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    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2014)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