V.I. Code tit. 27, § 250d (2019)
2019 US Virgin Islands Code|Title 27 - Professions and Occupations|Chapter 5A - Accountancy|§ 250d. Firm permits to practice, attest and compilation competency and peer review

 (a) The Board shall grant or renew permits to practice as a CPA firm to applicants that demonstrate their qualifications therefore in accordance with this section. (1) The following must hold a permit issued under this section: (A) Any firm with an office in the Territory performing attest services as defined in section 250(b) of this chapter; (B) Any firm with an office in the Territory that uses the title “CPA” or “CPA firm;” or, (C) Any firm that does not have an office in the Territory but performs attest services described in section 250(b)(1), (3) or (4) of this chapter for a client having its home office in the Territory. (2) A firm that does not have an office in the Territory may perform services described in section 250(b)(2) or (f) for a client having its home office in the Territory and may use the title “CPA” or “CPA firm” without a permit issued under this section only if: (A) it has the qualifications described in subsections (c) and (h) of this section; and (B) it performs such services through an individual with practice privileges under section 250q of the chapter. (3) A firm that is not subject to the requirements of subsection (a)(1)(C) or (a)(2) may perform other professional services while using the title “CPA” or “CPA firm” in this Territory without a permit issued under this section only if: (A) it performs such services through an individual with practice privileges under section 250q of the chapter, and (B) it may lawfully do so in the state where the individuals with practice privileges have their principal place of business. (b) Permits are initially issued and renewed annually but in any event expire on a specified date following issuance or renewal. Applications for such certificates must be made in such form, and in the case of applications for renewal, between such dates, as the Board shall by rule specify. (c) An applicant for initial issuance or renewal of a permit to practice under this section shall to show that: (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a simple majority of the ownership of the firm, in terms of financial interests and voting rights of all partners, officers, shareholders, members or managers, belongs to holders of a certificate who are licensed in some state, and such partners, officers, shareholders, members or managers, whose principal place of business is in the Virgin Islands, and who perform professional services in this Territory hold a valid certificate issued under section 250c of this chapter or the corresponding provision of prior law. Although firms may include non-permittee owners, the firm and its ownership must comply with rules promulgated by the Board. An individual who has practice privileges under section 250q who performs services for which a firm permit is required under section 250q(a)(3) is not required to obtain a certificate from the Virgin Islands pursuant to section 250c of this chapter. (2) Any CPA or PA firm, as defined in this chapter, may include non-permittee owners if: (A) The firm designates a permittee of the Territory, or in the case of a firm that must have a permit pursuant to section 250q(a)(3), a licensee of another state who meets the requirements set out in section 250q(a)(1) or in section 250q(a)(2), who is responsible for the proper registration of the firm and identifies that individual to the Board; (B) All non-permittee owners are active individual participants in the CPA or affiliated entities; and (C) The firm complies with such other requirements as the Board may impose by rule. (3) Any individual permittee and any individual granted practice privileges under this chapter who is responsible for supervising attest or compilation services and signs or authorizes someone to sign the accountant’s report on the financial statements on behalf of the firm, shall meet the competency requirements set out in the professional standards for such services. (4) Any individual permittee and any individual granted practice privileges under this chapter who signs or authorizes someone to sign the accountants’ report on the financial statements on behalf of the firm shall meet the competency requirement of the prior subsection. (d) An applicant for initial issuance or renewal of a permit to practice under this section shall register each office of the firm within the Territory with the Board and to show that all attest and compilation services as defined herein rendered in the Territory are under the charge of a person holding a valid certificate issued under section 250c of this chapter or the corresponding provision of prior law or some other state. (e) The Board shall charge a fee for each application for initial issuance or renewal of a permit under this section in an amount prescribed by the Board by rule. (f) An applicant for initial issuance or renewal of permits under this section shall in the application list all states in which the applicant has applied for or hold permits as CPA firms and list any past denial, revocation or suspension of a permit by any other state. Each holder of or applicant for a permit under this section shall notify the Board in writing, within 30 days after its occurrence, of any change in the identities of partners, officers, shareholders, members or managers whose principal place of business is in this Territory, any change in the number or location of offices within this Territory, any change in the identity of the persons in charge of such offices, and any issuance, denial, revocation, or suspension of a permit by any other state. (g) Firms that fall out of compliance with the provisions of the section due to changes in firm ownership or personnel, after receiving or renewing a permit, shall take corrective action to bring the firm back into compliance as quickly as possible. The Board may grant a reasonable period of time for a firm to take such corrective action. Failure to bring the firm back into compliance within a reasonable period as defined by the Board results in the suspension or revocation of the firm permit. (h) One year from the effective date of this chapter, as a condition to renewal of permits under this section, applicants shall undergo, no more frequently than once every three years, peer reviews conducted in such manner as the Board shall prescribe by rule and such review must include a verification that individuals in the firm who are responsible for supervising attest and compilation services and sign or authorize someone to sign the accountant’s report on the financial statements on behalf of the firm meet the competency requirements set out in the professional standards for such services, but any such rule must: (1) be promulgated reasonably in advance of the time when it first becomes effective; (2) include reasonable provision for compliance by an applicant showing that it has, within the preceding three years, undergone a peer review that is a satisfactory equivalent to peer review generally required pursuant to this subsection; (3) require, with respect to any organization administering peer review programs contemplated by paragraph (2), that it be subject to evaluations by the Board or its designee, to periodically assess the effectiveness of the peer review program under its charge.