RULES AND REGULATIONS
STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTANCY
[49 PA. CODE CH. 11]
Fees
[30 Pa.B. 6344] The State Board of Accountancy (Board), by this order amends §§ 11.4, 11.5 and 11.17 (relating to fees; temporary practice in this Commonwealth; and submission of application and examination fees) to read as set forth in Annex A.
The amendments raise Board fees for certification and initial licensure of certified public accountant, temporary practice permit, certification of examination scores, and verification of certification, registration or licensure status; add a new fee for reinstatement of expired or inactive license; relocate all existing fees to a single section; and make editorial changes to the description of certain fees.
Summary of Comments and Responses to Proposed Rulemaking
The Board published a notice of proposed rulemaking at 30 Pa.B. 2376 (May 13, 2000), following which the Board entertained public comments for 30 days. The Board did not receive any public comments.
The Board received comments from the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) on July 13, 2000, as part of its review of the amendments in proposed form under the Regulatory Review Act. The Board did not receive comments from the Senate Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure (Senate Committee) and the House Professional Licensure Committee (House Committee), which also reviewed the amendments in proposed form under the Regulatory Review Act.
IRRC's comments involved the relocation of the temporary practice fee from § 11.5 and the examination fees from § 11.17 to § 11.4, where all other Board fees are listed. The proposed version of the amendments would have added the temporary permit fee and examination fees to § 11.4 but would not have deleted them from §§ 11.5 and 11.17. As stated in the notice of proposed rulemaking, the Board intended to revise §§ 11.5 and 11.17 as part of a separate rulemaking initiative relating to general revisions (#16A-559).
IRRC recommended that the fees be deleted from §§ 11.5 and 11.17 in this rulemaking. IRRC noted that retaining the examination fees in § 11.17 would create an unnecessary, if temporary, redundancy, while retaining the existing $20 temporary permit fee in § 11.5 would create a conflict with the revised § 11.4, which sets forth the increased $25 temporary permit fee. The Board agrees with IRRC that amending §§ 11.5 and 11.17 at this time would eliminate duplication as well as the potential for confusion. Accordingly, the Board has revised the amendments to delete the fees from §§ 11.5 and 11.17.
Statutory Authority
Section 3(6) of the CPA Law (63 P. S. § 9.3(6)), gives the Board general authority to collect fees for its operations. Section 9.2(d)(2) of the CPA Law (63 P. S. § 9.9b(d)(2)), specifically references the Board's authority to collect a fee for reinstatement of an inactive or expired license. Section 6 of the CPA Law (63 P. S. § 9.6), requires the Board to establish fees by regulation and to ensure that revenues derived from fees are adequate to cover the Board's expenditures over a biennial period.
Fiscal Impact
The Board projects that the amendments will generate additional fee revenues totaling approximately $36,875 during each fiscal biennium. The additional biennial revenues are broken down as follows:
Service Estimated Fee-Payers Fee Increase Additional Revenues Certification and Initial Licensure of Certified Public Accountant 1,000 × $20 = $20,000 Temporary Practice Permit 75 × $5 = $ 375 Reinstatement of Inactive or Expired License 200 × $35 = $ 7,000 Certification of Examination Scores 900 × $10 = $ 9,000 Verification of Certification, Registration or Licensure Status 100 × $5 = $ 500 Total $36,875
Paperwork Requirements
The amendments will require the Board to change certain forms to reflect the revised schedule of fees. The amendments will not create additional paperwork requirements for the regulated community.
Compliance with Executive Order 1996-1
In accordance with Executive Order 1996-1 (relating to regulatory review and promulgation), the Board, in drafting and promulgating the amendments, considered the least restricted alternative to regulatory costs for services requested by individual licensees and applicants.
Regulatory Review
On May 3, 2000, as required by section 5(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(a)), the Board submitted copies of the notice of proposed rulemaking, published at 30 Pa.B. 2376 to IRRC and the House and Senate Committees for review and comment.
In adopting final-form regulations, the Board considered comments from IRRC. The Board did not receive comments from either the House and Senate Committees or the general public.
On October 2, 2000, the Board submitted final-form amendments to IRRC and the House and Senate Committees. Under authority of section 5.1(d) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5a(d)), the amendments were approved by the House Committee on October 11, 2000, and deemed approved by the Senate Committee on October 23, 2000. Under section 5.1(e) of the Regulatory Review Act, IRRC met on November 2, 2000 and approved the final-form regulations.
