Public Act 096-0945
 		





HB6415 Enrolled
LRB096 21042 RPM 36892 b






    AN ACT concerning regulation.

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
represented in the General Assembly: 



 
    Section 5. The Illinois Public Accounting Act is amended by 
changing Sections 4 and 16 as follows:
 



    (225 ILCS 450/4)  (from Ch. 111, par. 5505)



    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2014)

    Sec. 4. Transitional language.


    (a) The provisions of this Act shall not be construed to 
invalidate any
certificates as certified public accountants 
issued by the University under
"An Act to regulate the 
profession of public accountants", approved May 15,
1903, as 
amended, or any certificates as Certified Public Accountants

issued by the University or the Board under Section 4 of "An 
Act to regulate the
practice of public accounting and to repeal 
certain acts therein named",
approved July 22, 1943, as 
amended, which certificates shall be valid and
in force as 
though issued under the provisions of this Act.
    (b) Before July 1, 2012 2010, persons who have received a 
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Certificate issued by the 
Board of Examiners or holding similar certifications from other 
jurisdictions  with equivalent educational requirements and 
examination standards may apply to the Department on forms 
supplied by the Department for and may be granted a 
registration as a Registered Certified Public Accountant from 
the Department upon payment of the required fee.
    (c) Beginning with the 2006 renewal, the Department shall 
cease to issue a license as a Public Accountant. Any person 
holding a valid license as a Public Accountant prior to 
September 30, 2006 who meets the conditions for renewal of a 
license under this Act, shall be issued a license as a Licensed 
Certified Public Accountant under this Act and shall be subject 
to continued regulation by the Department under this Act. The 
Department may adopt rules to implement this Section.
    (d) The Department shall not issue any new registrations as 
a Registered Certified Public Accountant after July 1, 2012 
2010. After that date, any applicant for licensure under this 
Act shall apply for a license as a Licensed Certified Public 
Accountant and shall meet the requirements set forth in this 
Act. Any person issued a Certified Public Accountant 
certificate who has been issued a registration as a Registered 
Certified Public Accountant may renew the registration under 
the provisions of this Act and that person may continue to 
renew or restore the registration during his or her lifetime, 
subject only to the renewal or restoration requirements for the 
registration under this Act.  Such registration shall be subject 
to the disciplinary provisions of this Act.
    (e) On and after October 1, 2006, no person shall hold 
himself or herself out to the public in this State in any 
manner by using the title "certified public accountant" or use 
the abbreviation "C.P.A." or "CPA" or any words or letters to 
indicate that the person using the same is a certified public 
accountant unless he or she maintains a current registration or 
license issued by the Department or is exercising the practice 
privilege afforded under Section 5.2 of this Act.  It shall be a 
violation of this Act for an individual to assume or use the 
title "certified public accountant" or use the abbreviation 
"C.P.A." or "CPA" or any words or letters to indicate that the 
person using the same is a certified public accountant in this 
State unless he or she maintains a current registration or 
license issued by the Department or is exercising the practice 
privilege afforded under Section 5.2 of this Act.


(Source: P.A. 95-386, eff. 1-1-08.)

 



    (225 ILCS 450/16)  (from Ch. 111, par. 5517)


    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2014)

    Sec. 16. Expiration and renewal of licenses; renewal of 
registration;
continuing education.

    (a) The expiration date and renewal period for each license

issued under this Act shall be set by rule.

    (b) Every holder of a license or registration under this 
Act may renew such license or registration before the 
expiration date upon payment of the required renewal fee as set 
by rule.

