Proposals would update UAA, model rules for accountancy

The AICPA and National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) have issued two exposure drafts related to the Uniform Accountancy Act (UAA) and the UAA Model Rules.

The UAA is a nonbinding model statute that the AICPA and NASBA hold up as a reference for best practices in state laws and regulations. The UAA Model Rules are a set of best-practice regulations that are intended to promote uniformity in regulations governing accountancy practices in the various jurisdictions.

In the UAA ED, the AICPA and NASBA propose:

• Including a definition of “Preparation of Financial Statements,” which is defined as providing a service of any preparation of financial statements engagement to be performed in accordance with the Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services.
• Deleting the Rule 10-4 Model Code of Conduct, as state boards are being encouraged to pursue uniformity through reference to the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct.
• Deleting the “Legislative Policy (Annotated) of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants” as Appendix A of the UAA.
• Deleting the language that referred to a five-year phase-in period for the 150-hour requirement, because all states and jurisdictions have enacted the 150-hour requirement and only the Virgin Islands remains in the phase-in period.
• Changes to achieve consistency in capitalization and punctuation, and other changes designed to make the UAA “evergreen.”

Comments on the UAA ED can be submitted to Suzanne Jolicoeur at Suzanne.Jolicoeur@aicpa-cima.com by June 1.

The proposed changes to the Model Rules would create new methods of earning CPE credit, including nano-learning and blended learning, specifying the amount of credit that licensees can earn for each.

The Model Rules proposal also would differentiate between technical and nontechnical fields of study and would require CPAs to complete at least 50% of their total CPE in technical fields such as accounting, auditing, tax, finance, and management services.

Comments on the Model Rules ED are due June 30 and can be submitted to Louise Haberman at lhaberman@nasba.org.

—Ken Tysiac (Kenneth.Tysiac@aicpa-cima.com) is a JofA editorial director.