The Committee on Labor, Commerce and Industry proposes the following amendment (LC-176.WAB0002S):

Amend the bill, as and if amended, SECTION 3, by striking Section 40-2-20(33) and inserting:

 (33) "Substantial equivalency" or "substantially equivalent" is a determination by the board or its designee that the education, examination, and experience requirements contained in the statutes and administrative rules of another jurisdiction are comparable to, or exceed the completion of, a baccalaureate or higher degree in an accounting concentration that includes one hundred fifty semester hours of education, at least one year of acceptable experience, and successful completion of the Uniform CPA Examination. Any jurisdiction found to be substantially equivalent by NASBA's National Qualification Appraisal Service is considered to be substantially equivalent to this State. In ascertaining substantial equivalency as used in this chapter, the board or its designee shall take into account the qualifications without regard to the sequence in which experience, education, or examination requirements were attainedReserved.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 5, by striking Section 40-2-35(C)(1)(2) and (2) and inserting:

   (b)(2) in addition to, or concurrently with, the degree in subitem (a)item (1), complete at least twenty-four semester credit hours, or the substantial equivalent, of accounting courses at the junior level or above, that cover some or all of the following subject matter content:. Eligible courses include, but are not limited to: that are applicable to a baccalaureate, masters, or doctoral degree and that cover some or all of the following subject-matter content, excluding principles or introductory accounting courses: financial accounting for business organizations, financial statement auditing and attestation services, taxation, accounting information systems, financial accounting for government and not-for-profit entities, managerial or cost accounting, mergers and acquisitions, accounting-based data analytics and interrogation techniques, financial planning, fraud examination, internal controls and risk assessment, financial statement analysis, accounting research and analysis, tax research and analysis, accounting professional ethics, and other areas approved by the board taught at the junior level or above
   (a) financial accounting for business organizations;
   (b) financial statement and auditing and attestation services;
   (c) taxation;
   (d) accounting information systems;
   (e) managerial or cost accounting;
   (f) merges and acquisitions;
   (g) data analytics;
   (h) information systems or technology;
   (i) accounting ethics; and
   (j) other courses the board approves through a regulation; and
   (c)(2)(3) in addition to, or concurrently with, the degree in subitem (a)item (1), complete at least twenty-four semester credit hours, or the substantial equivalent, of business-related courses, other than accounting, that are applicable to a baccalaureate, masters, or doctoral degree and that cover some or all of the following subject-matter content: business law, economics, management, marketing, finance, business communications, statistics, quantitative methods, data analytics, data interrogation techniques, business data acumen, information systems or technology, business ethics, and other areas approved by the board and which may include semester credit hours, or the substantial equivalent, in accounting content not used toward meeting the requirement in subitem (b) that cover some or all of the following subject matter content:
   (a) business law;
   (b) economics;
   (c) management;
   (d) marketing;
   (e) finance;
   (f) business communications;
   (g) data analytics;
   (h) information systems or technology;
   (i) business ethics; and
   (j) other subject matter content the board approves through a regulation.; and
  (2) The board may review and accept individual courses and educational programs determined to be substantially equivalent to the foregoing.
  (4) In addition to meeting the combined requirements of subitems (1), (2), and (3), the experience requirements in Section 40-2-35(G) must be satisfied based on the applicant's highest level of education attained:
   (a) Applicants who have completed a baccalaureate degree, the applicant must also satisfy the experience requirements in subsection 40-2-35(G)(1)(a), which requires two years of relevant professional experience.
   (b)  Applicants who have completed a post-baccalaureate degree in accounting, taxation, laws in taxation, or business administration, the applicant must also satisfy the experience requirements in subsection 40-2-35(G)(1)(b), which requires one year of relevant experience.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 6, by striking Section 40-2-35(E)(3) and inserting:

(3) the applicant must have on record with the board official transcripts that meet the education requirement and that demonstrate successful completion of of at least one hundred twenty semester hours credit, including: the requirements of subsection (C)(1), (2), and (3).

