1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to occupations and professions; changing 
  1.3             education requirements for certification and licensure 
  1.4             as a certified public accountant; amending Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes 1994, section 326.19. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 326.19, is 
  1.8   amended to read: 
  1.9      326.19 [LICENSURE; QUALIFICATIONS OF ACCOUNTANTS.] 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES AS CERTIFIED 
  1.11  PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS.] (a) Until August 1, 2000, a certified 
  1.12  public accountant certificate shall be granted to any person: 
  1.13     (a) (1) Who has attained the age of 18 years; and 
  1.14     (b) (2) Who is of good character; and 
  1.15     (c) (3) Who has successfully completed an examination in 
  1.16  the subjects and at the times the board may prescribe in its 
  1.17  rules; and 
  1.18     (4) who meets all other requirements for issuance of a 
  1.19  certificate, including payment of required fees.  
  1.20     (b) Until August 1, 2000, the examination shall be 
  1.21  administered by the board only to a candidate who holds:  
  1.22     (i) (1) a master's degree with a major in accounting from a 
  1.23  college or university that is fully accredited by the North 
  1.24  Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, or an 
  1.25  equivalent accrediting association, or who has in the opinion of 
  2.1   the board at least an equivalent education; or 
  2.2      (ii) (2) a baccalaureate degree, with a major in 
  2.3   accounting, from a college or university that is fully 
  2.4   accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and 
  2.5   Secondary Schools, or an equivalent accrediting association, or 
  2.6   whose credits are acceptable to the University of Minnesota for 
  2.7   admission to graduate study, or who has in the opinion of the 
  2.8   board at least an equivalent education; or 
  2.9      (iii) (3) a baccalaureate degree from a college or 
  2.10  university that is fully accredited by the North Central 
  2.11  Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, or an equivalent 
  2.12  accrediting association, or whose credits are acceptable to the 
  2.13  University of Minnesota for admission to graduate study, or who 
  2.14  has in the opinion of the board at least an equivalent 
  2.15  education, providing at least one year of experience of the type 
  2.16  specified in subdivision 4, has been completed; or 
  2.17     (iv) (4) evidence of having completed two or more years of 
  2.18  study with passing grade average or above from a college or 
  2.19  university that is fully accredited by the North Central 
  2.20  Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, or an equivalent 
  2.21  accrediting association, or whose credits are acceptable to the 
  2.22  University of Minnesota for admission to graduate study, or a 
  2.23  technical college, a Minnesota licensed private vocational 
  2.24  school which fulfills the requirements of sections 141.21 to 
  2.25  141.36, or who has in the opinion of the board at least an 
  2.26  equivalent education, providing at least three years experience 
  2.27  of the type specified in subdivision 4, has been completed; or 
  2.28     (v) (5) a diploma as a graduate of an accredited high 
  2.29  school or who has in the opinion of the board at least an 
  2.30  equivalent education, providing at least five years experience 
  2.31  of the type specified in subdivision 4 has been completed.  
  2.32     Subd. 2.  [EXPERIENCE CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT LICENSE.] 
  2.33  A certified public accountant license shall be granted to any 
  2.34  person who has been issued a certified public accountant 
  2.35  certificate under subdivision 3.  (a) Those persons holding 
  2.36  certified public accountant certificates issued under 
  3.1   subdivision 1 who meet all other requirements for licensure, 
  3.2   including payment of required fees, shall be granted licenses as 
  3.3   certified public accountants providing that they have completed 
  3.4   the following required experience of the type specified in 
  3.5   subdivision 4 in addition to any experience required in 
  3.6   subdivision 1, clause (c)(i) to (v) paragraph (b): 
  3.7      (i) (1) for those whose educational qualifications meet the 
  3.8   requirements of subdivision 1, paragraph (b), clause (c)(i) (1) 
  3.9   the experience requirement is one year; 
  3.10     (ii) (2) for those whose educational qualifications meet 
  3.11  the requirements of subdivision 1, paragraph (b), clause 
  3.12  (c)(ii) (2) the experience requirement is two years; 
  3.13     (iii) (3) for those whose educational and experience 
  3.14  qualifications meet the requirements of subdivision 1, paragraph 
  3.15  (b), clause (c)(iii) (3), the additional required experience is 
  3.16  two years; 
  3.17     (iv) (4) for those whose educational and experience 
  3.18  qualifications meet the requirements of subdivision 1, paragraph 
  3.19  (b), clause (c)(iv) (4), the additional required experience is 
  3.20  two years; and 
  3.21     (v) (5) for those whose educational and experience 
  3.22  qualifications meet the requirements of subdivision 1, paragraph 
  3.23  (b), clause (c)(v) (5), the additional required experience is 
  3.24  one year.  
  3.25     (b) On or after August 1, 2000, a certified public 
  3.26  accountant certificate and license shall be granted to any 
  3.27  person: 
  3.28     (1) who has attained the age of 18 years; 
  3.29     (2) who is of good character; 
  3.30     (3) who has successfully completed an examination in the 
  3.31  subjects and at the times the board may prescribe in its rules; 
  3.32     (4) who has completed at least one year of experience of 
  3.33  the type specified in subdivision 4; and 
  3.34     (5) who meets all other requirements for issuance of a 
  3.35  certificate and license, including payment of required fees. 
