Department of Economic Development
State
Board of Certified Public Accountants
of Louisiana CPE Rules
LAC 46:XIX.1301-1311 Requirements for
Continuing Professional Education (R.S.
37:76) as amended through September
20, 2000.
Chapter 13. Maintenance
of Competency; Continuing Professional
Education (CPE)
§1301. Basic
Requirements
A. Each certificate
holder shall participate in at least
120 hours of continuing professional
education every three years. The
hours of a certificate holder to
whom §1301.E.2
applies shall be reduced pro rata
for the compliance period containing
his effective date.
1. Certificate holders
who participate in attest engagements
shall complete at least 20% of the
required hours in the subject area
described in §1307.A.1
in fulfilling the above requirements,
effective for the compliance period beginning
January 1, 2001. Certificate holders
participating in attest engagements include
those responsible for conducting substantial
portions of the procedures and those
responsible for planning, directing,
or reporting on attest engagements. Persons
who "plan, direct, and report" generally
include the in-charge accountant,
the supervisor or manager, and the
firm owner who signs or authorizes
someone to sign the attest engagement
report on behalf of the firm.
2. All certificate holders
shall complete at least two hours of
Professional Ethics that include a review
of the State Board's Rules of Professional
Conduct (LAC46:XIX). In order to qualify,
the contents of an Ethics course must
have been pre-approved by the board.
3. Personal development
hours cannot exceed twenty-five percent
of the total qualifying CPE.
4. Each certificate holder
shall triennially, when making application
for certificate renewal, submit requested
information on the prescribed form including
a signed statement confirming the number
of continuing education hours in which
the certificate holder has participated
during the reporting period.
B. Exemption.
The board may grant an exemption
from CPE in accordance with R.S.
37:76(D)(2). In order to be granted
an exemption, the certificate holder
must register in inactive status
and follow the provisions of §1707.C.
C. An individual
who held a license on June 17, 1999
or was issued a certificate on or
after June 18, 1999 who wishes to
reenter practice after having allowed
such license or certificate to lapse
must present proof, documented in
a form satisfactory to the board,
that he has satisfied the requirements
for continuing professional education
for the preceding period as specified
by §1301.A.
D. The board may
at its sole discretion grant extensions
of time or waivers to complete the required
continuing education requirements for
hardship situations and for medical reasons.
E. Effective Date
§1305. Programs
which Qualify
A. The overriding
consideration in determining whether
a specific program qualifies as acceptable
continuing education is that it be a
formal program of learning which contributes
directly to the professional knowledge
and professional competence of an individual
certificate holder. Formal programs of
learning are those programs that are
designed, and primarily intended, as
educational activities, and comply with
all CPE standards. Magazines and reference
materials are not designed as educational
programs nor do they comply with CPE
standards. Accordingly, examinations
on magazine articles or reference materials
will not qualify for credit unless a
formal program of learning was developed
in addition to the examination. CPE credit
will not be allowed for programs which
have content that is in violation or
is not in compliance with the act or
rules of the board.
B. Continuing education
programs qualify if they meet the above
standards and if:
D. The board may
look to recognized state or national
professional organizations for assistance
in interpreting the acceptability of
and credit to be allowed for individual
courses.
E. The responsibility
for substantiating that a particular
program is acceptable and meets the requirements
rests solely upon the certificate holder.
§1307.
Subjects which Qualify
A. The following
general subject matters are acceptable
as long as they contribute to the professional
knowledge and professional competence
of the individual certificate holder
and are relevant to the services rendered
or to be rendered by the individual certificate
holder in public practice, industry,
academia or government:
