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D.C. Municipal Regulations (Last Updated: September 13, 2017) |
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Title 17. BUSINESS, OCCUPATIONS, AND PROFESSIONALS |
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Chapter 17-25. ACCOUNTANTS |
Section 17-2599. DEFINITIONS
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2599.1As used in this chapter, the following terms and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed:
Act - Non-Health Related Occupations and Professions Licensure Act of 1998 (D.C. Law 12-261; Official Code § 47-2853.01 et seq. (2001)).
AICPA - the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Applicant - an individual who applies to the Board for licensure by examination, reciprocity, or by endorsement.
Attest - providing the following financial statement services:
(1)Any audit or other engagement to be performed in accordance with the Statements on Auditing Standards (SAS) or its successor or assignee;
(2)Any review of a financial statement to be performed in accordance with the Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARS) or its successor or assignee; and
(3)Any examination of prospective financial information to be performed in accordance with the Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE) or its successor or assignee.
Board - the District of Columbia Board of Accountancy.
Candidate - an individual who is approved by the Board to take the Uniform CPA Examination.
Certificate - a certificate as “certified public accountant” issued as part of licensure under corresponding provisions of District of Columbia law, or a corresponding certificate as certified public accountant issued after examination under the law of any other state.
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) - a person licensed under this chapter and the Act to provide accounting or consulting services under circumstances where there is an expectation of public confidence in such services, and attesting to the results, including (1) expressing opinions on financial statements (audits); (2) reviewing financial statements and issuing reports in standard form on such statements; (3) compiling financial statements and issuing reports in standard form on such compilations; (4) examining prospective financial information.
Client - the person or entity retaining a licensee for the performance of public accounting services.
Compilation - providing a service to be performed in accordance with Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARS) that is presenting in the form of financial statements, information that is the representation of management (owners) without undertaking to express any assurance on the statements.
Computer-Based Examination - the Uniform CPA Examination administered by NASBA on a computer-based medium.
Conditional Credits - credits earned by a candidate for achieving a passing score on either the paper-and-pencil or computer-based Uniform CPA Examination.
CPA - see certified public accountant.
CPA Firm - a sole proprietorship, a corporation, a partnership or any other form of organization issued a permit by the District of Columbia or other recognized granting state.
Department - the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.
Director - the Director of the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, or his or her agent or designee.
Enterprise - a person or entity, whether organized for profit or not, for which a licensee performs public accounting services.
Examination window - defined by NASBA in the Uniform CPA Examination Candidate Bulletin as a three-month period in which candidates have an opportunity to take the CPA examination, comprised of two months in which the examination is available to be taken and one month in which the examination will not be offered.
Financial statements - statements and related footnotes that purport to show financial position at a point in time or changes in financial position which relate to a period of time, on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles or another comprehensive basis of accounting. The term does not include incidental financial data included in management advisory services reports to support recommendations to a client, nor does it include tax returns and supporting schedules.
Foreign (nonresident) - unless otherwise indicated, refers to jurisdictions outside of the District of Columbia but within the states and territories of the United States of America.
Generally accepted accounting principles - the pronouncements issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the predecessor entities, and similar pronouncements issued by other entities having similar, generally recognized authority.
Generally accepted auditing standards - the generally accepted auditing standards adopted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, together with interpretations thereof, published by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Incidental practice - the practice of public accountancy for a client the headquarters or home office of which is located outside the District but which has a branch or subsidiary located in the District, for which the practice of public accountancy is being performed.
International Qualifications Appraisal Board (IQAB) - a joint body of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy and the American Institute of CPAs that negotiates Mutual Recognition Agreements with the accountancy licensing authorities of foreign countries.
International Uniform Certified Public Accountant Qualification Examination (IQEX) - the CPA examination used to assess the professional competence of accountants licensed in foreign countries that have entered into a Mutual Recognition Agreement with the IQAB.
Licensee - an individual or firm holding license issued under D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.01 et seq. (2001).
License - a valid license as defined in the Acts and issued in accordance with D.C. Official Code § 47-2853.01 et seq. (2001).
License Cycle - the two-year cycle in which licenses or permits issued under this chapter are valid.
Manager - a manager of a limited liability company.
Member - a member of a limited liability company.
Mutual Recognition Agreement - an agreement entered into between NASBA and the AICPA through the International Qualifications Appraisal Board (IQAB) with a foreign country’s licensing authority after a determination has been made that the education, experience, and examination requirements of the foreign jurisdiction are substantially equivalent to the requirements set forth in the Uniform Accounting Act.
