of the issuance of an Order regarding the Petition for Variance, filed on January 25, 2016, by Steven J. Rodriguez. The Notice of Petition for Waiver or Variance was published in Vol. 42, No. 40 of the February 29, 2016, Florida Administrative ...

 

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION

Board of Accountancy

RULE NO.:RULE TITLE:

61H1-27.002Concentrations in Accounting and Business

The Board of Accountancy hereby gives notice:

Of the issuance of an Order regarding the Petition for Variance, filed on January 25, 2016, by Steven J. Rodriguez. The Notice of Petition for Waiver or Variance was published in Vol. 42, No. 40 of the February 29, 2016, Florida Administrative Register. Petitioner sought a waiver or variance of paragraph 61H1-27.002(2)(a), F.A.C., entitled “Concentrations in Accounting and Business,” that requires an applicant for licensure to have at least 150 semester hours or 225 quarter hours of college education, including a baccalaureate degree or higher conferred by an accredited college or university with a major in accounting, or its equivalent. The applicant’s total education program shall include a concentration in accounting and business as follows: 36 semester or 54 quarter hours in accounting education at the upper division level which shall include coverage of auditing, cost and managerial accounting, financial accounting, accounting information systems, and taxation. Not more than 3 semester or 4 quarter hours may be internship programs which may be applied to the 36 semester or 54 quarter hours in accounting (internship courses must be taken in conjunction with other traditional coursework at an institution and must appear on the transcript). Further, any remaining internship credit if otherwise acceptable would be applied to the general business requirement. The Board considered the instant Petition at a duly-noticed public telephonic meeting held on March 11, 2016.

The Board’s Order, filed on April 7, 2016, denied the petition finding that Petitioner had failed to establish that the purpose of the underlying statute, Section 473.308(3), Florida Statutes, would be met by granting a variance from paragraph 61H1-27.002(2)(a), F.A.C. The Board further found that Petitioner failed to establish that applying the requirements of the aforementioned Rule to his circumstances would violate principles of fairness and impose substantial hardship.

A copy of the Order or additional information may be obtained by contacting: Veloria Kelly, Division Director, Board of Accountancy, 240 NW 76th Dr., Suite A, Gainesville, Florida 32607.