Wis. Admin. Code Accounting Examining Board Accy 1.405 - Firm Names

(1) An individual or firm may practice as a certified public accountant in any form of business organization permitted by state law. No person licensed to practice as a certified public accountant may practice under a firm name that is misleading as to the type of organization. A misleading CPA firm name is any of the following:

(a) A name that contains any representation that would be likely to cause a reasonable person to misunderstand or be confused about the legal form of the firm, or about who the owners or members of the firm are, such as a reference to a type of organization or an abbreviation thereof that does not accurately reflect the form under which the firm is organized, including any of the following:

1. A name that implies the existence of a corporation when the firm is not a corporation, such as through the use of the words "corporation," "incorporated," "Ltd.," "professional corporation," or an abbreviation thereof as part of the firm name if the firm is not incorporated or is not a professional corporation.

2. A name that implies the existence of a partnership when there is not a partnership, such as by use of the term "partnership" or "limited liability partnership" or the abbreviation "LLP" if the firm is not such an entity.

3. A name that includes the name of an individual who is not a CPA if the title "CPAs" is included in the firm name.

4. A name that includes information about or indicates an association with persons who are not members of the firm, except as provided in subs. (3) and (4).

5. A name that includes the terms "& Company," "& Associate," or "Group," if the firm does not include, in addition to the named partner, shareholder, owner, or member, at least one other unnamed partner, shareholder, owner, member, or staff employee.

(b) A name that contains any representation that would be likely to cause a reasonable person to have a false or unjustified expectation of favorable results or capabilities, through the use of a false or unjustified statement of fact as to any material matter.

(c) A name that claims or implies the ability to influence a regulatory body or official.

(d) A name that includes the name of an owner whose license has been revoked for disciplinary reasons by the board, whereby the licensee has been prohibited from practicing public accountancy or prohibited from using the title CPA or holding himself or herself out as a certified public accountant.

(2) Any of the following is a permissible type of CPA firm name if it does not otherwise violate this subchapter:

(a) A firm name that includes the names of one or more former or present owners.

(b) A firm name that excludes the names of one or more former or present owners.

(c) A firm name that uses the CPA title as part of the firm name when all named individuals are owners of the firm who hold such title or are former owners who held such title at the time they ceased to be owners of the firm.

(d) A firm name that includes the name of a non-CPA owner if the CPA title is not a part of the firm name.

(3) A network firm may use a common brand name or share common initials as part of the firm name.

(4) A network firm may use the network name as the firm's name, provided that it also shares one or more of the following characteristics with other firms in the network:

(a) Common control, as defined by generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S., among the firms through ownership, management, or other means.

(b) Profits or costs, excluding costs of operating the association, costs developing audit methodologies, manuals and training courses, and other costs that are immaterial to the firm.

(c) A common business strategy that involves ongoing collaboration among the firms whereby the firms are responsible for implementing the association's strategy and are held accountable for performance pursuant to that strategy.

(d) A significant part of professional resources.

(e) Common quality control policies and procedures that participating firms are required to implement and that are monitored by the association.

Notes

Wis. Admin. Code Accounting Examining Board Accy 1.405

Cr. Register, June, 1974, No. 222, eff. 7-1-74; cr. (2), Register, December, 1974, No. 228, eff. 1-1-75; r. and recr. (1) (a), renum. (2) to be (3) and cr. (2), Register, February, 1976, No. 242, eff. 4-1-76; renum. from Accy 1.505 and am. (3) (intro.), Register, July, 1980, No. 295, eff. 8-1-80; am. (2) (intro.) and (a), Register, April, 1981, No. 304, eff. 5-1-81; am. (3) (a), Register, June, 1982, No. 318, eff. 7-1-82; am. (2), Register, July, 1983, No. 331, eff. 8-1-83; am. (1) (intro.) and (a), Register, January, 1985, No. 349, eff. 2-1-85; r. (1) (b), Register, February, 1990, No. 410, eff. 3-1-90; am. (1) (a), Register, February, 1992, No. 434, eff. 3-1-92; r. and recr. (1) (intro.), Register, May, 1994, No. 461, eff. 6-4-94; CR 03-071: cons. and renum. (1) (intro.), (a) to be (1) and (3) (intro.), (a) to be (3) and am., r. (1) (c), am. (2) Register May 2004 No. 581, eff. 6-1-04. Amended by, 2015 Wis. Act 217: r. and recr. Register May 2016 No. 725, eff. 6/1/2016