    (c)  Every application for renewal of a license by a 
licensed certified public accountant who has been licensed 
under this Act for 3 years or more shall be accompanied or 
supported by any evidence the Department shall prescribe, in 
satisfaction of completing, each 3 years, not less than 120 
hours of continuing professional education programs in 
subjects given by continuing education sponsors registered by 
the Department upon recommendation of the Committee. Of the 120 
hours, not less than 4 hours shall be courses covering the 
subject of professional ethics. All continuing education 
sponsors applying to the Department for registration shall be 
required to submit an initial nonrefundable application fee set 
by Department rule.  Each registered continuing education 
sponsor shall be required to pay an annual renewal fee set by 
Department rule.  Publicly supported colleges, universities, 
and governmental agencies located in Illinois are exempt from 
payment of any fees required for continuing education sponsor 
registration.  Failure by a continuing education sponsor to be 
licensed or pay the fees prescribed in this Act, or to comply 
with the rules and regulations established by the Department 
under this Section regarding requirements for continuing 
education courses or sponsors, shall constitute grounds for 
revocation or denial of renewal of the sponsor's registration.
    (d) Licensed Certified Public Accountants are exempt from 
the continuing professional education requirement for the 
first renewal period following the original issuance of the 
license.
    Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c), the 
Department may accept courses and sponsors approved by other 
states, by the American Institute of Certified Public 
Accountants, by other state CPA societies, or by national 
accrediting organizations such as the National Association of 
State Boards of Accountancy.
    Failure by an applicant for renewal of a license as a 
licensed certified public accountant to furnish the evidence 
shall constitute grounds for disciplinary action, unless the 
Department in its discretion shall determine the failure to 
have been due to reasonable cause.  The Department, in its 
discretion, may renew a license despite failure to furnish 
evidence of satisfaction of requirements of continuing 
education upon condition that the applicant follow a particular 
program or schedule of continuing education.  In issuing rules 
and individual orders in respect of requirements of continuing 
education, the Department in its discretion may, among other 
things, use and rely upon guidelines and pronouncements of 
recognized educational and professional associations; may 
prescribe rules for the content, duration, and organization of 
courses; shall take into account the accessibility to 
applicants of such continuing education as it may require, and 
any impediments to interstate practice of public accounting 
that may result from differences in requirements in other 
states; and may provide for relaxation or suspension of 
requirements in regard to applicants who certify that they do 
not intend to engage in the practice of public accounting, and 
for instances of individual hardship.
    The Department shall establish by rule a means for the 
verification of completion of the continuing education 
required by this Section.  This verification may be accomplished 
through audits of records maintained by licensees; by requiring 
the filing of continuing education certificates with the 
Department; or by other means established by the Department.
    The Department may establish, by rule, guidelines for 
acceptance of continuing education on behalf of licensed 
certified public accountants taking continuing education 
courses in other jurisdictions.


    (e) For renewals on and after July 1, 2012, as a condition 
for granting a renewal license to firms and sole practitioners 
who provide services requiring a license under this Act, the 
Department shall require that the firm or sole practitioner 
satisfactorily complete a peer review during the immediately 
preceding 3-year period, accepted by a Peer Review 
Administrator in accordance with established standards for 
performing and reporting on peer reviews, unless the firm or 
sole practitioner is exempted under the provisions of 
subsection (i) of this Section. A firm or sole practitioner 
shall, at the request of the Department, submit to the 
Department a letter from the Peer Review Administrator stating 
the date on which the peer review was satisfactorily completed.
    A new firm or sole practitioner not subject to subsection 
(l) of this Section shall undergo its first peer review during 
the first full renewal cycle after it is granted its initial 
license.

    The requirements of this subsection (e) shall not apply to 
any person providing services requiring a license under this 
Act to the extent that  such services are provided in the 
capacity of an employee of the Office of the Auditor General or 
to a nonprofit cooperative association engaged in the rendering 
of licensed service to its members only under paragraph (3) of 
subsection (b) of Section 14 of this Act or any of its 
employees to the extent that such services are provided in the 
capacity of an employee of the association.
    (f) The Department shall approve only Peer Review 
Administrators that the Department finds comply with 
established standards for performing and reporting on peer 
reviews. The Department may adopt rules establishing 
guidelines for peer reviews, which shall do all of the 
following:

