The Board proposes the rule amendment in order to clarify the requirements of the CPA examination.

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION
Board of Accountancy

RULE NO: RULE TITLE
61H1-28.0052: Number of Sittings, and Granting of Credit, Release of Grades and Completion of Examination, Transition Rules
PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The Board proposes the rule amendment in order to clarify the requirements of the CPA examination.
SUMMARY: The requirements for the CPA examination will be clarified.
SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS: No Statement of Estimated Regulatory Cost was prepared.
Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.
SPECIFIC AUTHORITY: 455.217(1), 473.304, 473.306 FS.
LAW IMPLEMENTED: 455.217(1), 473.306 FS.
IF REQUESTED WITHIN 21 DAYS OF THE DATE OF THIS NOTICE, A HEARING WILL BE SCHEDULED AND ANNOUNCED IN FAW.
THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Veloria Kelly, Division Director, Board of Accountancy, 240 N. W. 76th Dr., Suite A, Gainesville, Florida 32607

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

61H1-28.0052 Number of Sittings, and Granting of Credit, Release of Grades and Completion of Examination, Transition Rules.

(1) With respect to the CPA Examination:

(a) A candidate may take the required test sections individually and in any order. Credit for any test section(s) passed shall be valid for eighteen months from the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) grade release date for actual date the candidate took that test section, without having to attain a minimum score on any failed test section(s) and without regard to whether the candidate has taken other test sections.

(b) Candidates must pass all four test sections of the CPA Examination within a rolling eighteen-month period, which begins on the NASBA grade release date for the first test section(s) passed date that the first test section(s) passed is taken. In the event all four test sections of the CPA Examination are not passed within the rolling eighteen-month period, credit for any test section(s) passed outside the eighteen-month period will expire and that test section(s) must be retaken.

(c) For purposes of this section, credit for passing a test section of the computer-based examination is valid from the actual date of the testing event for that test section, regardless of the date the candidate actually receives notice of the passing grade.

(2) A candidate shall be deemed to have passed the CPA Examination when the candidate has been granted credit for all sections of the CPA Examination. Upon certification by the Board to the Department that the applicant has met all licensure requirements as imposed by Chapters 455 and 473, F.S., and the rules promulgated pursuant thereto, the Department shall issue a license to practice public accounting to such individual.

(3) After January 1, 2004, this rule shall be effective for all first-time candidates or re-examination candidates except as provided in subsection (4) herein.

(4) For candidates in conditioned status after the November 2003 CPA Examination the following transition rules shall apply:

(a) Candidates who have attained conditional status as of the effective date of this rule will be allowed a transition period to complete any remaining test sections of the CPA Examination. The transition period shall end upon the exhaustion of either of the following:

1. As of the effective date of this rule, the candidate having sat for the exam for the maximum number of opportunities (that is, examination windows) that the candidate who conditioned under the paper-and-pencil examination had remaining to complete all remaining test sections under the paper-and-pencil examination, or

2. The number of remaining opportunities under the paper-and-pencil examination, multiplied by six months but limited by the number of sittings remaining under the paper-and-pencil examination. Thus, for example, if a candidate has two remaining sittings under the paper-and-pencil examination then that candidate will have one year to complete the CPA Examination but may only sit during two of the examination windows available during that year.

(b) If a previously conditioned candidate does not pass all remaining test sections during the transition period, conditional credits earned under the paper-and-pencil CPA Examination will expire and the candidate will lose credit for the test sections earned under the paper-and-pencil CPA Examination. However, any test section(s) passed during the transition period is subject to the retention provisions of the computer-based CPA Examination as indicated in subsection (1) above, except that a previously conditioned candidate will not lose conditional credit for a test section of the computer-based CPA Examination that is passed during the transition period, even though more than eighteen months may have elapsed from the date the test section is passed, until the end of that candidate’s transition period.

(5) Translation of subjects passed on the pen and paper CPA Examination to sections on the computer-based CPA Examinations shall be as follows:

Paper-Based Examination	Computer-Based Examination
Auditing	Auditing & Attestation
Financial Accounting & Reporting (FARE)	Financial Accounting & Reporting Regulation
Accounting & Reporting (ARE)
Business Law & Professional	Business Environment & Concepts
Responsibilities (LPR)

 

Specific Authority 455.217(1), 473.304, 473.306 FS. Law Implemented 455.217(1), 473.306 FS. History–New 1-1-04, Amended               .

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Board of Accountancy
NAME OF SUPERVISOR OR PERSON WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Board of Accountancy
DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: December 26, 2007
DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAW: September 28, 2007