Bill Text: FL S1252 | 2019 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Public Accountancy

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-05-02 - Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see CS/HB 977 (Ch. 2019-89) [S1252 Detail]

Download: Florida-2019-S1252-Comm_Sub.html

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       Florida Senate - 2019                             CS for SB 1252
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senator Gruters
       
       
       
       
       
       597-03706-19                                          20191252c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to public accountancy; amending s.
    3         473.302, F.S.; revising a definition; amending s.
    4         473.312, F.S.; revising the percentage of total hours
    5         of accounting-related and auditing-related continuing
    6         education required by the Board of Accountancy for
    7         license renewal; amending s. 473.313, F.S.; updating
    8         provisions relating to license reactivation; amending
    9         s. 473.322, F.S.; prohibiting a person from performing
   10         or offering to perform certain services without a
   11         license; revising criminal penalties; providing an
   12         effective date.
   13          
   14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   15  
   16         Section 1. Subsection (8) of section 473.302, Florida
   17  Statutes, is amended to read:
   18         473.302 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
   19         (8) “Practice of,” “practicing public accountancy,” or
   20  “public accounting” means:
   21         (a) Offering to perform or performing for the public one or
   22  more types of services involving the expression of an opinion on
   23  financial statements, the attestation as an expert in
   24  accountancy to the reliability or fairness of presentation of
   25  financial information, the utilization of any form of opinion or
   26  financial statements that provide a level of assurance, the
   27  utilization of any form of disclaimer of opinion which conveys
   28  an assurance of reliability as to matters not specifically
   29  disclaimed, or the expression of an opinion on the reliability
   30  of an assertion by one party for the use by a third party;
   31         (b) Offering to perform or performing for the public one or
   32  more types of services involving the use of accounting skills,
   33  or one or more types of tax, management advisory, or consulting
   34  services, by any person who is a certified public accountant who
   35  holds an active license, issued pursuant to this chapter, or who
   36  is authorized to practice public accounting pursuant to the
   37  practice privileges granted in s. 473.3141, including the
   38  performance of such services by a certified public accountant in
   39  the employ of a person or firm; or
   40         (c) Offering to perform or performing for the public one or
   41  more types of service involving the preparation of financial
   42  statements not included within paragraph (a), by a certified
   43  public accountant who holds an active license, issued pursuant
   44  to this chapter, or who is authorized to practice public
   45  accounting pursuant to the practice privileges granted in s.
   46  473.3141; by a firm of certified public accountants; or by a
   47  firm in which a certified public accountant has an ownership
   48  interest, including the performance of such services in the
   49  employ of another person. The board shall adopt rules
   50  establishing standards of practice for such reports and
   51  financial statements; provided, however, that nothing in this
   52  paragraph shall be construed to permit the board to adopt rules
   53  that have the result of prohibiting Florida certified public
   54  accountants employed by unlicensed firms from preparing
   55  financial statements as authorized by this paragraph; or
   56  (d) Offering to perform or performing for the public one or more
   57  types of services involving any attestation engagements in
   58  accordance with the Statements on Standards for Attestation
   59  Engagements promulgated by the American Institute of Certified
   60  Public Accountants.
   61  
   62  However, these terms shall not include services provided by the
   63  American Institute of Certified Public Accountants or the
   64  Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants, or any full
   65  service association of certified public accounting firms whose
   66  plans of administration have been approved by the board, to
   67  their members or services performed by these entities in
   68  reviewing the services provided to the public by members of
   69  these entities.
   70         Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section
   71  473.312, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   72         473.312 Continuing education.—
   73         (1)
   74         (b) Not less than 10 25 percent of the total hours required
   75  by the board shall be in accounting-related and auditing-related
   76  subjects, as distinguished from federal and local taxation
   77  matters and management services.
   78         Section 3. Subsection (2) of section 473.313, Florida
   79  Statutes, is amended to read:
   80         473.313 Inactive status.—
   81         (2) A license that has become inactive under subsection (1)
   82  or for failure to complete the requirements in s. 473.312 may be
   83  reactivated under s. 473.311 upon application to the department.
   84  The board may prescribe by rule continuing education
   85  requirements as a condition of reactivating a license. The
   86  maximum minimum continuing education requirements for
   87  reactivating a license are those prescribed by board rule and
   88  those of the most recent biennium plus one-half of the
   89  requirements in s. 473.312. Notwithstanding any other provision
   90  of this section, the continuing education requirements are 120
   91  hours, including at least 30 hours in accounting-related and
   92  auditing-related subjects, not more than 30 hours in behavioral
   93  subjects, and a minimum of 8 hours in ethics subjects approved
   94  by the board, for the reactivation of a license that is inactive
   95  or delinquent on June 30, 2014, if the Florida certified public
   96  accountant notifies the Board of Accountancy by December 31,
   97  2014, of an intention to reactivate such a license and completes
   98  such reactivation by June 30, 2016.
   99         Section 4. Paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of section
  100  473.322, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (2) of
  101  that section is republished, to read:
  102         473.322 Prohibitions; penalties.—
  103         (1) A person may not knowingly:
  104         (c) Perform or offer to perform any services described in
  105  s. 473.302(8)(a) or (d) unless such person holds an active
  106  license under this chapter and is a licensed firm, provides such
  107  services through a licensed firm, or complies with ss. 473.3101
  108  and 473.3141. This paragraph does not prohibit the performance
  109  by persons other than certified public accountants of other
  110  services involving the use of accounting skills, including the
  111  preparation of tax returns and the preparation of financial
  112  statements without expression of opinion thereon;
  113         (2) Any person who violates any provision of this section
  114  commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as
  115  provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
  116         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.