        (1) Require that a peer review be conducted by a 
    reviewer that is independent of the firm reviewed and 
    approved by the Peer Review Administrator under 
    established standards.
        (2) Other than in the peer review process, prohibit the 
    use or public disclosure of information obtained by the 
    reviewer, the Peer Review Administrator, or the Department 
    during or in connection with the peer review process. The 
    requirement that information not be publicly disclosed 
    shall not apply to a hearing before the Department that the 
    firm or sole practitioner requests be public or to the 
    information described in paragraph (3) of subsection (i) of 
    this Section.
    (g) If a firm or sole practitioner fails to satisfactorily 
complete a peer review as required by subsection (e) of this 
Section or  does not comply with any remedial actions determined 
necessary by the Peer Review Administrator, the Peer Review 
Administrator shall notify the Department of the failure and 
shall submit a record with specific references to the rule, 
statutory provision, professional standards, or other 
applicable authority upon which the Peer Review Administrator 
made its determination and the specific actions taken or failed 
to be taken by the licensee that in the opinion of the Peer 
Review Administrator constitutes a failure to comply. The 
Department may at its discretion or shall upon submission of a 
written application by the firm or sole practitioner hold a 
hearing under Section 20.1 of this Act to determine whether the 
firm or sole practitioner has complied with subsection (e) of 
this Section. The hearing shall be confidential and shall not 
be open to the public unless requested by the firm or sole 
practitioner.
    (h) The firm or sole practitioner reviewed shall pay for 
any peer review performed. The Peer Review Administrator may 
charge a fee to each firm and sole practitioner sufficient to 
cover costs of administering the peer review program.
    (i) A firm or sole practitioner shall be exempt from the 
requirement to undergo a peer review if:
        (1) Within 3 years before the date of application for 
    renewal licensure, the sole practitioner or firm has 
    undergone a peer review conducted in another state or 
    foreign jurisdiction that meets the requirements of 
    paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (f) of this Section. 
    The sole practitioner or firm shall submit to the 
    Department a letter from the organization administering 
    the most recent peer review stating the date on which the 
    peer review was completed; or
        (2) The sole practitioner or firm satisfies all of the 
    following conditions:
            (A) during the preceding 2 years, the firm or sole 
        practitioner has not accepted or performed any 
        services requiring a license under this Act;
            (B) the firm or sole practitioner agrees to notify 
        the Department within 30 days of accepting an 
        engagement for services requiring a license under this 
        Act and to undergo a peer review within 18 months after 
        the end of the period covered by  the engagement; or
        (3) For reasons of personal health, military service, 
    or other good cause, the Department determines that the 
    sole practitioner or firm is entitled to an exemption, 
    which may be granted for a period of time not to exceed 12 
    months.
    (j) If a peer review report indicates that a firm or sole 
practitioner complies with the appropriate professional 
standards and practices set forth in the rules of the 
Department and no further remedial action is required, the Peer 
Review Administrator shall, after issuance of the final letter 
of acceptance, destroy all working papers and documents related 
to the peer review, other than report-related documents and 
documents evidencing completion of remedial actions, if any, in 
accordance with rules established by the Department , related 
to the peer review within 90 days after issuance of the letter 
of acceptance by the Peer Review Administrator. If a peer 
review letter of acceptance indicates that corrective action is 
required, the Peer Review Administrator may retain documents 
and reports related to the peer review until completion of the 
next peer review or other agreed-to corrective actions.
    (k) (Blank). In the event the practices of 2 or more firms 
or sole practitioners are merged or otherwise combined, the 
surviving firm shall retain the peer review year of the largest 
firm, as determined by the number of accounting and auditing 
hours of each of the practices. In the event that the practice 
of a firm is divided or a portion of its practice is sold or 
otherwise transferred, any firm or sole practitioner acquiring 
some or all of the practice that does not already have its own 
review year shall retain the review year of the former firm. In 
the event that the first peer review of a firm that would 
otherwise be required by this subsection (k) would be less than 
12 months after its previous review, a review year shall be 
assigned by a Peer Review Administrator so that the firm's next 
peer review occurs after not less than 12 months of operation, 
but not later than 18 months of operation.
(Source: P.A. 93-683, eff. 7-2-04; 94-779, eff. 5-19-06.)

 

    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.