National Candidate Database - the database maintained by NASBA identifying the individuals that have applied to take the computer-based Uniform CPA Examination administered by NASBA.
NASBA - the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy.
National Registry of CPE Sponsors (Registry) - a service offered by NASBA that lists organizations that provide high quality CPE in accordance with nationally recognized standards.
Nonresident - see foreign.
Paper-and-pencil examination - the Uniform CPA Examination in which candidates for licensure as a Certified Public Accountant answered questions by using paper-and-pencil and utilized by NASBA up until November 2003.
Peer review – an independent study, appraisal, or review of one (1) or more aspects of the professional work of a CPA firm which may include an internal review or inspection to ensure the firm’s compliance with required professional standards relating to quality control policies and procedures.
Peer reviewer- a CPA firm responsible for conducting a peer review.
Peer review committee – a committee appointed by a sponsoring organization to oversee the administration, acceptance, and completion of a peer review. The committee is primarily responsible for determining whether a peer review has been performed in accordance with required standards, interpretations, and related guidance materials.
Permit - a permit to practice as a CPA firm issued by the District of Columbia or corresponding provisions of prior law or under corresponding provisions of the laws of other states.
Person - includes partnerships, corporations, and associations, as well as natural persons.
Periodic accounting work - accounting work recurring from time to time.
Practice of certified public accountancy - offering to perform or performing for a client or potential client one or more types of services involving the use of accounting or auditing skills, or one or more types of management advisory or consulting services, or the preparation of tax returns or the furnishing of advice on tax matters, while holding oneself out in a manner that would state or imply that one is a licensee.
Professional - arising out of or related to the specialized knowledge or skills associated with CPAs.
Professional Ethics - any continuing education course approved by the Board in which the content of the course includes instruction on the code of ethics developed by AICPA and NASBA.
Professional Practice Reviewer - a person retained by the Board to assist in an investigation or disciplinary proceeding conducted by the Board or other disciplinary body referred to in this chapter or the Act.
Professional services - any service performed or offered to be performed by a licensee for a client during the practice of public accountancy as defined in this section.
Quality Assurance Service (QAS) - a service offered by NASBA that recognizes organizations that provide self-study CPE courses of the highest caliber
Report - when used with reference to financial statements, means an opinion, report, or other form of language that states or implies assurance as to the reliability of any financial statements and that also includes or is accompanied by any statement or implication that the person or firm issuing it has special knowledge or competence in accounting or auditing. Such a statement or implication of special knowledge or competence may arise from use by the issuer of the report of names or titles indicating that the person or firm is an accountant or auditor, or from the language of the report itself. The term “report” includes any form of language which disclaims an opinion when such form of language is conventionally understood to imply any positive assurance as to the reliability of the financial statements referred to and/or special competence by the person or firm issuing such language; and it includes any other form of language that is conventionally understood to imply such assurance and/or such special knowledge or competence.
Report acceptance body – a subcommittee established by a peer review committee which is responsible for, but not limited to, the acceptance of peer review documents.
Resident Manager - an individual licensed under this chapter and the Act that manages a single office or branch of a partnership or corporation licensee.
Rule - any rule, regulation, or other written directive of general application duly adopted by the Board.
State - any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam; except that “this State” means the District of Columbia.
Sponsoring organization – an entity administering a peer review program whose standards of review are equivalent to or better than the “Standards for Performing and Reporting on Peer Reviews” of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), as determined by the Board.
Substantial Equivalency - a determination by the board of accountancy or its designee that the education, examination and experience requirements contained in the statutes and administrative rules of another jurisdiction are comparable to, or exceed the education, examination and experience requirements contained in the Uniform Accountancy Act or that an individual CPA’s education, examination and experience qualifications are comparable to or exceed the education, examination and experience requirements contained in the Uniform Accountancy Act.
Temporary accounting work - accounting work to be performed only once for a particular client.
Testing Event - the actual date that a candidate sits for one or more sections of the computer-based Uniform CPA Examination administered by NASBA.
Test Section - one of the four parts of the Uniform CPA Examination.
Uniform CPA Examination - the examination created and graded by AICPA and administered by NASBA (directly or through a third-party) in paper-and-pencil format through November 2003 and computer-based format beginning in 2004.