Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0020-01-.14 - INTERNATIONAL RECIPROCITY

(1) The Board may designate a professional accounting credential issued in a foreign country as substantially equivalent to a CPA certificate.

(a) The Board may rely on the International Qualifications Appraisal Board for evaluation of foreign credential equivalency.

(b) The Board may accept a foreign accounting credential in partial satisfaction of its domestic credentialing requirements if:

1. the holder of the foreign accounting credential met the issuing body's education requirement and passed the issuing body's examination used to qualify its own domestic candidates; and

2. the foreign credential is valid and in good standing at the time of application for a domestic credential.

(2) The Board may satisfy itself through qualifying examination(s) that the holder of a foreign credential deemed by the Board to be substantially equivalent to a CPA certificate possesses adequate knowledge of U.S. practice standards and the Board's regulations. The Board may rely on the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, or other professional bodies to develop, administer, and grade such qualifying examination(s). The Board will specify the qualifying examination(s) and process by policy.

(3) An applicant for renewal of a CPA certificate originally issued in reliance on a foreign accounting credential shall:

(a) Make application for renewal at the time and in the manner prescribed by the Board for all other certificate renewals;

(b) Pay such fees as are prescribed for all other certificate renewals;

(c) If the applicant has a foreign credential in effect at the time of the application for renewal of the CPA certification, he/she must present documentation from the foreign accounting credential issuing body that the applicant's foreign credential has not been suspended or revoked and the applicant is not the subject of a current investigation. If the applicant for renewal no longer has a foreign credential, the applicant must present proof from the foreign credentialing body that the applicant for renewal was not the subject of any disciplinary proceedings or investigations at the time that the foreign credential lapsed; and

(d) Either show completion of continuing professional education substantially equivalent to that required under rule 0020-5-.03 within the two (2) year period preceding renewal application, or petition the Board for complete or partial waiver of the CPE requirement based on the ratio of foreign practice to practice in this State.

(4) The holder of a CPA certificate issued in reliance on a foreign accounting credential shall report any investigations undertaken, or sanctions imposed, by a foreign credentialing body against the CPA's foreign credential.

(5) Suspension or revocation of, or refusal to renew, the CPA's foreign accounting credential by the foreign credentialing body may be evidence of conduct reflecting adversely upon the CPA's fitness to retain the certificate and may be a basis for Board action.

(6) Conviction of a felony or any crime involving dishonesty or fraud under the laws of a foreign country is evidence of conduct reflecting adversely on the CPA's fitness to retain the certificate and is a basis for Board action.

(7) The Board shall notify the appropriate foreign credentialing authorities of any sanctions imposed against a CPA.

(8) The Board may participate in joint investigations with foreign credentialing bodies and may rely on evidence supplied by such bodies in disciplinary hearings.

Notes

Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0020-01-.14

Original rule filed May 13, 1991; effective June 27, 1991. Repeal filed August 2, 1996; effective October 16, 1996. Original rule filed June 10, 1999; effective August 24, 1999.

Authority: T.C.A. §§ 62-1-105;62-1-107; 62-1-111(a)(12) and 62-1-111(a)(14).