REQUIRED OF CANDIDATES FOR
CPA CERTIFICATION
(a) G.S. 93-12(5)c sets
forth work experience alternatives, one of which is required of candidates
applying for CPA certification. In
connection with those requirements, the following provisions apply:
(1) The work experience shall be acquired
prior to the date a candidate applies for certification.
(2) All experience which is required to be
under the direct supervision of a CPA shall be under the direct supervision of
a CPA on active status.
(b) The following provisions apply to all
candidates seeking to meet the work experience requirement of G.S. 93-12(5)c.3 by working in the field of accounting:
(1) One year of work experience is 52 weeks
of full-time employment. The candidate
is employed full-time when the candidate is expected by the employer to work
for the employer at least 30 hours each week for an indefinite period or for a
set period of at least one year. Any
other work is working part-time.
(2) All weeks of actual full-time employment
are added to all full-time equivalent weeks in order to calculate how much work
experience a candidate has acquired.
Dividing that number by 52 results in the years of work experience the
candidate has acquired.
(3) Full-time-equivalent weeks are
determined by the number of actual part-time hours the candidate has
worked. Actual part-time hours do not
include hours paid for sick leave, vacation leave, attending continuing
education courses or other time not spent directly performing accounting
services. For each calendar week during
which the candidate worked actual part-time hours of 30 hours or more, the
candidate receives one full-time-equivalent week. The actual part-time hours worked in the
remaining calendar weeks are added together and divided by 30. The resulting number is the additional number
of full-time-equivalent weeks to which the candidate is entitled.
(4) The candidate shall submit experience
affidavits on a form provided by the Board from all of the relevant employers;
provided that when such experience was not acquired while employed with a CPA
firm, the candidate shall also submit details of the work experience and
supervision on a form provided by the Board.
Experience affidavits for part-time work shall contain a record of the
actual part-time hours the candidate has worked for each week of part-time
employment. Both the experience
affidavit and the form for additional detail shall be certified by the
employer's office supervisor or an owner of the firm who is a certificate holder.
(c) 21 NCAC 08F .0409 applies to teaching
experience acquired pursuant to G.S. 93-12(5)c.2 and
4.
21 NCAC 08F .0409 SATISFACTION OF EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENT BY
TEACHING
(a) Teaching Experience. The requirement of
"four years experience teaching
accounting," G.S. 93-12(5), means teaching accounting full-time for four
years.
(1) Full-time teaching as described by the
rules of the educational institution where the applicant taught will be
accepted by the Board to be full-time teaching. However, in no case will less
than 12 semester hours, or the equivalent, be accepted by the Board as
full-time teaching.
(2) If the applicant has not taught
accounting full-time for four years, credit will be allowed by the Board for
teaching accounting less than full-time on a pro rata basis based upon the
number of semester hours required for full-time teaching at the educational
institution where the applicant taught. However, in no case can an applicant
receive credit for a full-time teaching year for teaching done in less than one
academic year or more credit than one full-time teaching year for teaching done
within one calendar year.
(3) Courses outside the field of accounting
will not be counted toward full-time teaching. Such courses include, but are
not limited to: business law, finance, computer applications, personnel
management, economics and statistics.
(4) Of the four years of full-time teaching
experience, teaching accounting principles (below intermediate accounting)
cannot be counted toward the educational requirement for more than the
equivalent of two full-time years. The remaining two full-time teaching years
must be taught in at least two different areas of advanced accounting such as
auditing, income tax, intermediate financial accounting or advanced managerial
accounting, and the applicant must have taught at least nine semester hours, or
the equivalent, in at least two of the different areas.
The purpose
of this Subparagraph is to render unacceptable as meaningful experience both
the continuous teaching of the elementary accounting course and the continuous
teaching of the advanced courses in only one area of accounting.
(b) Required Information. Applicants must submit
with their application a letter from each institution where they taught,
certified by the applicant's dean or department head at that institution. The
letter must state:
(1) the number of
credit hours which the applicant taught each year;
(2) the names and
academic level of the courses taught; and
(3) the number of
hours set by the rules of the institution as full-time teaching for each
relevant year.
(c) Burden of Proof. An applicant having taught
in an accredited community college or technical institute has the burden of
proving that the credits earned by students taking those courses which the
applicant taught would transfer to a four-year accredited college or
university.
21 NCAC 08F .0410 EDUCATION REQUIRED OF CANDIDATES FOR CPA
CERTIFICATION
(a) G.S. 93-12(5)a sets
forth the education required of candidates applying for CPA certification. The 150 semester hours required include a
concentration in accounting, as defined by 21 NCAC 08A .0309, and 24 semester
hours of coursework which include one three semester hour
course from at least eight of the following 10 fields of study:
(1) communications;
(2) computer
technology;
(3) economics;
(4) ethics;
(5) finance;
(6) humanities/social science;
(7) international
environment;
(8) law;
(9) management; or
(10) statistics.
(b) Anyone applying for CPA certification who holds a Master's or more advanced degree in accounting,
tax law, economics, finance, business administration, or a law degree from an
accredited college or university or the equivalent thereof is in compliance
with Paragraph (a) of this Rule.
SECTION .0500 ‑
APPLICATIONS FOR CERTIFICATES
21 NCAC 08F .0502 APPLICATION FOR CPA CERTIFICATE
(a) A person applying for a certificate of
qualification must file with the Board an application and an experience
affidavit on forms provided by the Board and such other evidence as the Board
may require in order to determine that the applicant
has met the statutory and regulatory requirements.
(b) Three certificates of good moral character
signed by CPAs shall be submitted with the application for a CPA certificate.
21 ncac 08f .0504 CANDIDATES' ACCOUNTANCY LAW COURSE
REQUIREMENT
(a) Within one year prior to applying for
certification, all candidates for original or reciprocal certification must
pass an open book examination on the North Carolina Accountancy Statutes and
Rules, including the Rules of Professional Ethics and Conduct contained
therein.
(b) In lieu of taking the examination, a
candidate may complete an eight-hour CPE course on the subject of the
examination within one year prior to applying for the CPA certificate. Such
course or examination must meet the requirements of 21 NCAC 08G .0404(a). This
course may count toward the candidate's annual CPE requirement.