225 ILCS 450/16 — Illinois Code / Chapter 225 / Act 450 / Section 16
Section 16
Status: in_force

(225 ILCS 450/16) (from Ch. 111, par. 5517) (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2029) Sec. 16. Expiration and renewal of licenses; renewal of registration; continuing education; peer review. (a) The expiration date and renewal period for each license or registration issued under this Act shall be set by rule. (b) Every holder of a license or registration under this Act may renew such license or registration before the expiration date upon payment of the required renewal fee as set by rule. (c) Every application for renewal of a license by a licensed CPA who has been licensed under this Act for 3 years or more shall be accompanied or supported by any evidence the Department shall prescribe, in satisfaction of completing continuing professional education as prescribed by Department rules. All continuing education sponsors applying to the Department for registration shall be required to submit an initial nonrefundable application fee set by Department rule. Each registered continuing education sponsor shall be required to pay an annual renewal fee set by Department rule. Publicly supported colleges, universities, and governmental agencies located in Illinois are exempt from payment of any fees required for continuing education sponsor registration. Failure by a continuing education sponsor to be licensed or pay the fees prescribed in this Act, or to comply with the rules and regulations established by the Department under this Section regarding requirements for continuing education courses or sponsors, shall constitute grounds for revocation or denial of renewal of the sponsor's registration. (d) Licensed CPAs are exempt from the continuing professional education requirement for the first renewal period following the original issuance of the license. Failure by an applicant for renewal of a license as a licensed CPA to furnish the evidence shall constitute grounds for disciplinary action, unless the Department in its discretion shall determine the failure to have been due to reasonable cause. The Department, in its discretion, may renew a license despite failure to furnish evidence of satisfaction of requirements of continuing education upon condition that the applicant follow a particular program or schedule of continuing education. In issuing rules and individual orders in respect of requirements of continuing education, the Department in its discretion may, among other things, use and rely upon guidelines and pronouncements of recognized educational and professional associations; may prescribe rules for the content, duration, and organization of courses; shall take into account the accessibility to applicants of such continuing education as it may require, and any impediments to interstate practice of public accounting that may result from differences in requirements in other states; and may provide for relaxation or suspension of requirements in regard to applicants who certify that they do not intend to engage in the performance of accountancy activities, and for instances of individual hardship. The Department shall establish by rule a means for the verification of completion of the continuing education required by this Section. This verification may be accomplished through audits of records maintained by licensees; by requiring the filing of continuing education certificates with the Department; or by other means established by the Department. The Department may establish, by rule, guidelines for acceptance of continuing education on behalf of licensed CPAs taking continuing education courses in other jurisdictions. (e) For renewals on and after July 1, 2012, as a condition for granting a renewal license to CPA firms and sole practitioners who perform accountancy activities outlined in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Section 8.05 under this Act, the Department shall require that the CPA firm or sole practitioner satisfactorily complete a peer review during the immediately preceding 3-year period, accepted by a Peer Review Administrator in accordance with established standards for performing and reporting on peer reviews, unless the CPA firm or sole practitioner is exempted under the provisions of subsection (i) of this Section. All CPA firms or sole practitioners required to undergo a peer review under this Section shall submit to the Department peer review reports; letters of response, if applicable; acceptance letters; letters signed by the reviewed CPA firm accepting the peer review documents with the understanding that the CPA firm agrees to take certain actions, if applicable; and letters notifying the reviewed CPA firm that certain required actions have been completed, if applicable. CPA firms and sole practitioners shall satisfy this document submission requirement by allowing the Peer Review Administrator to provide the Department access to the documents through the Association of International Certified Public Accountants' Facilitated State Board Access within 45 days after the peer review has been conducted. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent the Department from requesting this documentation or any other documentation from the licensee. A new CPA firm or sole practitioner shall not be required to comply with the peer review requirements for the first license renewal. A CPA firm or sole practitioner shall comply with the Department's rules adopted under this Act and agree to notify the Peer Review Administrator by the report date of the initial engagement for services requiring a license under this Act and to undergo a peer review within 18 months of the report date for the initial engagement. The requirements of this subsection (e) shall not apply to any person providing services requiring a license under this Act to the extent that such services are provided in the capacity of an employee of the Office of the Auditor General or to a nonprofit cooperative association engaged in the rendering of licensed service to its members only under paragraph (3) of Section 14.4 of this Act or any of its employees to the extent that such services are provided in the capacity of an employee of the association. (f) The Department shall approve only Peer Review Administrators that the Department finds comply with established standards for performing and reporting on peer reviews. The Department may adopt rules establishing guidelines for peer reviews, which shall do all of the following: (1) Require that a peer review be conducted by a reviewer that is independent of the CPA