Wyo. Code R. 061-0001-2
Accountants, Board of Certified Public
Chapter 2: Examination (formerly under Dept. of Commerce)
Effective Date: 09/23/2005 to 09/24/2007
Rule Type: Superceded Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 061.0001.2.09232005
EXAMINATION
(a) Applicants shall furnish all information required by the application form and other information, including proof of identity, as required by the Board. Each application, when filed, shall be accompanied by a non-refundable application fee, as determined by Section 3(d) of this Chapter payable to the Wyoming Board of Certified Public Accountants. Forms may be obtained from the Board's office located in Cheyenne, Wyoming or may be downloaded from the Board's web site.
(b) The Board will forward notification of eligibility in the form of an Authorization to Test (ATT) for the computer-based examination to the candidate and NASBA's National Candidate Database. Upon receipt of the ATT from the Board, the candidate shall:
(c) The ATT will expire six (6) months from the date of the NTS, when the candidate tests for a particular section, or six (6) months from the date the application was filed if an NTS is not issued. Once the ATT has expired, all fees, including examination fees, are forfeited and the candidate must reapply to the Board.
(d) Eligible candidates who have received an NTS shall independently contact a test center identified by the Board or NASBA to schedule the time and place for the examination at an approved test site.
(e) A candidate who fails to appear for a scheduled section of the examination shall forfeit the application fee paid to the Board and the applicable examination fees paid to NASBA.
(f) The Board reserves the right to deny the application of any individual for any of the following reasons:
(iii) conviction of any crime, an element of which is dishonesty or fraud, under the laws of Wyoming or any state or of the United States;
(iv) falsification of information required by the application process; or
(v) a finding of cheating on the CPA examination as set forth in Section 3(e) of this Chapter or as issued by any United States Board of Accountancy.
(a) Initial and transfer applicants shall furnish evidence of completion of one of the following education requirements:
(i) An applicant who qualifies under W. S. 33-3-109(a)(v)(A) shall have completed a minimum of twenty-four (24) semester hours in accounting courses covering the subjects of financial accounting, auditing, taxation, and management accounting or business law may be included in the twenty-four (24) semester hour requirement.
(ii) An applicant who qualifies under W. S. 33-3-109 (a)(v)(C) shall have completed at least 24 semester hours of upper division or graduate level accounting courses covering the subjects of financial accounting, auditing, taxation, and management accounting and at least 24 semester hours of business courses (other than accounting) at the undergraduate or graduate level.
(b) The official transcript which evidences compliance with the requirements set forth in sub-section (a) shall be forwarded to the Board's office directly from the college or university which is accredited by one of the following accrediting associations.
(i) New England Association of Schools and Colleges;
(ii) Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools;
(iii) North Central Association of Colleges and Schools;
(iv) Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools;
(v) Southern Association of Colleges and Schools;
(vi) Western Association of Schools and Colleges; or
(vii) Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
(c) credit earned through life experience as a result of passage of the Uniform CPA Examination shall not qualify towards meeting any of these course requirements.
(d) transcripts which document a graduate degree with a concentration in accounting from a program that is accredited in accounting by the AACSB shall be deemed equivalent to the requirements outlined in sub-section (a)(ii) of this section.
(e) One quarter (1/4) unit or hour is equivalent to two-thirds (2/3) of a semester unit or hour.
(f) All candidates qualifying under W. S. 33-3-111 are required to submit an official copy of the final transcript showing the degree and date awarded. Education requirements shall be met before the candidate is authorized to re-test or before the certificate will be issued.
(g) Candidates qualifying based on a degree earned in a foreign country shall submit transcripts to a foreign accountants credentials service acceptable to the Board for evaluation. That evaluation shall verify that the degree awarded was transferrable to an institution of higher education in the United States and verify that the accounting courses are equivalent to those taken to qualify as a candidate in the United States.
(a) The Board shall use the Uniform AICPA Examination and advisory grading service.
(b) The candidate shall receive a passing grade in each of the four (4) examination sections before a certificate will be issued. A passing grade shall be seventy-five (75).
(c) Conditional Credit and Granting of Credit.
(i) Candidates who earned conditional credit prior to the implementation of the computer based exam may retain credit for passed sections if they sat for all un-passed sections of the examination and received passing grades in any two (2) sections with a minimum score of fifty (50) earned on each of the other sections written. Failure to obtain passing grades within a three (3) year period subsequent to being granted a condition shall require re-examination in all sections under the provisions of paragraphs (iv) and (v) of this sub-section. The three (3) year period may be extended by the Board at its discretion upon a showing by the candidate of the existence of conditions beyond control.
