201 KAR 1:100. Continuing professional
education requirements.
RELATES TO KRS 325.330
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 325.240,
325.330(4)(a), (7)
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS
325.330(4) requires the board to promulgate administrative regulations established
continuing professional education requirements for certified public accountants.
This administrative regulation establishes the continuing professional
education requirements a certified public accountant shall satisfy to renew a license.
Section 1. Definition. "Continuing
professional education hour or CPE hour" means a fifty (50) minute period
excluding meals, breaks and business sessions. Each unit of credit for a university
or college course shall equal the following continuing professional education
hours:
(1) One (1) semester hour equals fifteen
(15) CPE hours; and
(2) One (1) quarter hour equals ten (10)
CPE hours.
Section 2. Requirements for Continuing
Professional Education Credit. (1) Each licensee who worked 3,000 hours or more
in a public accounting firm registered with the board during the two (2) calendar
years prior to the renewal date of his or her license shall report to the board
successful completion of eighty (80) hours of continuing professional
education. The eighty (80) hours shall be earned during the preceding two (2)
calendar years. All other licensees shall obtain sixty (60) hours.
(2) Effective with license renewal for
July 1, 2010 and subsequent years, each licensee shall report to the board
successful completion of two (2) hours of continuing professional education in
professional ethics. These two (2) hours shall be included as part of the
eighty (80) or sixty (60) hours a licensee is required to complete to renew his
or her license.
(3)(a) A certified public accountant who
for the majority of the two (2) calendar years prior to renewal of his or her
license did not operate or work in an office in this state shall satisfy the
requirements of this section by complying with the continuing professional
education requirements for renewal of his or her license:
1. In the state in which the licensee's
principal office is located; or
2. In the state in which the office is
located where the licensee worked a majority of the time.
(b) If the state designated by paragraph
(a) of this subsection does not have continuing professional education
requirements for renewal of a license, the licensee shall comply with all
continuing professional education requirements for renewal of a license in this
state.
Section 3. Each licensee who held a
license for less than a full two (2) calendar year period shall obtain two (2)
hours of continuing professional education for each full month a license was
held not to exceed the total number of required hours for the reporting period.
The two (2) hours in professional ethics shall not be required to be part of
the hours completed in this time period.
Section 4. Waivers From Continuing
Professional Education. (1) The request for a reduction in or waiver of the
continuing professional education requirements shall be submitted on a form prepared
by the board.
(2) A reduction or waiver may be granted
by the board if the licensee:
(a) Establishes that he or she is
physically or psychologically unable to complete the continuing professional education
requirements. The licensee shall submit with each request a statement from a
licensed physician or other appropriate licensed health care provider that
substantiates the physical or psychological claim of the licensee;
(b) Has encountered a severe personal
hardship which made it extremely difficult or impossible to meet the continuing
professional education requirements. The hardship shall be described in writing
on the waiver form. The board may request the licensee to substantiate with
documentation the hardship described on the waiver form; or
(c) Is completely retired from practice
and is fifty-five (55) years of age or older. To be considered completely
retired, the licensee shall not perform accounting services in the practice of
public accounting, education, government or industry except for management of
personal assets or investments.
(3) The board shall advise a licensee in
writing whether the request is approved or denied.
(4) A licensee granted a waiver shall
reaffirm the basis of the waiver when the license is next renewed.
(5) If the circumstances which form the
basis of the waiver change, the licensee shall notify the board within thirty
(30) days from the date of the change and resume compliance with the continuing
professional education requirements from the date of the change.
Section 5. Exemption from Continuing
Professional Education. (1) A licensee who at the time of renewal is sixty-five
(65) years of age or older and has been licensed continuously for twenty-five
(25) years or more shall be exempt from the continuing education requirements.
(2) This exemption shall end after the
renewal of licenses in 2009.
Section 6. Programs which Qualify. (1)
The overriding consideration in determining whether a specific program qualifies
as acceptable continuing professional education shall be whether it is a formal
program of learning which contributes directly to the professional competence
of an individual licensed to practice as a certified public accountant in this
state.
(2) Continuing professional education
programs may qualify only if:
(a) An outline of the program is prepared
in advance and preserved;
(b) The program is at least one (1)
continuing professional education hour in length;
(c) The program is conducted by a qualified
instructor. A qualified instructor or discussion leader shall be anyone whose
background training, education or experience makes it appropriate for him or
her to lead a discussion on the subject matter of the particular program;
(d) A record of registration or
attendance is maintained; and
(e) A course completion document is given
to each attendee.
(3) Acceptable subject matter.
(a) The following general subject matters
shall be considered acceptable if the programs satisfy all of the criteria established
by this administrative regulation:
1. Accounting and auditing;
2. Taxation;
3. Management services;
4. Information technology;
5. Communication arts;
6. Mathematics;
7. Statistics;
8. Ethics;
9. Economics;
10. Business law;
11. Finance;
12. Marketing;
13. Specialized areas of industry; and
14. Administrative procedures associated
with the offering and performance of attest services.
(b) Areas other than those listed in
paragraph (a) of this subsection may be acceptable if the licensee can
demonstrate that they contribute directly to his or her professional competence
as a certified public accountant. The responsibility for substantiating that a
particular program is acceptable and meets the requirements of this administrative
regulation shall be the obligation of the licensee.
(4) Acceptable group programs. The
following group programs qualify for credit if they meet the standards
specified in this administrative regulation:
(a) Professional education and
development programs of national, state and local accounting organizations;
(b) University or college courses (both
credit and noncredit courses); and
(c) Formal in-firm education programs.
Portions of a program devoted to firm administrative, financial, and operating
matters shall not qualify.
(5) Formal individual study courses, Web
casts, and online learning courses.
(a) The amount of credit allowed for any
individual study course shall be recommended by the course sponsor.
(b) A licensee claiming credit for an
individual study course shall obtain evidence of satisfactory completion of the
course from the course sponsor.
(c) Credit shall be assigned to the
reporting period in which the provider indicates the course was completed.
(6) Service as lecturer, discussion
leader, or speaker.
(a) Instructors, discussion leaders and
speakers may claim continuing professional education credit for both
preparation and presentation time.
(b) Credit may be claimed for actual
preparation time up to two (2) times the class contact hours.
(c) Credit as an instructor, discussion
leader or speaker may be claimed if the presentation is one which would meet
the requirements of Section 6 of this administrative regulation.
(d) Credit shall not be granted for
repetitious presentations of group programs unless it can be demonstrated that
the program content was substantially changed and the change required significant
additional study or research.
(e) Maximum credit for preparation and
teachings shall not exceed sixty (60) percent of the renewal period requirement.
(7) Published articles and books.
(a) Credit may be awarded for published
articles or books if they contribute directly to the professional competence of
the licensee.
(b) Credit for preparation of the
publications may be given on a self-declaration basis up to twenty-five (25)
percent of the total education hours required.
(c) In exceptional circumstances, a
licensee may request additional credit by submitting the article or book to the
board with an explanation of the circumstances which he or she believes
justifies a greater amount of credit.
(d) The board shall determine the amount
of credit to be granted.
Section 7. Reporting and Controls. (1)
Each licensee shall obtain the appropriate documentation to establish that he
or she completed the continuing professional education requirements.
(2) This documentation shall be retained
by each licensee for a period of five (5) years.
(3) The board shall conduct annually a
random audit to verify a certain percentage of licensees completed the amount
of continuing professional education hours required to renew his or her
license.
(4) Course completion evidence shall
consist of a document prepared by the course sponsor indicating the licensee completed
a formal program of learning. A document shall include the:
(a) Name of the program sponsor;
(b) Title and description of course
content;
(c) Dates attended; and
(d) Number of continuing professional
education hours awarded.
(5) A licensee who completed continuing
professional education courses that complied with the requirements of this administrative
regulation and were presented by or on behalf of his or her employer may submit
to the board a list of the courses completed if the list contains the:
(a) Information described in subsection (4)
of this section; and
(b) Signature of the person at the
licensee’s place of employment who verifies the accuracy of the information for
a third party.
Section 8. Continuing Professional
Education Sponsors. (1) Sponsors shall not be required to register with the
board.
(2) Detailed records of each program
shall be kept by the sponsor which shall include:
(a) The date of the program presentation;
(b) The name of each instructor or
discussion leader;
(c) A listing of licensees attending each
program presentation; and
(d) A written outline of the program
presentation.
(3) Records shall be kept by the sponsor
for a period of five (5) years following the date each program is presented.
Section 9. Incorporation by Reference.
(1) The following material is incorporated by reference:
(a) "Initial Request for Waiver of
CPE Requirements", 2009;
(b) "License Renewal-CPE Waiver Due
to Medical of Personal Hardship", 2009; and
(c) "License Renewal-CPE Retirement
Waiver", 2009.
(2) This material may be inspected,
copied, or obtained, subject to applicable copyright law, at the State Board of
Accountancy, 332 W. Broadway, Suite 310, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, Monday
through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (10 Ky.R. 502; Am. 877;
eff. 12-2-83; 17 Ky.R. 1528; eff. 11-29-90; 18 Ky.R. 2872; 3188; eff. 5-1-92;
28 Ky.R. 1669; 2187; eff. 4-15-2002; 35 Ky.R. 2782: 36 Ky.R. 319; eff. 9-4-2009.)
