2012 Renewal:
The renewal period for 2012 licenses, permits, and registrations commenced in 2011. Individuals and firms who were registered in 2011 but who have not yet renewed for 2012 and were sent an expiration notice in 2012, may download and complete the appropriate 2012 renewal form and send it to us by mail. Delinquent fees and additional reinstatement fees for the 2012 renewal year are now in effect.

CPE exemption: If you do not practice or perform professional services for clients as a CPA, and you do not need to use the CPA title in employment or otherwise, you can change your status and register as a “CPA inactive”. CPA inactives do not have to report CPE unless they seek to reinstate a license in the future. Contact the Board for additional information about the inactive registration process.

Before actually offering or performing services for clients, a licensee should obtain a firm permit if the firm will use the CPA title in any manner -or- if the firm will perform attest services.  Out of state firms, even with no office located here, may need a Louisiana firm permit in cases where attest services are performed in Louisiana.  Licensees should refer to the Firm permit applications are accessible on our Forms & Links webpage.  You should be familiar with the Louisiana Accountancy Act and the Board Rules (see our website’s Rules & Statutes webpage).  The LA Accountancy Act deals with firm permits, attest experience, peer review, unlawful acts, confidentiality, working papers, and client records.  These topics are elaborated upon further in the Board’s Rules.  Your primary attention should be on Chapters 15 and 17 of the Board’s Rules, and sections RS 37:77, and 37:83 through 37:87, of the accountancy act.   You should also become familiar with the Board’s statements of position on Advertising and Audit Documentation Retention that are also posted on our website.  Chapter 15 of the Board Rules covers the specific requirements of CPA firms.

If you offer attest services (compilations, reviews, audits, etc.) and your firm is in Louisiana, you will need to enroll in the LCPA administered Peer Review Program, or the AICPA National Peer Review Program, pursuant to Rule §1503, and complete a peer review periodically. 

Chapter 17 of the Rules are the “Rules of Professional Conduct” and directly cover practice anc conduct issues.  The rules on competency and professional standards specify that licensees must follow professional standards when performing professional services.   In general, if something in the AICPA’s (or other applicable authority’s) rules of conduct is different from the Board’s Rules, the more restrictive rules should be applied.  In cases where the Board’s Rules do not address an issue, you may refer to the AICPA interpretations and rulings on professional conduct, or contact us for guidance. 

Before beginning any service, you should have the competency (Board Rule §1703.B) to undertake the engagement.  Such competencies may have been acquired through past experience working for a CPA, through on-the-job training that is supervised by a competent licensee, through consultation with another competent CPA practitioner, and/or through continuing professional education.  You should refer to the AICPA Quality Control standards in managing your A & A (accounting and auditing) practice.

You must refer to the guidance provided by the AICPA, the GAO, the IRS, the SEC, the PCAOB, the Legislative Auditor, or any standard-setting organization related to the particular engagement.  For example, tax practitioners must follow the requirements of the SSTS and the applicable tax authorities, such as registering with the IRS and following its Circular 230, and complying with Department of Revenue requirements.  For financial reports, the AICPA issues professional standards for compilations and reviews in its Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARS) and for audits in its Statements on Auditing Standards (SAS).   The GAO (U.S. Government Accountability Office) issues standards for government audits (often referred to as the ”Yellow Book” standards).  The PCAOB issues audit standards for corporations whose securities are publicly traded and certain other issuers regulated by the SEC.  

With numerous matters with which a practitioner must be cognizant, it is important to complete relevant CPE (continung education) to stay up-to-date and maintain awareness of changes in the standards, and to maintain the competence to perform services in accordance with the standards applicable to the engagement. 

Licensees should notify the Board whenever they change employer.  So, if you will operate as owner/employee of a new firm, you should advise us you are leaving one employer and moving to another.  Contact us if you have any questions.

1. Contact the Board’s office for a reinstatement application to be mailed to you.

2. Complete the reinstatement application and attach payment of the reinstatement fee.

3. Provide letter(s) confirming one year of qualifying experience* under the supervision of a licensed CPA. The one year of experience must be within the past four years.

a. The letter(s) must include the exact dates of employment, a description of job duties, and a statement by the supervising CPA that he / she supervised the person during the employment. The letter must be signed by the supervising licensed CPA.

b. An individual employed in industry or government who does not have direct licensed CPA supervision may submit for licensee supervision the fact that an outside CPA Firm has audited or reviewed the financial statements of the company or the agency. In this situation, the individual must submit the following:

(1) a letter from the company or agency that includes the exact dates of employment and a description of responsibilities, and,

(2) a letter from the CPA Firm confirming which years the Firm has audited or reviewed the financial statements and a statement by the CPA Firm as to the individual’s interaction with the auditors.

