18 Va. Admin. Code § 5-22-90

Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 9, December 16, 2024

Section 18VAC5-22-90 - Continuing professional education

A. If during the current calendar year a person holds a Virginia license and has not been granted an exemption by the board pursuant to subsection C of this section, he shall have obtained at least 120 hours of continuing professional education during the three-calendar-year period ending with the current calendar year. For each of the calendar years in that period, he shall have obtained at least 20 hours of continuing professional education, including an ethics course of at least two hours.

1. If the person also holds the license of another state and Virginia is not his principal place of business , the ethics course taken to comply with this subsection either shall conform with the requirements prescribed by the board or shall be an ethics course acceptable to the board of accountancy of another state in which the person holds a license.

2. Otherwise, the ethics course shall conform to the requirements prescribed by the board.

B. If during the current calendar year a person who holds a Virginia license provided services to the public or to or on behalf of an employer, has not been granted an exemption by the board pursuant to subsection C of this section, and did not hold a Virginia license or the license of another state during one or both of the two preceding calendar years, he shall determine whether he has complied with the requirements of subsection A of this section as follows:

1. If the person became licensed during the current calendar year, he shall be considered to have met the requirements of subsection A of this section for the three-calendar-year period ending with the current calendar year.

2. If the person became licensed during the preceding calendar year, he shall be considered to have met the requirements of the subsection for the three-calendar-year period ending with the current calendar year if during the current calendar year he obtained at least the minimum number of hours of continuing professional education required by subsection A of this section for the current calendar year, including an ethics course of at least two hours.

3. If the person became licensed during the calendar year prior to the preceding calendar year, he shall be considered to have met the requirements of the subsection for the three-calendar-year period ending with the current calendar year if during the current calendar year and the preceding calendar year he obtained at least the minimum number of hours of continuing professional education required by subsection A of this section for each of the years, including for each year an ethics course of at least two hours.

C. If during the current calendar year a person who holds a Virginia license did not provide services to the public or to or on behalf of an employer and has demonstrated to the board that he does not provide those services, he is not required to have obtained continuing professional education during the three-calendar-year period ending with the current calendar year. Any person who holds a Virginia license to whom an exemption has been granted shall annually affirm and certify to the board his continued eligibility for the exemption in that he does not provide services to the public or to or on behalf of an employer. However, in order to begin providing those services:

1. He is required to have obtained at least 120 hours of continuing professional education prior to providing the services, including an ethics course of at least two hours.

2. The ethics course shall conform to the requirements prescribed by the board for the calendar year in which the person begins providing the services.

Continuing professional education obtained during the three calendar years prior to the current calendar year and from the start of the current calendar year to when he begins providing the services shall be considered in determining whether the person has complied with the requirements of this subsection.

D. If a person who has not held the license of any state applies for a Virginia license after the end of the calendar year in which he passes the CPA examination, he shall obtain continuing professional education prior to applying for the license, including an ethics course of at least two hours.

1. The required minimum number of hours of continuing professional education shall be 40, 80, or 120 depending on whether he applies for the Virginia license by the end of the first calendar year after the calendar year in which he passes the CPA examination, by the end of the second calendar year, or later.

2. The ethics course shall conform to the requirements prescribed by the board for the calendar year in which the person applies for the license.

Continuing professional education obtained subsequent to passing the CPA examination but during the three calendar years prior to the calendar year in which the person applies for the license and from the start of that calendar year to when he applies for the license shall be considered in determining whether he has complied with this requirement.

E. Continuing professional education acceptable to the board may be obtained through a variety of forums, provided there is a means of demonstrating that the education was obtained. The acceptable forums are:

1. Attending seminars and educational conferences, provided that the instructors have appropriate knowledge of the subject matter and use appropriate teaching materials and that attendance is monitored in a manner that can be verified by the board;

2. Taking courses at an accredited institution for credit;

3. Completing self-study courses, provided there is a method for determining that the person met the learning objectives;

4. Making a presentation at a professional seminar, educational conference, or in a classroom setting, provided the person has appropriate knowledge of the subject matter and uses appropriate teaching materials;

5. Writing material that is relevant to providing services to or on behalf of an employer or to the public that is formally reviewed by an independent party and that is published in a book, magazine, or similar publication; and

6. Passing examinations and obtaining certifications that have been approved by the board.

Whether other forums are acceptable shall be determined by the board on a case-by-case basis.

F. In determining whether a person has obtained the required number of hours of continuing professional education:

1. Repeat presentations shall not be considered.

2. No more than 30 hours from preparing for and making presentations shall be considered during each three-calendar-year period.

3. One semester-hour of credit for courses at an accredited institution constitutes 15 hours of continuing professional education, and one quarter-hour of credit constitutes 10 hours of continuing professional education.

4. Credit for examination and certification shall be awarded for the calendar year in which the examination was passed and certification was received. If passage of the examination and certification occur in different calendar years, credit shall be awarded for the calendar year in which the examination was passed. The board shall determine how many hours are credited per certification.

5. No more than 60 hours from examination and certification shall be considered during each three-calendar-year period.

G. Depending on the facts and circumstances, the board may waive all or part of the continuing professional education requirement for one or more calendar years or grant additional time for complying with the continuing professional education requirement, provided that the waiver or deferral is in the public interest.

18 Va. Admin. Code § 5-22-90

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 26, Issue 24, eff. September 16, 2010; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 33, Issue 23, eff. 8/9/2017; Amended, Virginia Register Volume 34, Issue 11, eff. 3/8/2018.

Statutory Authority: §§ 54.1-4402 and 54.1-4403 of the Code of Virginia.