(ii) A candidate may take test sections individually and in any order. Credit for any test section(s) passed shall be valid for eighteen (18) months from the actual date the candidate took the test section. A candidate must pass all four test sections within a rolling eighteen month period which begins on the date the first passed test section was taken. A candidate may take any section of the examination up to four times during a one-year period but cannot retake any failed test section in any one three month testing period. In the event all four test sections are not passed in the rolling eighteen (18) month period, credit for any test section passed outside the eighteen (18) month period will expire and that test section must be retaken. The eighteen (18) month period may be extended by the Board at its discretion upon a showing by the candidate of the existence of conditions beyond control.
(iii) A candidate who has earned conditional credit on the paper and pencil examination at the launch of the computer-based examination will retain conditional credit for the corresponding test sections of the computer-based examination as follows:
| Paper & Pencil Examination | Computer-Based Examination |
|---|---|
| Auditing | Auditing and Attestation (A&A) |
| Financial Accounting and Reporting (FARE) | Financial Accounting & Reporting (FAR) |
| Accounting & Reporting (ARE) | Regulation (REG) |
| Business Law and Professional Responsibilities (LPR) | Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) |
(iv) A candidate who has attained conditional credits as of the launch of the computer-based examination will be allowed either three years from the date the condition was earned or the equivalent number of opportunities the candidate would have been granted under the paper examination (two (2) opportunities for each year - no more than a total of six (6)).
(v) If a candidate conditioned under the paper examination does not pass all remaining sections during the transition period, conditioned credit earned under the paper examination will expire and the candidate will lose credit for those sections. Any computer-based test section passed during the applicable transition period is subject to the granting of credit provisions of the computer-based examination.
(vi) Transfer credit shall be granted to a candidate for satisfactory completion of any section of the Uniform CPA Examination given by the licensing authority in any jurisdiction, provided the requirements as outlined in W. S. 33-3-109 and Sections 2 and 3 of this Chapter have been met.
(d) Fees: Each candidate shall pay an initial application fee not to exceed $100 or a re-examination fee not to exceed $40 and the actual examination fees charged by the AICPA, NASBA, and Prometric (test delivery service provider). Total fees shall not exceed $1000. All transfer candidates who qualify pursuant to subsection (c)(vi) above and all re-exam candidates who last applied to qualify for the 11/97 examination shall pay initial application fees. An application fee will be assessed for each application regardless of the number of examination sections applied for on each application.
(e) Cheating by a candidate in applying for, taking, or subsequent to the examination will be deemed to invalidate any grade otherwise earned by a candidate on any test section of the examination, may require the candidate be re-located, or may warrant summary expulsion from the test site and disqualification from taking the examination for a specified period of time. For purposes of this rule, the following actions or attempted activities, among others, may be considered cheating:
(i) Falsifying or misrepresenting educational credentials or other information required for admission to the examination;
(ii) Communication between candidates or others inside or outside the test site while the examination is in progress;
(iii) Copying another candidate’s answers while the examination is in progress;
(iv) Impersonating a candidate or having an impersonator take the test;
(v) Reference to crib sheets, textbooks or other materials or electronic media (other than provided to the candidate as part of the examination) inside or outside the test site while the examination is in progress;
(vi) Selling, buying, distributing or receiving any portion of a future or current examination;
(vii) Violation of the non-disclosure prohibitions of the examination or aiding or abetting in doing so;
(viii) Failure to follow examination procedures or instructions; or
(ix) Retaking or attempting to retake a test section by an individual holding a valid certificate or by a candidate who has unexpired credit for having passed the same test section, unless the individual has been directed to retake a test section pursuant to Board order or unless the Board has expressly authorized the individual to retake the test section.
(f) In any case where the Board believes it has evidence a candidate has cheated on the examination, including those cases where the candidate has been expelled from the examination, the Board shall conduct an investigation and may conduct a hearing consistent with the Administrative
Procedure Act following the examination session. Upon implementation of the computer-based examination, the Board may notify NASBA, the AICPA, and the test center of the circumstances. In any case where a candidate is barred from taking the examination in the future, the Board will provide information regarding the Board's findings and actions taken to any other Board of Accountancy to which the candidate may apply.
(g) The Board will allow a Wyoming candidate the privilege to review the grades earned on his/her CPA examination within sixty (60) days after the release of the grades in question.
Section 4. Special Provisions. The Board recognizes its responsibility to accommodate the identified needs of qualified individuals with disabilities by making reasonable modifications or providing auxiliary aids or services. This does not mean that all requests for accommodation, auxiliary aids, or services will be granted, or that the candidate will receive the particular accommodations or services sought. The Board is not required to grant the request if doing so would fundamentally alter the measurement of skills or knowledge the examination is intended to test, or would create undue financial or administrative burden.
The Board will evaluate requests for reasonable accommodations for disabled candidates who, because of special circumstances, believe they will need additional time to complete the examination and/or special accommodations for the taking of the examination on an individual basis.
A disability is defined as having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of an individual; having a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment. Mental impairment includes any mental or psychological disorder such as organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness and specific learning disabilities.