If the license expired AFTER JUNE 18, 1999:

Follow all of the above guidance and also complete the CPE Reporting Form.

a. Report 120 hours of CPE and attach certificates of completion for all CPE courses listed on the CPE Reporting Form.

b. The 120 hours must include completion of one of the Board-approved ethics courses.

* FOR ANY INDIVIDUAL who cannot meet the experience requirement for reinstatement

If an individual is unable to meet the experience requirement (a determination to be made by the Board staff), in lieu of experience he / she may choose one of the following options:

a. Provide certificates of completion for 120 hours of CPE in Accounting and Auditing, plus one of the Board-approved ethics courses.

b. Provide certificates of completion for 120 hours of CPE in areas that would benefit the individual in his / her actual or intended area of employment or practice plus one of the Board-approved ethics courses. These courses would have to be pre-approved by the Board’s office to be acceptable for reinstatement.

Contact the Board’s office in advance to use this option.

After a candidate has passed the CPA exam, the applicant must submit a license application along with written confirmation of one year of recent qualifying experience. One year of full time –or 2,000 hours of part time– qualifying work experience, obtained within the last four years, is the minimum. The overall time to qualify may in some cases be longer than a year because, as noted below, supervision by an outside CPA may be intermittent. The experience can be satisfied in more than one employment positions, in public practice, industry or government, and can be satisfied inside and/or outside of Louisiana.

The nature of the applicant’s job duties, the complexity and diversity, are considered and must be confirmed by the employer(s). Part time hours must be fully documented by timesheets and/or payroll records.

The CPA supervisor may confirm the dates, job titles and description of the applicant’s experience with the employer — if this is appropriate to the employer organization. In any event, licensed CPA supervisor(s) must provide letter(s) to the applicant (addressed to the State Board) explaining and confirming the supervision with the application. (By “licensed” we mean a CPA who has an active right to practice in some state and is taking and reporting mandatory CPE to his/her state board.) Any period of time in which the CPA / supervisor’s license has lapsed, would typically not be counted by the Board.

With regard to supervision, the CPA supervision may be received internally from a licensed CPA manager –or– from an external CPA as follows:

If the applicant is or was an employee of an attest client (audit or review engagements) client of a CPA firm, after 4 successive audits or reviews in which the applicant participated in the engagement, the Board would generally deem this degree and extent of contact as “supervision”. Thus, in these cases, it may take 4 years (annual audits or reviews) to obtain sufficient contact. If other services occurred in which there was interaction with the applicant, these could be considered by the Board. And, other employment positions that qualify could be combined which could reduce the need for 4 successive audits/reviews.

If the CPA services to a client are other than an audit or review, the extent and nature of the licensed CPA and applicant’s working relationship during the period of otherwise qualifying experience should be documented in a confirmation letter from the licensed CPA for Board consideration. These are decided on a case by case basis. It is advisable that the applicant and/or the CPA track the amount of contact and the nature of the interaction, so that at the time of the application the relationship can be accurately documented and confirmed.

The employment and supervision letter(s) must be addressed to the State Board of CPAs of Louisiana, but the applicant should collect these and enclose the letter(s) with the application. The applicant may collect such letters in advance, as may be convenient, prior to being eligible to apply, but all experience must fall within the four year preceding the Board’s receipt of the CPA certificate (license) application.

You may review a CPA certificate application on our website (“Forms & Links” page). See the instructions for the type of information required. You may also refer to Chapter 9 of the Board’s rules for more information. (See Statute & Rules web page, download the pdf on the Board Rules and refer to Chapter 9.)

1. Personal attendance in class
2. Correspondence / distance learning actually completed by the student
3. “Advanced placement credit” and “CLEP” (tests or examinations the college provides) only for courses that are required by the student’s degree program or for courses that are necessary in order to graduate.  (Such credits may not be used for the 24 hours of accounting and 24 hour of business course concentrations.)
4. Up to six hours of internship credit (not used for the 24 hours of accounting and 24 hour of business course concentrations.)

College credit awarded by a university for work or life experience does not qualify. College credit awarded by a university based on military training courses completed when the student served in the military is considered on a case by case basis. Candidates with such military credit should contact the Board’s office for more information.
If taking additional undergraduate courses to satisfy the 150 hours after obtaining a bachelor’s, avoid courses that are duplicative of the content of or prerequisites for courses already completed.