West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 1 - Accountancy › Title 1 - LEGISLATIVE RULE BOARD OF ACCOUNTANCY › Series 1-01 - Board Rules and Rules of Professional Conduct › Section 1-1-4 - Certification

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
4.1. The Board
				shall issue a certificate to any applicant who satisfies all of the education,
				examination, and experience requirements listed in this Section.
4.1.a. Education. -- The satisfactory
				completion of one hundred fifty semester hours or their equivalent conferred by
				an accredited college or university, the total education program to include an
				accounting concentration or its equivalent.
4.1.b. Examination. -- Passage of the uniform
				certified public accountant examination published by the American Institute of
				Certified Public Accountants or its successor and any additional examination
				required by the Board by rule that tests the applicant's knowledge of subjects
				related to the practice of accounting: Provided, That before applying for the
				examination required by this subsection, an applicant is required to have met
				the baccalaureate degree requirement and the specific course requirements, but
				not the one hundred fifty semester hour requirement of 4.1.a. of this Rule, or
				have attained a graduate degree in accounting as approved by the Board from an
				accredited college or university.
4.1.b.1.
				Specific course requirements. -- As part of the required hours to sit for the
				examination, an applicant shall have completed the following credit hours at
				the upper-division baccalaureate and/or graduate levels at an accredited
				college or university:
4.1.b.1.A. at least
				thirty (30) credit hours or equivalent quarter hours in accounting, excluding
				introductory accounting courses covering the principles of accounting
				components.
4.1.b.1.B. effective
				July 1, 2016, three (3) credit hours in business law;
4.1.b.1.C. effective July 1, 2011, three (3)
				credit hours in ethics; and
4.1.b.1.D. a minimum of twenty-seven (27)
				credit hours in business courses, excluding required accounting and business
				law courses.
4.1.b.2.
				Foreign academic credentials shall be accompanied by a written evaluation from
				an international credential evaluation service approved by the Board.
4.1.c. Experience. -- An applicant
				shall demonstrate at least one year of experience in the four-year period
				immediately preceding the application in providing any type of relevant service
				or advice involving the use of accounting, attest, compilation, preparation,
				management advisory, financial advisory, tax or consulting skills. The
				experience requirement may be satisfied by employment in private practice,
				government, industry, a not-for-profit organization, academia or public
				practice and must be verified by the holder of an active West Virginia
				certificate, a West Virginia registered public accountant or a holder of an
				out-of-state certificate.
4.1.c.1. In
				evaluating the experience of the applicant, the Board shall consider the
				complexity and diversity of the work performed as well as any other factor the
				Board may consider relevant.
4.1.c.2. Any person who has been requested by
				the applicant to provide evidence of the applicant's experience shall comply
				with the request. Any person who refuses to provide evidence shall, upon
				request of the Board, explain in writing or in person the basis for his or her
				refusal.
4.1.c.3. The Board may
				require any licensee who has furnished evidence of an applicant's experience to
				substantiate the information. The Board may require the applicant and/or the
				licensee to provide documentation supporting the evidence of experience for
				review by the Board.
4.1.c.4. The
				Board may require any applicant to appear before it or its representative to
				supplement, explain, or verify the evidence of experience.
4.1.d. Criminal History Record Check
4.1.d.1. In addition to all of the
				requirements for licensure, all applicants for initial license to practice as a
				Certified Public Accountant in West Virginia shall request and submit to the
				Board the results of a state and national criminal history record
				check.
4.1.d.2. The purpose of the
				criminal history record check is to assist the Board in obtaining information
				that may relate to the applicant's fitness for licensure.
4.1.d.3. In addition to the State Police, the
				Board may contract with and designate a company specializing in the services
				required by this section instead of requiring the applicant to apply directly
				to the West Virginia State Police or similar out-of-state agency for the
				criminal history record check. Provided, that any such company must utilize
				protocols consistent with standards established by the Federal Bureau of
				Investigation and the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact.
4.1.d.4. The applicant shall furnish to the
				State Police or other organization duly designated by the Board, a full set of
				fingerprints and any additional information required to complete the criminal
				history record check.
4.1.d.5. The
				applicant is responsible for any fees required by the State Police, or other
				organization duly designated by the Board, for the actual costs of the
				fingerprinting and the actual costs of conducting a complete criminal history
				record check.
4.1.d.6. The Board
				may require the applicant to obtain a criminal history record check from a
				similar Board-approved agency or organization in the state of the applicant's
				residence, if outside of West Virginia.
4.1.d.7. The applicant shall authorize the
				release of all records obtained by the criminal history record check to the
				Board.
