La. Admin. Code tit. 46 § XIX-505

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section XIX-505 - Examination

A. The examination shall test the knowledge and skills required for performance as a newly licensed certified public accountant. The examination shall include the subject areas of accounting and auditing and related knowledge and skills as the board may require. The examination shall consist of:

1. the uniform certified public accountant examination developed and scored by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; or

2. if applicable, the International uniform CPA qualification examination (IQEX) developed and scored by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

B. General Procedures and Qualifications

1. Application. Examination candidates shall file complete application forms as provided in Chapter 7. A complete application is one that is properly filled out, accompanied by payment of the required fees and, if an initial application, accompanied by all required supporting documents and official transcripts. First time or transfer of grades candidates who have not taken their accounting courses in Louisiana must include a copy of the course description(s) of all accounting courses not clearly identified by titles listed in §503 A

a. Applications shall be due as specified by the board in the application form or instructions. The board or its designee will forward notification of eligibility for the examination to the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) National Candidate Database.

b. Time and place of examination. Eligible candidates shall be notified of the time and place of the examination or shall be sent a notice to independently contact a test center provider identified by the board to schedule examination at a board-approved test site. Scheduling reexaminations must be made in accordance with Paragraph F.1 below. The board may set authorization periods in which eligible candidates may schedule examination or reexaminations.

c. A candidate's failure to schedule in an authorization period shall result in forfeiture of examination fees.

2. Residency Requirements

a. In addition to the requirements set forth in §503, an applicant for an initial examination must meet the following residency requirement:

i. reside in the state for a period of 120 consecutive days within the one-year period prior to the date of the candidate's initial examination; or

ii. during the period of a temporary residency outside of Louisiana, the applicant has maintained a permanent legal residence in Louisiana, to which he intends to return.

3. Fee Refund. A candidate who fails to appear for the examination, or fails to schedule or reschedule an examination in the period required, shall forfeit examination fees subject to board policy. Rescheduling of appointments may be available depending on the amount of notice that is provided. A service charge may be assessed on all refunds of examination fees.

C. Special Procedures. All examinations must be completed in the time allotted by the board. To comply with the requirements of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) the board may authorize modification to the time allotted.

D. Board Responsibilities

1. Grade Decision. Each candidate shall be notified in the manner and on the date determined by the board, of the grades earned in each section of the examination. No information concerning grades will be released until such date. The board shall not be required to furnish the reason for any grades which it shall grant or for any decision which it may reach with respect to the examination process.

2. Lost Examinations. In the event that examinations are lost, any claim candidates may have against the State Board of Certified Public Accountants of Louisiana, its agents and employees will be limited to the examination fee paid.

E. Determining and Reporting Examination Grades

1. Applicants shall each be given identifying ID numbers which shall be used on examinations for identification purposes.

2. A candidate shall be required to pass all test sections of the examination as one component of qualifying for a license. Upon receipt of advisory grades from the examination provider, the board will review and may adopt the examination grades and will report the official results to the candidate. The candidate must attain the uniform passing grade established through a psychometrically acceptable standard-setting procedure and approved by the board.

F. Retake and Granting of Credit Requirements

1. A candidate may take the required test sections individually and in any order. Credit for any test section(s) passed shall be valid for a rolling qualifying period as measured from the actual date the candidate took that test section, without having to attain a minimum score on any failed test section(s) and without regard to whether the candidate has taken other test sections. The qualifying period shall be determined by the board and shall be comprised of no less than 18 months.

a. Candidates must pass all test sections of the examination within a single rolling qualifying period, which begins on the date that any test section(s) passed is taken.

b. In the event all test sections of the examination are not passed within a given rolling qualifying period, credit for any test section(s) passed outside that qualifying period will expire and that test section(s) must be retaken.

c. In the event all test sections of the examination are not passed within a given rolling qualifying period, credit for any test section(s) passed outside that qualifying period will expire and that test section(s) must be retaken.

2. A candidate shall retain credit for any and all test sections of the examination passed as a candidate of another state if such credit would have been given under the then applicable requirements of this state.

3. The board may in particular cases extend the term of credit validity notwithstanding the requirements of Paragraphs 1 and 2, upon a showing that the credit was lost by reason of circumstances beyond the candidate's control.

4. A candidate shall be deemed to have passed the examination once the candidate holds at the same time valid credit for passing each of the test sections of the examination. For purposes of this Section, credit for passing a test section of the examination is valid from the actual date of the testing event for that test section, regardless of the date the candidate actually receives notice of the passing grade.

