1. (a) Effective January 1, 2005 the content of an ethics course designed to satisfy the ethics CPE requirements of §523.130 of this title (relating to Board Rules and Ethics Course) must be submitted to and approved by the board. Course content shall be approved only after the developer of the course demonstrates that the course meets the following objectives:

   1. (1) the course shall be designed to teach CPAs to achieve and maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct through ethical reasoning;
   2. (2) the course shall be designed to teach the core values of the profession: integrity, objectivity and independence, as ethical principles in addition to rules of conduct;
   3. (3) the course shall be designed to teach compliance with the spirit and intent of the board's Rules of Professional Conduct, in addition to technical compliance with the Rules; and
   4. (4) the course shall address ethical considerations and the application of the board's Rules of Professional Conduct to all aspects of professional accounting work whether performed by CPAs in client practice or CPAs who are not in client practice.

2. (b) To meet the objectives of subsection (a) of this section, a course must include components that cover:

   1. (1) ethical principles and values;
   2. (2) ethical reasoning and dilemmas;
   3. (3) the board's Rules of Professional Conduct with special focus on recent changes in those rules; and
   4. (4) case studies that require application of ethical principles, values, and ethical reasoning within the context of the board's Rules of Professional Conduct.
3. (c) To be approved, the course must be taught in either a live instructor format or a computer-based interactive format, as defined in §523.101(b)(5) of this title (relating to CPE Purpose and Definitions).
4. (d) Each ethics course approved pursuant to this section will be reevaluated at least every three years or earlier as required by the board.
5. (e) As a part of each course, the sponsor shall administer a test to determine whether the program participants have obtained a basic understanding of the course content, including the need for a high level of ethical standards in the accounting profession.

6. (f) A sponsor of an ethics course approved by the board pursuant to this section shall comply with the board's rules concerning sponsors of CPE and shall provide its advertising materials to the board's CPE committee for approval. Such advertisements shall:

   1. (1) avoid commercial exploitation;
   2. (2) identify the primary focus of the course; and
   3. (3) be professionally presented and consistent with the intent of §501.82 of this title (relating to Advertising).

Source Note:The provisions of this §523.131 adopted to be effective April 7, 2004, 29 TexReg 3477.