2006 New York Code - Mandatory Continuing Education

 
    § 7409. Mandatory continuing education. 1. (a) Each licensed certified
  public  accountant  and  public  accountant  required  under article one
  hundred  thirty  of  this  chapter  to  register  triennially  with  the
  department  to practice in the state shall comply with the provisions of
  the mandatory continuing education requirements except as set  forth  in
  paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subdivision. Certified public accountants
  and  public  accountants  who  do  not  satisfy the mandatory continuing
  education requirements shall not  practice  until  they  have  met  such
  requirements,  they  have  paid  all applicable fees, and they have been
  issued a registration or conditional registration certificate.
    (b) Certified public  accountants  and  public  accountants  shall  be
  exempt  from  the  mandatory  continuing  education  requirement for the
  triennial registration period during which they are first  licensed.  In
  accordance with the intent of this section, adjustments to the mandatory
  continuing  education  requirement  may be granted by the department for
  reasons of health certified by a physician,  for  extended  active  duty
  with  armed  forces  of  the  United  States,  or  for  other good cause
  acceptable to the department which may prevent compliance.
    (c) A licensed certified public accountant and a public accountant not
  engaged in public practice as an individual practitioner, a partner of a
  partnership, a shareholder of a professional service corporation, or  an
  employee  of  such  practice  units,  shall be exempt from the mandatory
  continuing education requirement and payment of the mandatory continuing
  education fee upon  the  filing  of  a  statement  with  the  department
  declaring  such  status. Any licensee who returns to the public practice
  of  certified  public  accountancy  or  public  accountancy  during  the
  triennial  registration  period  shall  notify  the  department prior to
  reentering the profession and shall pay the current mandatory continuing
  education  fee  and  shall  meet  such  mandatory  continuing  education
  requirements as shall be prescribed by regulations of the commissioner.
    2.  During  each  year  of the triennial registration period beginning
  September first, nineteen hundred ninety  and  ending  September  first,
  nineteen  hundred  ninety-three and each registration period thereafter,
  an applicant for registration shall have the option of (a) completing  a
  minimum of forty contact hours of acceptable formal continuing education
  in recognized areas of study, or (b) completing a minimum of twenty-four
  contact  hours of acceptable formal continuing education concentrated in
  any one of the following three subject areas: auditing,  accounting,  or
  taxation.  A  licensee  who  has  not satisfied the mandatory continuing
  education requirements shall not  be  issued  a  triennial  registration
  certificate  by the department and shall not practice unless and until a
  conditional  registration  certificate  is   issued   as   provided   in
  subdivision  three of this section. No hourly credits may be transferred
  from one year to  a  subsequent  year.  The  individual  licensee  shall
  determine  the  selection  of  courses  or programs of study pursuant to
  subdivision four of this section.
    3.  The  department,  in  its  discretion,  may  issue  a  conditional
  registration  to  a  licensee who fails to meet the continuing education
  requirements established in subdivision two  of  this  section  but  who
  agrees  to  make  up  any deficiencies and take any additional education
  which the department  may  require.  The  fee  for  such  a  conditional
  registration  shall  be the same as, and in addition to, the fee for the
  triennial registration. The duration of  such  conditional  registration
  shall  be  determined by the department. Any licensee who is notified of
  the denial of registration for failure to submit evidence,  satisfactory
  to  the  department,  of required continuing education and who practices
  public  accountancy  without  such  registration,  may  be  subject   to
  disciplinary  proceedings  pursuant to section six thousand five hundred
  ten of this chapter.
    4.  As  used  in  subdivision  two of this section, "acceptable formal
  continuing education" shall  mean  formal  programs  of  learning  which
  contribute  to  professional  practice  and  which  meet  the  standards
  prescribed by regulations of the commissioner. Recognized areas of study
  shall include but not be limited  to:  accounting,  auditing,  taxation,
  advisory  services,  specialized  knowledge  and applications related to
  specialized industries, and such  other  technical  areas  appropriately
  related  to  the  practice  of  accounting  as  may be acceptable to the
  department. To fulfill the mandatory continuing  education  requirement,
  programs  must  be  taken  from  sponsors  approved  by  the department,
  pursuant to the regulations of the commissioner.
    5. The mandatory continuing education fee shall be determined  by  the
  regents,  shall  be payable on or before the first day of each triennial
  registration period, and shall be paid  in  addition  to  the  triennial
  registration fee required by section seven thousand four hundred four of
  this article.