A learning disability is defined as individual evidence of significant learning difficulties which substantially affect or limit one or more major life activities, and which are not primarily due to cultural, emotional, or motivational factors. The term does not include learning problems which are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, mental retardation, emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage. The individual must demonstrate at least overall intellectual functioning as measured by general cognitive ability tests and show evidence of significant impairment in one or more of the following areas of intellectual functioning and information processing: attention and concentration; efficiency and speed of information processing; reception (perception and verbal comprehension); memory (ability for new learning); cognitive thinking; and expression. Significant impairment is generally determined by a discrepancy of 1.5 standard deviations, or more, between the individual's intellectual functioning, as measured by general cognitive ability tests as outlined in the List of Most Commonly Used Reliable Standardized Psychometric Tests as adopted by the Board and actual performance on reliable standardized measures of attention and concentration, memory, language reception and expression, cognition, as well as academic areas of reading, spelling, writing and mathematics.
(a) To request special accommodations, a candidate shall submit a written request for specific accommodations with the application. The Board may confer with consultants on the appropriateness of the request, or may request the candidate submit a second opinion. The candidate shall supply the following materials for the Board's evaluation. All materials are to be signed, original statements and shall be kept confidential to the extent provided by law. Photocopies will not be accepted:
(i) identification of the type of disability (physical, mental, learning)
(ii) professional verification of the disability by a qualified evaluator
(A) credential requirements of the evaluator
(I) For physical or mental disabilities the evaluator must be a licensed physician or licensed psychologist with special expertise in the area of the disability. If some one else who does not fit this criteria completes the evaluation, the Board may require another evaluation by a professional of their choosing, and the request may be delayed.
(II) In the case of learning disabilities, a qualified evaluator must have sufficient experience to be considered qualified to evaluate the existence of proposed accommodations needed for the specific learning disabilities. The evaluator must be either a licensed psychologist or licensed physician who possesses a minimum of three years experience working with adults with learning disabilities or another professional who possesses a master's or doctorate degree in special education or educational psychology from a regionally accredited institution. The professional's training must include at least three years of equivalent training and experience in all of the following areas: a) assessing intellectual ability level and interpreting tests of such ability; b) screening for cultural, emotional and motivational factors; c) assessing achievement level; and d) administering tests to measure attention and concentration, memory, language reception and expression, cognition, reading spelling, writing and mathematics.
(B) Professional verification of the disability must include:
(I) The nature and extent of the disability;
(II) the test(s) performed to diagnose the disability (if applicable);
(III) the effect of the disability on the candidate's ability to perform under standard testing conditions;
(IV) the recommended accommodation and how it relates to the candidates disability, given the format of the examination;
(V) the professional's name, title, telephone number, professional license or certification number, education credential, and his/her original signature; and
(VI) a description of the professional's educational experience which qualifies him/her to make the determination.
(iii) an outline of accommodations or auxiliary aids needed; and
(iv) a history of prior accommodations made in relation to the currently identified disability.
(v) The Board shall respond to all requests detailing what accommodations will be provided. The candidate shall sign and return this letter to the Board indicating the candidate's acceptance of the specified accommodations.
(vi) No changes in any special accommodations granted may be made unless further documentation is presented that proves that there has been a change in the condition of the candidate. The Board may request confirmation of the original diagnosis every two (2) years.
(vii) The candidate shall pay for the statements submitted to the Board. The Board's consultants and any second opinions shall be paid by the Board.
(i) A candidate whose request for accommodation, auxiliary aids, or services is denied in whole or in part will be provided with the reasons, and may appeal the denial in accordance with these procedures.
(ii) If the denial is based on the rejection of the professional's opinion supporting the request, the Board must support such rejection with evidence from another expert whom it has consulted in evaluating the candidate's request. The candidate will be provided with the general opinion of the Board's expert, including the basis for the opinion. A candidate's appeal of a decision denying his/her request shall be in the form of a signed or otherwise verified request, including the following: candidate's name, date of request, the appeal itself, and facts in support of the appeal. The appeal must be accompanied by documentation not previously provided which the candidate wishes the Board to consider in its decision. The appeal must be postmarked no later than seven (7) days after the candidate receives notification of the denial. The Board reserves the right to request further evidence on the necessity of the accommodation, in such cases the Board will assume responsibility for any expenses incurred in obtaining this information.
Section 5. Security and Irregularities. Notwithstanding any other provisions under these rules, the Board may postpone scheduled examinations, the release of grades, or the issuance of certificates due to a breach of examination security; unauthorized acquisition or disclosure of the contents of an examination; suspected or actual negligence, errors, omissions, or irregularities in conducting an examination; or for any other reasonable cause or unforeseen circumstance.
Section 6. Board Authority. The board, at its discretion, may suspend the examination requirements imposed by this Chapter for undue hardship, the existence of conditions beyond a candidate’s control, or other good cause shown.