Continuing education for Certified Public Accountants and Public Accountants.
Purpose:
Requires the completion of continuing education requirements in ethics for CPA's and PA's be calculated on a calendar year basis.
Text of proposed rule:
1. Paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of section 70.9 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is amended, effective July 15, 2011, as follows:
(5) During each triennial registration period ending on or before December 31, 2011, a registered licensee who is subject to the continuing education requirement shall be required to complete at least four contact hours in professional ethics. For each registration ending on or after January 1, 2012, a registered licensee who is subject to the continuing education requirement shall be required to complete at least four contact hours in professional ethics during the prior three calendar year period. For registered licensees who complete the calendar year contact hour requirement in the manner described in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (1) of this subdivision, the four contact hours of professional ethics may be counted toward the annual contact hour requirement in the calendar year that they are taken. For registered licensees who complete the calendar year contact hour requirement in the manner described in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (1) of this subdivision, the four contact hours of professional ethics may be counted toward the annual contact hour requirement in the year that they were completed if the hours in professional ethics were taken in the recognized subject area of the concentration.
Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Chris Moore, State Education Department, Office of Counsel, State Education Building, Room 148, 89 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY 12234, (518) 474-3862, email: legal@mail.nysed.gov
Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:
Frank Munoz, Deputy Commissioner, Office of the Professions, State Education Department, 89 Washington Avenue, 2M, Albany, NY 12234, (518) 474-1941, email: opdepcom@mail.nysed.gov
Public comment will be received until:
45 days after publication of this notice.
This action was not under consideration at the time this agency's regulatory agenda was submitted.
Regulatory Impact Statement
1. STATUTORY AUTHORITY:
Section 207 of the Education Law grants general rule-making authority to the Board of Regents to carry into effect the laws and policies of the State relating to education.
Section 6504 of the Education Law authorizes the Board of Regents to supervise the admission to and regulation of the practice of the professions.
Subdivision (1) of section 6506 of the Education Law authorizes the Board of Regents to promulgate rules relating to the supervision of the practice of the professions.
Paragraph (a) of subdivision (2) of section 6507 of the Education Law authorizes the Commissioner of Education to promulgate regulations in administering the admission to and practice of the professions.
Paragraph (a) of subdivision (1) of section 7409 of the Education Law requires licensed certified public accountants and public accountants to complete continuing education as a condition for registration to practice in New York State.
2. LEGISLATIVE OBJECTIVES:
The proposed amendment carries out the intent of the aforementioned statutes that the Commissioner of Education shall promulgate regulations establishing standards for mandatory continuing education in the profession of public accountancy.
3. NEEDS AND BENEFITS:
The current ethics continuing education requirement is aligned with the licensees' month of birth thereby creating thirty-six separate reporting periods over the three year registration period. The proposed amendment is needed to align the ethics continuing education requirement with the calendar year reporting requirement contained in § 7409 of the Education Law, as amended by chapter 651 of the Laws of 2008.
4. COSTS:
(a) Cost to State government: There are no additional costs.
(b) Cost to local government: There are no costs to local government.
(c) Cost to private regulated parties: There are no additional costs to private regulated parties.
(d) Costs to the regulatory agency: As stated above in "Costs to State Government," the proposed amendment will not impose any additional costs on SED.
5. LOCAL GOVERNMENT MANDATES:
The proposed amendment relates to the mandatory continuing education requirements for currently registered certified public accountants and public accountants. The amendment does not impose any programs, service, duty, or responsibility upon local governments.
6. PAPERWORK:
The amendment will not impose any other paperwork requirement.
7. DUPLICATION:
The proposed amendment does not duplicate any other existing State or Federal requirements, except as discussed below in the Federal Standards section.
8. ALTERNATIVES:
There are no viable alternatives to the proposed amendment and none were considered.
9. FEDERAL STANDARDS:
There are no Federal standards established in law for the subject matter of the proposed amendment.
10. COMPLIANCE SCHEDULE:
Regulated parties will be required to comply with the regulation as of January 1, 2012. The additional period of time is necessary to enable regulated parties to transition to the requirements of the regulation.
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The purpose of the proposed amendment to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education is to modify the mandatory ethics continuing education reporting period that applies to currently registered certified public accountants and public accountants from a reporting period tied to an individual's registration period to one that is aligned with the calendar year.
The amendment does not regulate small businesses or local governments. It does not impose any reporting, recordkeeping, or other compliance requirements on small business or local governments, or have any adverse economic effect on them. Because it is evident from the nature of the proposed amendment that it does not adversesly affect small businesses or local governments, no affirmative steps were needed to ascertain that fact and none were taken. Accordingly, a regulatory flexibility analysis for small businesses and local governments is not required and one has not been prepared.
Rural Area Flexibility Analysis
1. TYPES AND ESTIMATED NUMBER OF RURAL AREAS:
The proposed amendment will affect an estimated 3,005 certified public accountants and public accountants that are located in a rural county in New York State.
2. REPORTING, RECORDKEEPING AND OTHER COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS; AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES:
The proposed amendment will align the timing of the existing ethics continuing education requirement with the calendar year reporting requirement contained in § 7409 of Education Law, as amended by chapter 651 of the Laws of 2008, for all other public accountancy continuing education. The proposed amendment will not require regulated parties, including those that are located in rural areas of the State, to hire professional services to comply.
3. COSTS:
The amendment will not impose any additional costs on licensees, including those that are located in rural areas of the State.
4. MINIMIZING ADVERSE IMPACT:
The rule makes no exception for licensees who live or work in rural areas as there is not adverse impact on such licensees. The Department has determined that uniform standards and procedures for continuing education are necessary to ensure quality professional practice in all parts of the State. Because of the nature of the proposed amendment, alternative approaches for rural areas were not considered.
5. RURAL AREA PARTICIPATION:
The State Education Department solicited comments from the State Board for Public Accountancy, the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, all of which include members located in all areas of New York State, including rural areas of the State.
Job Impact Statement
The proposed amendment will align the timing of the existing ethics continuing education requirement with the calendar year reporting requirement contained in § 7409 of Education Law, as amended by chapter 651 of the Laws of 2008, for all other public accountancy continuing education. Because it is evident from the nature of the rule that it will have no impact on the number of jobs and number employment opportunities in public accounting or any other field, no affirmative steps were needed to ascertain that fact and none were taken. Accordingly, a job impact statement is not required, and one has not been prepared.
