2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY - Examining Boards and Professional Colleges (§§ 1 — 6033) › Chapter 39 - Board of Accountancy; College of Certified Public Accountants (§§ 771 — 806) › § 773 - Board of Accountancy; creation

There is hereby created a Board of Accountancy in and for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The Board shall consist of five (5) members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The members of the Board shall be citizens of the United States, residents of Puerto Rico, who hold certificates as certified public accountants issued under the laws of the Commonwealth and who are in active practice as certified public accountants. Members of the Board shall hold office for terms of three (3) years or until their successors are appointed and have been qualified, except the first members of the Board to be appointed, who shall hold office, one (1) for one (1) year, two (2) for two (2) years, and two (2) for three (3) years, in the order in which the Governor may designate them. Any vacancies that occur shall be filled by appointments extended for the unexpired portion of the term of the member causing the vacancy. No person shall be a member of the Board for more than two (2) consecutive terms. The Governor shall remove any member from the Board whose license to practice the profession has been annulled, revoked or suspended, and may remove any member of the Board for neglect of duty or other just cause, after giving him an opportunity to be heard.
The Board shall elect a president, a secretary and a treasurer from among its members. The Board may, from time to time, adopt and amend regulations for the orderly conduct of its affairs and for the enforcement of §§ 771—789 of this title. The Board may also, from time to time, promulgate and amend appropriate rules of professional ethics to maintain a high level of integrity and dignity in the profession of public accountancy and regulations on the continuing education requirements that must be met by recipients of the certificates granted under § 774 of this title in order to maintain their professional knowledge and technical competence.
Upon issuing the rules and regulations with respect to continuing education requirements, the Board may, at its discretion, among other things:
(1) Use or depend on the guidelines and statements of renowned professional associations to determine its own rules and procedures;
(2) determine the contents, duration and organization of courses that are acceptable to meet the continuing education requirements, taking into consideration the accessibility that certified public accountants could have to the required means of continuing education and the impediments that may arise for the practice of interstate accountancy as a result of other state’s regulations;
(3) determine what type of evidence shall be required to comply with the continuing education requirements and for how long it shall be kept;
(4) provide for the suspension or modification of continuing education requirements in cases where the certified public accountant certifies that he will not practice public accountancy, or in the event that he is temporarily prevented from complying with the requirements for health reasons, military service, or any other justified cause in the Board’s judgment, and
(5) solicit and receive the aid of other organizations in implementing the regulations issued by the Board.
A majority of the Board members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of the Board’s business. The Board shall have a seal of which judicial notice shall be taken. The Board shall keep records of its proceedings, and in any civil or criminal proceeding in any court of justice arising out of, or grounded upon any provision of §§ 771—789 of this title, copies of said records, certified as correct under the seal of the Board, shall be admissible in evidence as proof of the contents thereof. The Board may employ clerks and arrange for assistance in the performance of its duties.
Each member of the Board, including public employees and officials, shall receive per diems at a rate of fifty dollars ($50) per day or portion thereof devoted to the performance of his/her official duties, and shall be entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses incurred to attend the meetings of the Board, pursuant to the applicable regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury. As of January 1, 1999, the members of the Board shall receive per diems equal to the minimum per diems established for members of the Legislature, up to a maximum of three thousand dollars ($3,000) per year, except for the Chairperson of the Board, who shall receive per diems equal to one hundred and thirty-three percent (133%) of the per diems received by the other members of the Board.
History —May 15, 1945, No. 293, p. 1098, § 2; Apr. 15, 1983, No. 19, p. 29; July 12, 1986, No. 117, p. 375, § 1; Apr. 27, 1994, No. 13, § 1; June 29, 1995, No. 67, § 1; Sept. 6, 1996, No. 202, § 1; Jan. 4, 2000, No. 7, § 20.