Chapter 112
AN ACT
HB 2079
Relating to regulation of accountancy; amending ORS 673.010, 673.040,
673.050, 673.060, 673.075 and 673.100.
Be It Enacted by the People of
the State of
SECTION 1. ORS 673.010 is amended to read:
673.010. As used in ORS
673.010 to 673.457:
(1) “Attest,” “attesting”
or “attestation” means the opinion of a licensee as to the reliability or
fairness of information that is used for guidance in the financial transactions
of, accounting for or assessing the status or performance of, commercial and
noncommercial enterprises, whether public or private, following the completion
of an audit, in accordance with generally accepted accounting and auditing
standards. The board by rule shall further define what constitutes attestation
services in conformance, to the extent possible, with professional standards,
including but not limited to the Statements on Auditing Standards (SAS) for
audits or other engagements, the Statement of Standards for Accounting and Review
Services (SSARS) for the review of financial statements and the Statements on
Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) for examinations of prospective
financial information.
(2) “Board” means the
Oregon Board of Accountancy created by ORS 673.410.
(3) “Business
organization” means any form of business organization authorized by law,
including but not limited to a proprietorship, partnership, corporation,
limited liability company, limited liability partnership or professional
corporation.
(4) “Certificate” means
a certificate of certified public accountant issued under ORS 673.040.
(5) “Client” means a
person who agrees with a licensee to receive any professional service from the
licensee.
(6) “Commission” means
money or other consideration recognized as a commission under rules adopted by
the board pursuant to ORS 673.012.
(7) “Compilation” means
those services as defined by the board by rule.
(8) “Contingent fee”
means a fee established for the performance of any professional service and
directly or indirectly paid to a licensee pursuant to an arrangement in which
no fee will be charged unless a specified finding or result is attained, or in
which the amount of the fee is otherwise dependent upon the finding or result
of such service. The board by rule may further define “contingent fee.” A fee
is not contingent if the fee:
(a) Is fixed by courts
or other public authorities; or
(b) In tax matters, is
determined based on the results of judicial proceedings or the findings of
governmental agencies.
(9) “License” means:
(a) A certificate,
permit or registration, or a license issued under ORS 673.100, enabling the
holder thereof to practice public accountancy in this state; or
(b) A certificate,
permit, registration or other authorization issued by a jurisdiction outside
this state enabling the holder thereof to practice public accountancy in that
jurisdiction.
(10) “Licensee” means
the holder of a license under subsection (9)(a) of
this section.
(11) “Manager” means a
manager of a limited liability company.
(12) “Member” means a
member of a limited liability company.
(13) “Peer review” means
a study, appraisal or review of one or more aspects of the public accountancy
work of a holder of a permit under ORS 673.150 or of a registered business organization
that performs attestation or compilation services that is conducted by:
(a) A certified public
accountant who holds an active permit issued under ORS 673.150 or an active
license issued by the licensing authority for the practice of public accountancy
in another state and who is independent of the permit holder or registered
business organization being reviewed; or
(b) A public accountant
who holds an active permit issued under ORS 673.150 and who is independent of
the permit holder or registered business organization being reviewed.
(14) “Permit” means a
permit to practice public accountancy issued under ORS 673.150.
(15) “Professional”
means arising out of or related to the specialized knowledge or skills
associated with certified public accountants and public accountants.
(16) “Public accountant”
means a public accountant licensed under ORS 673.100.
(17) “Referral fee”
means a fee recognized as a referral fee under rules adopted by the board
pursuant to ORS 673.012.
(18) “Registration” means
the authority issued under ORS 673.160 by the Oregon Board of Accountancy to a
business organization to practice public accountancy in this state.
(19) “Report,” when used
with reference to attestation or compilation services, means an opinion or other
form of written language that states or implies assurance as to the reliability
of any financial statements and that also includes or is accompanied by any
statement or implication that the person issuing the report has special
knowledge or competence in public accountancy. Such a statement or implication
of special knowledge or competence may arise from use by the issuer of the
report of names or titles indicating that the issuer is a public accountancy
professional or organization or may arise from the language of the report
itself.
(a) “Report” includes
any form of written language that:
(A) Disclaims an opinion
when the form of language implies any positive assurance as to the reliability
of the financial statements referred to or special knowledge or competence on
the part of the person issuing the language;
(B) Implies any positive
assurance as to the reliability of the financial statements referred to or
special knowledge or competence on the part of the person issuing the language;
or
(C) Relates to the
financial affairs of a person and that is conventionally used by licensees in
reports or financial statements.
(b) “Report” does not
include:
(A) The following
statement signed by a person who does not hold a certificate, license or permit
under ORS 673.010 to 673.457 as long as the statement is not accompanied by any
wording indicating the person is an accountant or auditor or any other language
prohibited by ORS 673.310 or 673.320:
______________________________________________________________________________
The accompanying balance
sheet (or ___) of XYZ Company as of (date), and the related statements of
income (or retained earnings or cash flow) for the year then ended have been
prepared by me (us).
The information
presented in these financial statements is the representation of management
(owners).
______________________________________________________________________________
(B) Any other financial
statements or reports that are not and do not purport to be in compliance with
national standards, including but not limited to Statements of Standards for
Accounting and Review Services (SSARS) and Statements on Standards for
Attestation Engagements (SSAE) adopted by the board by rule, when the
statements or reports are issued by persons not otherwise subject to regulation
by the board under ORS 673.010 to 673.457.