Additional Information
Individuals who desire additional information about the amendments are invited to submit inquiries to Dorna Thorpe, Administrator, State Board of Accountancy, P. O. Box 2649, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649, (717) 783-1404.
Findings
The Board finds that:
(1) Public notice of the Board's intention to amend 49 Pa. Code Chapter 11, by this order has been given under sections 201 and 202 of the act of July 31, 1968 (P. L. 769, No. 240) (45 P. S. §§ 1201 and 1202), and the regulations thereunder, 1 Pa. Code §§ 7.1 and 7.2.
(2) The amendments adopted by this order are necessary and appropriate for the administration of the CPA Law.
Order
The Board, acting under its authorizing statute, orders that:
(1) The regulations of the Board, 49 Pa. Code Chapter 11, are amended by amending §§ 11.4, 11.5 and 11.17 to read as set forth in Annex A.
(2) The Board shall submit this order and Annex A to the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of General Counsel for approval as required by law.
(3) The Board shall certify this order and Annex A and deposit them with the Legislative Reference Bureau as required by law.
(4) The amendments shall take effect upon publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
THOMAS J. BAUMGARTNER, CPA,
Chairperson(Editor's Note: The amendment of §§ 11.5 and 11.17 was not included in the proposal at 30 Pa.B. 2378 (May 13, 2000). For the text of the order of the Independent Regulatory Review Commission, relating to this document, see 30 Pa.B. 6020 (November 18, 2000).)
Fiscal Note: Fiscal Note 16A-558 remains valid for the final adoption of the subject regulations.
Annex A
TITLE 49. PROFESSIONAL AND
VOCATIONAL STANDARDS
PART I. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Subpart A. PROFESSIONAL AND
OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS
CHAPTER 11. STATE BOARD OF ACCOUNTANCY
GENERAL PROVISIONS § 11.4. Fees.
Following is the schedule of fees charged by the Board:
Complete CPA examination (Four parts).......... $135 Three parts.......... $112.50 Two parts.......... $90 One part.......... $67.50 AICPA examination administration to candidates of other state boards.......... $100 Certification and initial licensure of certified public accountant.......... $65 Initial licensure of public accounting firm.......... $45 Temporary practice permit.......... $25 Biennial renewal of license of certified public accountant, public accountant or public accounting firm.......... $45 Reinstatement of inactive or expired license.......... $35 Certification of scores........... $25 Verification of certification, registration or licensure.......... $15 § 11.5. Temporary practice in this Commonwealth.
(a) Requirements for temporary practice. A certified public accountant, or partnership or corporation composed of certified public accountants, of another state or other jurisdiction of the United States may temporarily practice public accountancy in this Commonwealth, if the certified public accountant, or partnership or corporation:
(1) Holds a valid license or registration to practice public accountancy in the other state or jurisdiction.
(2) Concurrently practices public accountancy in the other state or jurisdiction.
(3) Does not maintain an office in this Commonwealth.
(4) Obtains from the Board a temporary practice permit prior to performing the temporary work.
(b) Temporary practice permit. The temporary practice permit:
(1) Allows a certified public accountant, or partnership or corporation, who meets the requirements of subsection (a) to work for not more than 500 hours in this Commonwealth during a 12-month period, except that this 500 hour limitation does not apply if the holder of a temporary practice permit is working only on a single, nonrecurring engagement.
(2) Is valid for not more than 12 months.
(3) Is renewable if the permit was not granted for a single, nonrecurring engagement in excess of 500 hours.
(c) Failure to meet requirements for temporary practice. A person, partnership or corporation, of another state or other jurisdiction who wishes to practice public accountancy in this Commonwealth but does not meet the requirements of subsection (a) is subject to the full licensing requirements of section 8.2 of the act (63 P. S. § 9.8b).
(d) Exemption from requirement of temporary practice permit. The requirement of a temporary practice permit does not apply to a person, partnership or corporation, who renders bookkeeping and similar technical services, prepares income tax returns, or prepares financial statements, but does not issue a report that expresses an opinion or assurance on the statements.
EXAMINATIONS § 11.17. Submission of application and examination fees.
An applicant for admission to the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination shall submit to the designee of the Board the application for examination required by § 11.11 (relating to application for examination), together with a fee to cover the costs associated with the preparation and administration of the examination.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 00-2126. Filed for public inspection December 8, 2000, 9:00 a.m.]
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