§ 542.5

542.5 Qualifications for a certificate as a certified public accountant. 1. A certificate as a certified public accountant may be granted to a person of good moral character who makes application pursuant to section 542.6 and who satisfies the education,experience, and examination requirements of this section and rules adopted pursuant to thissection. 2. An applicant for a certificate who has been convicted of forgery, embezzlement, obtaining money under false pretenses, theft, extortion, conspiracy to defraud, or othersimilar offense, or of any crime involving moral character or honesty, in a court of competentjurisdiction in this state, or another state, territory, or a district of the United States, orin a foreign jurisdiction, may be denied a certificate by the board on the grounds of theconviction. For purposes of this subsection, 'conviction' means a conviction for an indictableoffense and includes a guilty plea, deferred judgment from the time of entry of the deferredjudgment until the time the defendant is discharged by the court without entry of judgment,or other finding of guilt by a court of competent jurisdiction. 3.

ent from the time of entry of the deferredjudgment until the time the defendant is discharged by the court without entry of judgment,or other finding of guilt by a court of competent jurisdiction. 3. An applicant for a certificate who has had a professional license of any kind revoked in this or any other jurisdiction may be denied a certificate by the board on the grounds of therevocation. 4. A person who makes a false statement of material fact on an application for a certificate, or who causes to be submitted, or has been a party to preparing or submitting afalse application for a certificate, may be denied a certificate by the board on the groundsof the false statement or submission. A certificate holder found to have made such a falsestatement or who has caused to be submitted, or was a party to preparing or submitting anyfalse application for a certificate, may have the holder’s certificate suspended or revoked bythe board on the grounds of the false statement or submission. 5. A certified public accountant shall notify the board of such accountant’s conviction of an offense included in subsection 2, within thirty days of such conviction.

e false statement or submission. 5. A certified public accountant shall notify the board of such accountant’s conviction of an offense included in subsection 2, within thirty days of such conviction. Failure of thecertified public accountant to notify the board of the conviction within thirty days of the dateof the conviction is sufficient grounds for revocation of the certificate. 6. The board, when considering the denial or revocation of a certificate pursuant to subsections 2 through 5, shall consider the nature of the offense; any aggravating orextenuating circumstances which are documented; the time lapsed since the revocation,conduct, or conviction; the rehabilitation, treatment, or restitution performed by theapplicant or certificate holder; and any other factors the board deems relevant. Characterreferences may be required, but shall not be obtained from certified public accountants. Anapplicant shall not be denied a certificate because of age, citizenship, race, religion, maritalstatus, or national origin, although the application may require citizenship information. 7. An applicant shall complete at least one hundred fifty semester hours, or the trimester or quarter

maritalstatus, or national origin, although the application may require citizenship information. 7. An applicant shall complete at least one hundred fifty semester hours, or the trimester or quarter equivalent of one hundred fifty semester hours, of college education, and receive abaccalaureate or higher degree conferred by a college or university recognized by the board,the total educational program to include a concentration in accounting or what the boarddetermines to be substantially equivalent. 8. An applicant must pass an examination which shall be offered at least twice per year and which shall test the applicant’s knowledge of the subjects of accounting and auditing,and such other related subjects as the board may specify by rule, including but not limited tobusiness law and taxation. The examination shall be held at a time determined by the boardand may be changed from time to time. The board shall prescribe by rule the methods ofapplying for and conducting the examination, including methods for grading and determininga passing grade required of an applicant for a certificate.

. The board shall prescribe by rule the methods ofapplying for and conducting the examination, including methods for grading and determininga passing grade required of an applicant for a certificate. However, the board, to the extentpossible, shall ensure the examination, grading of the examination, and the passing gradesare uniform with those applicable in all other states. The board may make such use of allor any part of a nationally recognized uniform certified public accountant examination andadvisory grading service, and may contract with third parties to perform such administrativeservices with respect to the examination as it deems appropriate to perform the duties of theboard with respect to examination. 9. The board may admit to the examination a candidate who will complete the Sat Dec 23 01:44:31 2023 Iowa Code 2024, Section 542.5 (18, 0) §542.5, PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS 2 educational requirements for a baccalaureate degree with a concentration in accountingor what the board determines by rule to be substantially equivalent to a concentrationin accounting within one hundred twenty days immediately following the date of theexamination or who has completed those requirements.

ermines by rule to be substantially equivalent to a concentrationin accounting within one hundred twenty days immediately following the date of theexamination or who has completed those requirements. However, the board shall not reportthe results of the examination until the candidate has met the educational requirements for abaccalaureate degree and shall not issue the certificate until the candidate has fully satisfiedthe requirements of subsection 7. 10. Applicants who fail the examination once shall be allowed to take the examination again at a time determined by the board. Applicants who fail the examination twice shall beallowed to take the examination again at the discretion of the board. The board may by ruleprescribe the terms and conditions under which a candidate who passes two or more subjectsof the examination conducted in this state or by the licensing authority of another state may bereexamined in only the failed subjects and receive credit for the passed subjects. An applicantwho has failed the examination may request in writing information from the board concerningthe applicant’s examination grade and subject areas or questions which the applicant failed toanswer

pplicantwho has failed the examination may request in writing information from the board concerningthe applicant’s examination grade and subject areas or questions which the applicant failed toanswer correctly, except that if the board administers a uniform, standardized examination,the board shall only be required to provide the examination grade and such other informationconcerning the applicant’s examination results which are available to the board. 11. The board, by rule, may establish an examination fee to be charged each applicant by the board or by a third party administering the examination. 12. An applicant for initial issuance of a certificate must have no less than one year of experience. The experience shall include providing any type of service or advice involvingthe use of accounting, attest, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, orconsulting skills, as verified by a licensee, meeting requirements prescribed by the boardby rule. The experience is acceptable if it was gained through employment in government,industry, academia, or public practice. 13. A person holding a certificate as a certified public accountant issued by the state prior to July

eptable if it was gained through employment in government,industry, academia, or public practice. 13. A person holding a certificate as a certified public accountant issued by the state prior to July 1, 2002, is deemed to have met the requirements of this section. 2001 Acts, ch 55, §5, 38; 2008 Acts, ch 1031, §60Referred to in §542.6, 542.7, 542.8, 542.10, 542.19 Sat Dec 23 01:44:31 2023 Iowa Code 2024, Section 542.5 (18, 0)