5. Transfer of Credits. Credits shall be accepted from other states when a candidate for transfer of credits has met all the requirements of Louisiana candidates except that he sat for the examination as a candidate for another state.

a. Applicant must have completed the education requirements of §503 prior to sitting for the examination. An exception to this rule will be allowed for a bona fide resident of another state who took the exam in his state of residency which did not have a baccalaureate degree requirement, or prior to August 1, 2016, did not have a 150-hour requirement. Such applicants may complete their education requirements after sitting for the exam.

b. Applicant shall submit a completed initial application with an official transcript from an accredited college or university and a statement from an officer of the state board from which he is transferring as to dates of passing the examination and grades made.

c. In addition to meeting the requirements for a transfer of credits, the applicant shall be required to pay a transfer fee at the time he requests the transfer.

G. Cheating

1. Cheating or other misconduct by an applicant, or by others on an applicant's behalf, before, during, after or in applying for the examination, will invalidate any grade otherwise earned by a candidate on any part of the examination and any certificate that may have been issued based in part upon such grade, and may warrant summary expulsion from the test site and disqualification from taking the examination for a time period as prescribed by the board.

2. For purposes of this rule, the following actions or attempted activities, among others, may be considered cheating or misconduct:

a. falsifying, misrepresenting, or omitting examination grades, educational credentials or other information, including but not limited to identification, required for admission to the examination;

b. communication between candidates inside or outside the test site or copying another candidate's answers while the examination is in progress;

c. communication with others inside or outside the test site while the examination is in progress;

d. substitution of another person to sit in the test site in the place of a candidate; or

e. reference to or possession of crib sheets, textbooks or other material, or electronic media (other than that provided to the candidate as part of the examination) inside or outside the test site while the examination is in progress;

f. violation of the security measures or candidate conduct standards at test sites, or the nondisclosure prohibitions of the examination, or aiding or abetting another in doing so, or otherwise participating in the collection of test items for use, redistribution or sale;

g. retaking or attempting to retake a test section by an individual holding valid passing grades or a certificate, or by a candidate who has unexpired credit for having already passed the same test section, unless the individual has been directed to retake a test section pursuant to board order or unless the individual has been expressly authorized by the board to participate in a "secret shopper" program.

3. In any case where it appears to the board, its representatives or its designee, while the examination is in progress, that cheating or misconduct has occurred or is occurring, the board, its representatives or its designee may either summarily expel the candidate involved from the examination, move the candidate to a position in the test site away from other examinees where the candidates can be watched more closely, or take other appropriate actions.

4. Any person who receives from or discloses to another person any of the contents of a CPA examination which is classified as a nondisclosed examination shall be subject to disciplinary action by the board.

5. In any case where probable cause has been determined that a candidate has cheated or engaged in misconduct on an examination, or where a candidate has been expelled from an examination, the board shall comply with the provisions of R.S. 37:81 to determine the facts, and penalty, if any. The penalty shall be in the sole discretion of the board.

6. The board or its designee shall notify the NASBA National Candidate Database, the AICPA, and/or the test site provider of the circumstances, so that the candidate may be more closely monitored in future examinations, if applicable.

7. In any case in which a candidate is refused credit for any test section of an examination taken, disqualified from taking any test section, or barred from taking the examination in the future, the board will provide to the NASBA National Candidate Database and the board of accountancy of any other state to which the candidate may apply for the examination information as to the board's findings and actions taken.

H. Security and Irregularities. Notwithstanding any other provisions under these rules, the board may postpone scheduled examinations, the release of grades, or the issuance of certificates due to a breach of examination security; unauthorized acquisition or disclosure of the contents of an examination; suspected or actual negligence, errors, omissions, or irregularities in conducting an examination; or for any other reasonable cause or unforeseen circumstance.

La. Admin. Code tit. 46, § XIX-505

Adopted by the Department of Commerce, Board of Certified Public Accountants, January 1974, promulgated LR 6:6 (January 1980), amended LR 9:208 (April 1983), LR 12:88 (February 1986), amended by the Department of Economic Development, Board of Certified Public Accountants, LR 17:1068 (November 1991), LR 23:1119 (September 1997), LR 26:1970 (September 2000), amended by the Office of the Governor, Board of Certified Public Accountants, LR 29:1475 (August 2003), LR 32:2248 (December 2006), Amended by Office of the Governor, Board of Certified Public Accountants, LR 431901 (10/1/2017), Amended by the Office of the Governor, Board of Certified Public Accountants, LR 46338 (3/1/2020), Amended LR 49651 (4/1/2023).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 37:71 et seq.