LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 691, as amended, Yee. Accountants.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of
accountants by the California Board of Accountancy in the Department
of Consumer Affairs. Existing law requires an applicant for the
certified public accountant license to comply with certain education,
examination, and experience requirements under one of 2 provisions
that set forth different standards, commonly referred to as the 2
"pathways." Existing law, under the first pathway, requires
completion of a baccalaureate or higher degree conferred by a college
or university with completion of at least 24 semester units in
accounting and 24 semester units in business related subjects, board
exam passage, and 2 years of qualifying experience. Existing law,
under the 2nd pathway, imposes the same educational and examination
requirements as the first pathway, but also requires proof of
completion of at least 150 semester units, and instead accepts one
year of qualifying experience.
Existing law, until January 1, 2011, allows an out-of-state
accountant to engage in the practice of accountancy in this state
without obtaining a certificate or license if the individual has
practiced for at least 4 of the last 10 years, the individual is
licensed in another state deemed substantially equivalent to this
state under the 2nd pathway, or the individual's qualifications are
determined to be substantially equivalent to this state's
qualifications under the 2nd pathway.
On and after January 1, 2014, this bill would require that an
applicant for licensure under the first pathway acknowledge , at
the time he or she sits for the examination for that license,
that his or her licensure under that pathway will
may not be considered substantially equivalent for
purposes of engaging in the practice of accountancy in another state
under a practice privilege , and that he or she shall be
subject to unprofessional conduct if he or she seeks to engage in the
practice of accountancy under a practice privilege in any state that
requires an individual to have completed at least 150 semester hours
or units . The bill would require that these provisions be
interpreted to establish California as a substantially equivalent
state for purposes of the laws of another state, and require that all
individuals licensed before January 1, 2014, and all individuals
licensed after January 1, 2014, under the 2nd pathway, not be
required to individually establish substantial equivalency in any
state. The bill would require the California Board of Accountancy to
verify with each state that it will deem these requirements as being
substantially equivalent under each state's practice privilege or
reciprocity statutes. If the board concludes that any
state disagrees with that assessment, the bill would specify
that the above provisions and the first pathway would become
inoperative require the board to make a specified
report to the Legislature with regard to options for establishing
substantial equivalency .