(20) “State” means any
state, territory or insular possession of the
(21) “Substantial
equivalency” means a determination by the National Qualification Appraisal
Service of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy that:
(a) The education,
examination and experience requirements contained in the statutes and
administrative rules of another jurisdiction are equivalent to or exceed the
education, examination and experience requirements [of the Uniform Accountancy Act] established under ORS 673.040,
673.050 and 673.060 and adopted by the board by rule under ORS 670.310; or
(b) An individual’s
education, examination and experience qualifications are equivalent to or
exceed the education, examination and experience requirements [of the Uniform Accountancy Act]
established under ORS 673.040, 673.050 and 673.060 and adopted by the board by
rule under ORS 670.310.
SECTION 2. ORS 673.040 is amended to read:
673.040. (1) A
certificate of certified public accountant shall be [granted] issued to any applicant who meets the requirements
of this section and ORS 673.050 and 673.060 and who passes an examination on
the code of professional ethics adopted by the Oregon Board of Accountancy.
(2) An applicant for a
certificate shall show that after meeting the eligibility requirements for the
examination required by ORS 673.050, the applicant has had one year of
experience, meeting requirements prescribed by the board by rule, under the
direct supervision of a public accountant, certified public accountant or
chartered accountant who:
(a) Is licensed and in
good standing in this state or another jurisdiction; and
(b) Has been licensed
for a minimum period of time set by the board by rule.
(3) The board may issue
a certificate to a holder in good standing of a license of certified public
accountant issued by another state or of a chartered accountant certificate
issued [by another state or] by a
foreign country recognized by the board upon a showing that the holder
meets requirements that are substantially equivalent to the education,
experience and other requirements that must be satisfied for the issuance of a
certificate of certified public accountant under ORS 673.010 to 673.457.
(4) The board shall
charge a fee for each application for issuance of a certificate under this
section in an amount prescribed by the board by rule.
(5) The board by rule
may prescribe:
(a) Information required
of applicants regarding the practice of public accountancy outside this state;
(b) Information required
of licensees regarding changes in the ability or authority of the licensee to
practice public accountancy; and
(c) A period of time
within which applicants must satisfy the requirements of this section and ORS
673.050 and 673.060.
(6) Any certified public
accountant may also be known as a “public accountant.”
SECTION 3. ORS 673.050 is amended to read:
673.050. (1) Except as
provided in subsection (2) of this section, a candidate for admission to the
examination for a certified public accountant certificate shall[:]
[(a)] present satisfactory evidence of graduation with a
baccalaureate or higher degree from a college or university that is accredited
by one of the six regional accrediting associations or by another accrediting
body that is recognized by the Oregon Board of Accountancy, and shall have
completed 150 or more semester hours or 225 or more quarter hours or the
equivalent thereof, including courses in the study of accounting, business,
economics, finance, written and oral communications and other subjects as
determined by the board as appropriate for the accountancy profession[; or]
[(b) Be a public accountant who received a
license under ORS 673.100 prior to January 1, 2000].
(2) A person may apply
to take the examination for the certificate of certified public accountant [in order to pass the sections described in
ORS 673.100 on which a passing grade must be received before a license as a
public accountant may be issued] for the purpose of obtaining a license
as a public accountant under ORS 673.100 if the person presents
satisfactory evidence of graduation from a high school with a four-year course
or of having acquired an equivalent education, and has [had] completed two years of public accountancy experience or
the equivalent [satisfactory to the board]
that meets the experience requirements established by the board by rule.
SECTION 4. ORS 673.060 is amended to read:
673.060. (1) A person must pass an examination as a condition of the [grant] issuance of a certificate
of certified public accountant under ORS 673.040 or of a license as a public
accountant under ORS 673.100 by the Oregon Board of Accountancy. The
examination shall test the person’s knowledge of the subjects of accounting and
auditing and other related subjects as the board may determine by rule. The
board may contract with a testing service to administer the examination and may
contract with any organization, governmental or private, for examination
material and services.
(2) A person must pass
all sections of the examination in order to qualify for a certificate of
certified public accountant and must pass the sections of the examination
described in ORS 673.100 (1)(c) to qualify for a license as a public
accountant.
(3) The board shall
charge each person who applies to take the examination a nonrefundable
application fee in an amount determined by the board. The person shall pay the
application fee at the time of the application.
(4) If the board
contracts with a testing service to administer the examination described in
subsection (1) of this section, the testing service shall collect from each
person taking the examination all fees that the testing service charges for
administering the examination.
SECTION 5. ORS 673.075 is amended to read:
673.075. (1) The Oregon
Board of Accountancy may, in accordance with its rules, grant credit to an
applicant [who has successfully completed
an examination given by] for one or more sections of an examination for
which the applicant received passing grades from the licensing authority in
any other state. [The board may grant
credit under this subsection if the applicant has successfully completed an
examination in any two or more subjects described in ORS 673.060 or required by
the board to be part of the examination in this state.]
(2) Any examination for
which credit is granted an applicant under subsection (1) of this section shall
be substantially equivalent to examination requirements described in ORS
673.060.
SECTION 6. ORS 673.100 is amended to read:
673.100. (1) The
(a)
Passes an examination on the code of professional ethics adopted by the board;
(b)
Meets the requirements of ORS 673.050 for admission to the examination for the
certificate of certified public accountant;
(c) Takes the
examination for the certificate of certified public accountant pursuant to ORS
673.060 and receives a passing grade in those sections of the examination[, excluding the auditing section,] that
the board [by rule requires an applicant
for a license as a public accountant to pass] may require by rule;
and
(d) Has at least
one year of public accountancy experience or the equivalent satisfactory to the
board.
(2) An applicant for a
license as a public accountant must make application on a form provided by the
board. The board shall charge each applicant a fee for application in an amount
determined by the board by rule.
Approved by the Governor May 9, 2007
Filed in the office of Secretary of State May 10, 2007
Effective date January 1, 2008
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