4.1.d.8. A criminal history
				record check submitted in support of an application for licensure must have
				been requested by the applicant no earlier than three (3) months immediately
				prior to the Board's receipt of the applicant's paper or electronic application
				for licensure.
4.1.d.9. An initial
				licensure application is not complete until the Board receives the results of a
				state and a national criminal history record check conducted by the State
				Police or another entity duly authorized by the Board. The Board shall not
				consider an application for licensure submitted by any applicant who fails or
				refuses to submit the criminal history record check required by this
				section.
4.1.d.10. The Board may
				not disqualify an applicant from initial licensure because of a prior criminal
				conviction unless that conviction bears a rational nexus to the accounting
				profession. In determining whether a criminal conviction bears a rational nexus
				to the accounting profession, the Board shall consider at a minimum:
4.1.d.10.A. The nature and seriousness of the
				crime;
4.1.d.10.B. The passage of
				time since the commission of the crime;
4.1.d.10.C. The relationship of the crime to
				the ability, capacity, and fitness required to perform the duties and discharge
				the responsibilities of the accounting profession; and
4.1.d.10.D. Any evidence of rehabilitation or
				treatment undertaken by the applicant.
4.1.d.11. An individual with a criminal
				record who has not previously applied for licensure may petition the Board at
				any time for a determination of whether the individual's criminal record will
				disqualify the individual from obtaining a license.
4.1.d.11.A. The petition shall be submitted
				on an application form prescribed by the Board and shall include sufficient
				details about the individual's criminal record to enable the Board to identify
				the jurisdiction where the conviction occurred, penalties imposed, the date of
				the conviction, and the specific nature of the conviction.
4.1.d.11.B. The applicant may submit with the
				petition evidence of rehabilitation, letters of reference, and any other
				information the applicant deems relevant to show fitness and the ability to
				practice as a Certified Public Accountant.
4.1.d.11.C. The Board shall provide the
				determination within 60 days of receiving the petition and the applicable fee
				from the applicant.
4.1.d.11.D. The
				fee for an applicant petitioning for a licensure eligibility determination is
				specified in the Schedule of Fees and upon acknowledgment of eligibility by the
				Board and upon the submission of an application for licensure, the eligibility
				fee shall be deducted from the applicable initial licensure application
				fee.
4.1.d.12. An
				applicant is solely responsible for challenging the accuracy and completeness
				of information provided by the West Virginia State Police, the Federal Bureau
				of Investigation or other agencies and must reconcile the record directly with
				those reporting agencies. The Board must receive notification directly from the
				reporting agency regarding any changes or corrections to an applicant's
				record.
4.1.d.13. If the applicant
				provides adequate proof of any error and correction thereof by any reporting
				agency, the Board shall reconsider the application of that applicant.
4.1.d.14. The results of the state and
				national criminal history record check may not be released to or by a private
				entity except:
4.1.d.14.A. To the individual
				who is the subject of the criminal history record check;
4.1.d.14.B. With the written authorization of
				the individual who is the subject of the criminal history record check;
				or
4.1.d.14.C. Pursuant to court
				order.
4.1.d.15. The
				Board shall maintain confidential records and reports pertaining to criminal
				history record checks in a separate file which is only accessible to personnel
				authorized by the State Police to receive such records and reports.
4.1.d.16. Records received as part of the
				criminal history record check shall be maintained for a period of two years
				subsequent to the Board's final action on the application, and then disposed of
				by crosscut shredding.
4.1.d.17. A
				criminal history record check and related records are not public records for
				the purpose of chapter twenty-nine-b of the West Virginia Code.
4.1.e. Pays to the Board the
				appropriate application and license fees as required by Section 18; or
4.1.e.1. Applies for a waiver of initial
				licensing fees as an active member of the armed forces of the United States,
				the National Guard, or a reserve component, as an honorably discharged veteran
				of the same, as a spouse if such active member or honorably discharged veteran,
				or as a surviving spouse of a deceased service member who has not remarried.
				The military service verification form, provided by the Board, and all required
				verification documents must be submitted with the application for
				licensure.
4.1.e.2. Applies for a
				waiver of initial licensing fees as a low-income individual. A low-income
				individual is defined as an individual in the local labor market whose
				household adjusted gross income is below 130 percent of the federal poverty
				line. The term low-income individual also includes any person enrolled in a
				state or federal public assistance program including, but not limited to,
				Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANFP), Medicaid, or the
				Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The Low-Income Waiver of
				Initial Licensing Fees form, provided by the Board, shall be submitted with the
				application for licensure. The applicant shall attest to the validity of the
				information provided by signing, under penalty of perjury, the Written
				Declaration.