Amend the bill further, SECTION 8, by striking Section 40-2-35(G)(1), (1), and (2) and inserting:

(1) An applicant shall attain the following experience:
  (1) at least one year of accounting experience, which must include providing a service or advice involving the use of accounting, attest, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, or consulting skills verified by a CPA in industry, academia, or public practice or verified by a valid report from NASBA's Experience Verification. This experience may be supervised by a non-licensee but must be verified by a CPA with direct knowledge of the experience who is licensed to practice accounting in some state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia
   (a) applicants who have completed a baccalaureate degree and meeting the requirements of subsections (C)(2) and (3) must complete two years of relevant professional experience;
   (b) applicants who have completed a post-baccalaureate degree in accounting, taxation, laws in taxation, or business administration, and meeting the requirements of subsections (C)(2) and (3) must complete one year of relevant experience;
   (c) applicants must present evidence of meeting the accounting experience requirement in a manner prescribed by the board; and
   (d) applicants who present evidence of experience obtained seven or more years before the date of application must obtain and document an additional six months of experience within the prior two years of the date of application.
  (2) teaching experience to include at least twenty-four semester hours of teaching courses that are applicable to a baccalaureate, masters, or doctoral degree and which may cover subject matter areas such as financial accounting, taxation, and auditing, taught at the intermediate accounting level or above. This experience may be supervised by a non-licensee but must be verified by a CPA with direct knowledge of the experience who is licensed to practice accounting in any state or territory of the United States;The board may promulgate regulations to require that the accounting experience required pursuant to subitem item (1)(a) must be completed according to a competency framework developed by a recognized national accounting organization. The framework must be administered in accordance with rules established by the board.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 8, by striking Section 40-2-35(G)(3)(f) and (g) and inserting:

   (f) tax; or
   (g) consulting skills; or
   (h) other qualifying experiences outlined in items (4) and (7).

Amend the bill further, SECTION 8, by striking Section 40-2-35(G)(4)(a)(i) and (ii) and inserting:

    (i) teaching experience taught at the intermediate accountaccounting level or above that includes at least twenty-four semester hours of teaching courses that apply to a baccalaureate, masters, or postgraduate degree and which may cover subject matters including, but not limited to, financial accounting, taxation, audingauditing, technology, and other areas that fall within the scope of the Uniform CPA Examination; or
    (ii) any combination of experience that the board determines to be substantially equivalent to the types of experience provided for in items (3) and (4)(a)(i) of this subsection.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 8, by deleting Section 40-2-35(G)(4)(b) from the bill.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 8, by striking Section 40-2-35(G)(6) and inserting:

  (6) The accounting experience required pursuant to this subsection may be attained in either full-time or part-time employment, but not more rapidly than forty hours per week. Two thousand hours of part-time accounting experience is equivalent to one year.

Amend the bill further, SECTION 8, by striking Section 40-2-35(G)(8) and inserting:

  (8) The accounting experience required by this subsection may only be attained after an applicant satisfies the requirements of subsectionsubsections (C)(1), (2), and (3).

Amend the bill further, SECTION 10, by striking Section 40-2-40(C)(6) and inserting:

  (6) Owners shall at all times maintain ownership equity in their own right and must be the beneficial owners of the equity capital ascribed to them. Ownership may also be held through a revocable, not irrevocable, grantor trust, provided that the trust is established for the sole benefit of the owner, and provided that the owner retains full control and the ability to revoke the trust. Provision must be made for the ownership to be transferred to the firm or to other qualified owners if the noncertified public accountant or the beneficial owner of the revocable grantor trust ceases to be an active individual participant in the firm.

Amend the bill further, by striking SECTION 17 and inserting:

SECTION 17. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governoron June 30, 2025.

Renumber sections to conform.

Amend title to conform.