  3.36     (c) On or after August 1, 2000, the examination shall be 
  4.1   administered by the board only to a candidate who has:  
  4.2      (1) a baccalaureate or higher degree, with a major in 
  4.3   accounting, from a college or university that is fully 
  4.4   accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and 
  4.5   Secondary Schools, or an equivalent regional accrediting 
  4.6   association and has completed at least 150 semester or 225 
  4.7   quarter hours of college education; or 
  4.8      (2) an associate degree, with a major in accounting, from a 
  4.9   college, university, technical college, or Minnesota private 
  4.10  vocational school licensed under sections 141.21 to 141.36 that 
  4.11  is fully accredited by a nationally recognized accreditation 
  4.12  agency and has completed at least 150 semester or 225 quarter 
  4.13  hours of post-secondary education that includes at least 60 
  4.14  semester or 90 quarter hours of upper division classes from a 
  4.15  college or university fully accredited by the North Central 
  4.16  Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools or an equivalent 
  4.17  regional accrediting association, and that includes courses that 
  4.18  would be required for the equivalent of a major in accounting 
  4.19  for a baccalaureate degree; or 
  4.20     (3) an associate degree with a major in accounting, from a 
  4.21  college, university, technical college, or Minnesota private 
  4.22  vocational school licensed under sections 141.21 to 141.36 that 
  4.23  is fully accredited by a nationally recognized accreditation 
  4.24  agency and has completed four years of experience employed as 
  4.25  specified in subdivision 4, clause (1) or (2), including at 
  4.26  least 4,000 hours of work experience performing the attest 
  4.27  function. 
  4.28     The requirement of an associate, baccalaureate, or higher 
  4.29  degree with a major in accounting will be considered fulfilled 
  4.30  by a candidate who has in the opinion of the board at least an 
  4.31  equivalent education. 
  4.32     The board shall, by rule, establish that only a person who 
  4.33  is in the process of obtaining experience under subdivision 2, 
  4.34  paragraphs (b), clause (4) and (c), clause (3), shall be known 
  4.35  as a staff accountant. 
  4.36     Subd. 3.  [CERTIFICATE AND LICENSE WITHOUT EXAMINATION.] 
  5.1   The state board of accountancy may, in its discretion, waive the 
  5.2   examination of and may issue a certificate and license as a 
  5.3   certified public accountant to any person possessing the 
  5.4   qualifications mentioned in this section, who: 
  5.5      (a) (1) is the holder of a C.P.A. license or certificate, 
  5.6   issued under the laws of another state, provided the applicant, 
  5.7   at the time of application; 
  5.8      (i) meets all of the requirements for the license or 
  5.9   certificate in the state which has granted it to the applicant 
  5.10  are, in the opinion of the state board of accountancy, 
  5.11  equivalent to those herein provided that were applicable in this 
  5.12  state at the time of the issuance of the applicant's certificate 
  5.13  in the other state and has at least five years of experience, 
  5.14  within the last ten years prior to the date of application, of 
  5.15  the type specified in subdivision 4; or 
  5.16     (ii) meets all of the requirements currently in effect in 
  5.17  this state; or 
  5.18     (b) (2) Shall be is the holder of a degree or certificate 
  5.19  of certified public accountant or chartered accountant, or the 
  5.20  equivalent thereof, issued in any foreign country, provided that 
  5.21  the applicant, at the time of application: 
  5.22     (i) meets all of the requirements for the degree or 
  5.23  certificate are equivalent to those herein provided for the 
  5.24  license of certified public accountant in this state. that were 
  5.25  applicable in this state at the time of the issuance of the 
  5.26  applicant's certificate in the foreign country and has at least 
  5.27  five years of experience, within the last ten years, of the type 
  5.28  specified in subdivision 4; or 
  5.29     (ii) meets all of the requirements currently in effect in 
  5.30  this state; or 
  5.31     (c) (3) Shall in another jurisdiction have has completed 
  5.32  successfully in another jurisdiction an examination which, in 
  5.33  the opinion of the board, is comparable to that prescribed by 
  5.34  the board in its rules and provided that such the person has 
  5.35  satisfied the other requirements of subdivisions 1 and 2. 
  5.36     Subd. 4.  [QUALIFYING EXPERIENCE FOR EXAMINATION AND 
  6.1   GRANTING OF LICENSE.] Qualifying experience for subdivisions 1, 
  6.2   2 and 3 include public accounting experience: 
  6.3      (1) as a staff employee of a certified public accountant or 
  6.4   public accountant, a firm of certified public accountants or 
  6.5   public accountants an individual, a partnership, or a 
  6.6   corporation formed licensed for the practice of public 
  6.7   accounting; or 
  6.8      (2) as an auditor in the office of the legislative auditor 
  6.9   or state auditor, or as an auditor or examiner with any other 
  6.10  agency of government, which experience, in the opinion of the 
  6.11  board is equally comprehensive and diversified; or 
  6.12     (3) as a self-employed licensed public accountant or as a 
  6.13  partner in a firm of public accountants; or 
  6.14     (4) in any combination of the foregoing capacities.