SB493: (New Title) relative to examination standards for certified public accountants.

CHPATER 23

SB 493 - FINAL VERSION

02/12/04 0348s

17Mar2004... 0793h

2004 SESSION

04-3212

08/09

SENATE BILL 493

AN ACT relative to examination standards for certified public accountants.

SPONSORS: Sen. Prescott, Dist 23

COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill changes the time frame in which a candidate as a certified public account has to complete all sections of the exam.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

02/12/04 0348s

17Mar2004... 0793h

04-3212

08/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Four

AN ACT relative to examination standards for certified public accountants.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

23:1 Certified Public Accountants; Certification. Amend RSA 309-B:5, V to read as follows:

V. An applicant shall be required to pass all sections of the examination provided for in paragraph IV in order to qualify for a certificate. A passing grade for each section shall be 75. [If, at a given sitting of the examination, an applicant passes 2 or more but not all sections, the applicant shall be given credit for those sections passed and need not sit for reexamination in those sections, provided that:

(a) At that sitting the applicant wrote all sections of the examination for which the applicant does not have credit;

(b) The applicant attained a minimum grade of 50 on each section not passed at that sitting;

(c) The applicant passes the remaining sections of the examination within 5 years of the examination at which the first sections were passed;

(d) At each subsequent sitting at which the applicant seeks to pass any additional sections, the applicant writes all sections for which the applicant does not have credit; and

(e) In order to receive credit for passing additional sections in any such subsequent sitting, the applicant attains a minimum grade of 50 on sections taken at that sitting.] The applicant shall pass all sections of the examination within 18 months of the examination at which the first section was passed. No candidate shall be allowed more than 10 attempts to complete all sections of the examination.

23:2 Applicability. Notwithstanding section 1 of this act, applicants who have passed 2 or more sections of the examination by April 1, 2004 shall be required to complete all remaining sections no later than December 31, 2005.

23:3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.

(Approved: April 5, 2004)

(Effective Date: April 5, 2004)