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ENGROSSED SENATE
BILL NO. 171 By: Dugger of the Senate
and
Kendrix of the House
An Act relating to accounting; amending 59 O.S. 2021,
Section 15.8, as amended by Sect ion 3, Chapter 26,
O.S.L. 2022 (59 O.S. Supp. 2022, Section 15.8), which
relates to qualifications for application; decreasing
required semester hours for certificat ion; removing
requirement for elective hours; amending 59 O.S.
2021, Section 15.9, as amended by Section 4, Chapter
26, O.S.L. 2022 (59 O.S. Supp. 2022, Section 15.9),
which relates to grant of certificate or license;
allowing the issuance of a certificate to an
applicant under certain educational requirements;
specifying educational requirements; updating
statutory language; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHO MA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 59 O.S. 2021, Section 15.8, as
amended by Section 3, Chapter 26, O.S.L. 20 22 (59 O.S. Supp. 2022,
Section 15.8), is amended to read as follows:
Section 15.8. A. A qualification applicant to qualify as a
candidate for examination shall file an application for
qualification in a format ap proved by the Oklahoma Accountancy
Board. The fee for the qualification application sh all be
determined by the Board and shall not exceed Three Hundred Dolla rs
($300.00). Every qualification applicant to qualify as a candidate
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for the certificate of cert ified public accountant shall submit to a
national criminal history record search, m ust be a resident of this
state immediately prior to making application and, except as
otherwise provided in this section, shall meet the ed ucation and
experience requirements pr ovided in this section. The costs
associated with the national criminal histo ry records search shall
be paid by the applicant.
B. On or after July 1, 2003 the effective date of this act,
every qualification applicant to qualify as a candidate for
examination for the certificate o f certified public accountant shall
have at least one hundred fifty (150) one hundred twenty (120)
semester hours, or the equivalent thereo f, of college education
including a baccalau reate or higher degree, or the equivalent
thereof, conferred by a college or unive rsity acceptable to the
Board from an accred ited four-year college or university in this
state or any other accredited four -year college or university
recognized by the Board. A minimum of seventy -six (76) semester
hours must be earned at the upper -division level of college or above
or the equivalent thereof as determined by the Board; this education
requirement shall have been comp leted prior to submitting an
application to the Board; the The total educational program of the
applicant for examination shal l include an accounting concentration
or its equivalent as determined ac ceptable by the Board which shall
include not less than thirty (30) twenty-four (24) semester hours,
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or the equivalent thereof, in accounting courses above principles of
accounting or introductory accounting, with at least one cou rse in
auditing or assurance; the remaining accounting courses s hall be
selected from financial accounting, ac counting theory,
cost/managerial accounting, federal income tax, governmental, not-
for-profit accounting, accounting information systems, accounti ng
history and other accounting electives; at least nine (9) sem ester
hours shall be from any or all of the su bjects of economics,
statistics, business law, finance, business management, marketing,
business communication, risk management, insurance, manage ment
information systems, or computer science at the upper-division level
of college or above or the equivalen t of such subjects as det ermined
by the Board; all the remaining semester hours, if any, shall be
elective but shall be at the upper-division level of college or
above.
C. The costs associated with the national criminal history
record check shall be pa id by the applicant.
SECTION 2. AMENDATORY 59 O.S. 2021, Section 15.9, as
amended by Section 4, Chapter 26, O.S.L. 2022 (59 O.S. Supp. 2022,
Section 15.9), is amended to read as follows:
Section 15.9. A. Upon payment of appropriate fees, the
Oklahoma Accountancy B oard shall grant a certificate to any
individual of good character who meets the applicable education,
experience and testing requirements provided for in this section and
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in Sections 15.8 and 15.10 of this title. For purposes of this
subsection, good character means an individual who does not have a
history of dishonest acts as demonstrated by documented ev idence and
has not been convicted, pled guilty, or pled nolo contendere to a
felony charge. The Board may refuse to grant a certificate to an
applicant for failure to satisfy th e requirement of good character.
The Board shall provi de to the denied applicant written notification
specifying grounds for denial of a certificate including failure to
meet the good character c riterion. Appeal of the action of the
Board may be made in accordance with the provisions of the
Administrative Procedures Act.
B. The Board shall issue certificates as c ertified public
accountants to those applicants who have met the qualifications
required by the provisions of the Oklahoma Accountanc y Act and the
applicable rules of the Board, and have passed an ex amination in
accounting, auditing and related subjects as the Board determines
appropriate with such grades that satisfy the Board that each
applicant is competent to practice as a certified public accountant.
C. The Board may make use of all o r any part of the Uniform
Certified Public Accountant’s Accountant Examination and any
organization that assists in providing the examination.
D. An applicant for initial issuance of a certificate pursuant
to this section shal l show that the applicant has at least o ne
hundred fifty (150) semester hours, or the equivalent thereof, of
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college education including a baccalaureate or higher degree, or the
equivalent thereof, conferred by a college or university acceptable
to the Board from an accredited four -year college or university in
this state or any other accredited four-year college or university
recognized by the Board. Of the one hundred fifty (150) semester
hours, not less than thirty (3 0) semester hours, or the equivalent
thereof, shall be in accounting courses above principles of
accounting or introdu ctory accounting. These education requirements
shall have been completed pr ior to submitting an application to the
Board and within the time frame outline d in this section. A
qualified applicant may take the cert ified public accountant
examination as allowed in Section 15.8 of this title but shall not
be issued a certificate until the education requirements pursuant to
this section and Section 15.8 of this title ha ve been met.
E. An applicant for initial issuance of a certificate under
this section shall show that the applicant has had one (1) year of
experience. Experience shall be d efined by the Board by rule a nd
shall include providing a type of s ervice or advice involving the
use of accounting, attest, compil ation, management advisory,
financial advisory, tax or consulting skills, and be satisfied
through work experience in governm ent, industry, academia or pu blic
practice, all of which shall be v erified by a certificate or license
holder or an individual appr oved by the Board. Upon completion of
the requirements of Section 15.8 of this title, a qualified
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applicant for the examinat ion may take the certified pu blic
accountant or public accountant e xamination prior to earning the
experience required in this subs ection, but shall not be issued a
certificate until the experience requirement has been met.
E. F. Every applicant for the certificate of certified public
accountant shall provide evidence of successful completion o f an
ethics examination prescribed by th e Board.
F. G. Every applicant for the ce rtificate of certified public
accountant shall submit to a national criminal history record check.
The costs associated with the natio nal criminal history record check
shall be paid by the applicant.
G. H. An individual applying for a certi ficate as a certified
public accountant must make application for the certificate within
five (5) years of the date the Board notifies the candidate tha t the
candidate has successfully pas sed all sections of the C.P.A.
Examination. If the candidate fails to make application for the
certificate within five (5) years, the candidate must provide
documentation showing he or she has completed at least one hun dred
twenty (120) hours of qualifyin g continuing public accountancy
education completed within the three -year period immediately
preceding the date the individual applies for certification. The
Board shall establish rules whereby time limits set for appli cation
pursuant to this provision ma y, upon written application to the
Board, be waived or reduced if th e candidate is called to active
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military service or becomes incapacitated as a result of illness or
injury or for such other good causes as determined b y the Board on a
case-by-case basis.
SECTION 3. This act shall become effective November 1, 2023.
Passed the Senate the 13th day of March, 2023.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
Passed the House of Representatives the ____ day of __________,
2023.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives