2005 Vermont Code - § 14. — Prohibitions

§ 14. Prohibitions

(a) No person or firm shall issue a report on financial statements of, or provide attest services for, any other person, firm, organization, or governmental unit unless the person or firm is licensed or registered under this chapter. This prohibition does not apply to an officer, partner, or employee of any firm or organization affixing their signature to any statement or report in reference to the financial affairs of such firm or organization with any wording designating the position, title, or office that they hold therein; nor prohibit any act of a public official or employee in the performance of his or her duties as such; nor prohibit the performance by any persons of other services involving the use of accounting skills, including the preparation of tax returns, management advisory services, and the preparation of financial statements without the issuance of reports thereon.

(b) No individual person may use the title "certified public accountant," "CPA," "registered public accountant," "RPA," or "auditor" or any other title tending to indicate that he is a public accountant, unless he is licensed as a public accountant under this chapter.

(c) No firm may use the title "certified public accountant," "CPA," "registered public accountant," "RPA," "auditor" or any other title tending to indicate that it is composed of public accountants unless the firm is registered under this chapter.

(d) No person may use the title "chartered accountant," "enrolled accountant," "licensed accountant," "certified accountant," "registered accountant," "accredited accountant," or any other title likely to be confused with "certified public accountant" or "registered public accountant," or the abbreviations "CA," "EA," "RA," "LA,"or "AA," or similar abbreviations likely to be confused with "CPA" or "RPA." However, a person licensed under this chapter may use the title "auditor." The title "enrolled agent" or "EA" may be used only by an individual so designated by the Internal Revenue Service.

(e) No person or firm holding a license under this chapter shall use a professional or firm name or designation that is misleading about the legal form of the firm, or about the persons who are partners, officers, members, managers or shareholders of the firm, or about any other matter; provided, however, that the names of one or more partners, members, managers or shareholders may be included in the name of a firm or its successor.

(f) However, a sole proprietorship or partnership lawfully using a title or designation in conjunction with those names or designation on July 1, 1981, may continue to do so if that person or partnership otherwise complies with the provisions of this chapter.

(g) The prohibition contained in subsection (a) of this section is applicable to issuance, by a person or firm not holding a valid license or registration, of a report using any form of language conventionally used by public accountants with respect to an audit, review or compilation of financial statements.

(h) No person or firm shall hold themselves out as public accountants while engaged in the practice of public accounting unless they hold a valid license or registration issued under this chapter. (Added 1975, No. 89, § 8; amended 1981, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; 1991, No. 167 (Adj. Sess.) § 2; 1997, No. 40, § 9; 1999, No. 52, § 4; 2001, No. 129 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; eff. June 13, 2002.)