Oklahoma Accountancy Board bulletin, winter 2013, v.41 no.1

              OKLAHOMA ACCOUNTANCY BOARD VBVoOluLmUeM 4E1 , 3N9uu,m NbUerM 1BER I l l e t i n W JinUtLeYr 22001311
STOP and READ!
Continued on pg. 4 under Stop
Part of our job here at the Oklahoma Accountancy Board (Board) is to provide
information and assist CPAs and PAs in maintaining compliance with the Oklahoma
Accountancy Act and Board rules. During the process of implementing a new
registration system and birth month registration, we discovered a number of
issues impacting registrants. One area of concern is the failure of a number of
registrants to complete required continuing professional education (CPE). The
majority of these reporting issues fall into one of two main categories. First, there
are CPAs and PAs who perform accounting-related services for their employers,
but are not reporting CPE. Second, there are CPAs and PAs who are performing
compilations yet fail to earn their required compilation CPE or fail to enroll in a
Board-approved peer review program.
Let’s take the first issue. In 2005 and 2006, notifications were sent out by the Board,
the Oklahoma Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Oklahoma Society
of Accountants, notifying CPAs/PAs of the change in Oklahoma law regarding
CPE reporting. The new law, which took effect on Jan. 1, 2006, requires all CPAs
and PAs to complete 120 hours of CPE in each rolling three-year reporting period
unless they qualify to claim a valid exemption. The exemption applies to retired or
disabled registrants, or to inactive CPAs/PAs who perform no accounting-related
services. We find a number of CPAs/PAs who work in various professions who do
not hold permits but perform accounting-related work, claiming an exemption when
they are required to report CPE. Others use the CPA designation while claiming an
exemption and failing to acquire continuing professional education. Most of the
registrants say they assumed that since they never had to do CPE in the past (prior
to 2006) or they performed accounting-related work in industry, government or
education, that they were exempt. This is incorrect. Regardless of employer, if you
are doing any type of accounting related work, or hold a permit to practice, you
must earn and report CPE.
The second issue deals with a change in Oklahoma law that became effective
Jan. 1, 2011. The change requires any CPA/PA performing compilations to obtain
four hours of compilation specific CPE or enroll in a board-approved peer review
program. For clarification, this means a four-hour compilation course, not a
combined four hour compilation and review course. Some registrants are reporting
that they are performing compilations and are either (1) Not completing any
compilation CPE, or (2) Taking a compilation and review course rather than a
compilation-specific course.
In This Issue
OAB Makes Facebook
Debut........................................2
Board Meeting Held on
Local Campus..........................2
Important Policy Update.......2
Online Registration
Update......................................3
Explanation of CPE
Exemptions..............................3
I am Retired. What Next?.......4
Board Utilizes NASBA
ALD/CPA Verify........................4
Additional Information.........5
Fall Recognition
Ceremony.................................6
Enforcement Actions.............7
Candidate’s Corner.................9
201 N.W. 63rd St., Suite 210, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73116
405.521.2397 Fax 405.521.3118
www.ok.gov/oab