Wyo. Code R. 061-0001-2
Accountants, Board of Certified Public
Chapter 2: Examination
Effective Date: 03/20/2018 to 10/28/2019
Rule Type: Superceded Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 061.0001.2.03202018
Chapter 2 Examination
Section 1. Authority. These rules are promulgated pursuant to W.S. 33-3-108 and W.S. 33-3-111.
(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 4(d) of this chapter, payable by check to the Wyoming Board of Certified Public Accountants or via credit card payment by accessing the self-serve payment link offered by the board. Forms may be obtained from the board or may be downloaded from the board’s website.
(b) The board shall forward notification of eligibility in the form of an Authorization to Test (ATT) for the computer-based Uniform CPA Examination (examination) to the candidate and NASBA’s National Candidate Database. Upon receiving the ATT from the board, the candidate shall:
(i) Contact NASBA to obtain a Notice to Schedule (NTS) the examination, and
(ii) Forward all applicable examination fees required by section 4(d) of this chapter to NASBA.
(c) The ATT expires 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, whichever occurs first. A candidate whose ATT expired is not entitled to a refund of any fees, including examination fees, and the candidate must reapply to the board.
(d) Eligible candidates who have received an NTS shall independently contact a test center identified by NASBA to schedule the examination at an approved test site.
(e) A candidate who fails to appear for a scheduled section of the examination is not entitled to a refund of any fee paid to the board or examination fees paid to NASBA.
(f) The board reserves the right to deny the application or invalidate scores of any individual for any of the following reasons:
(i) Failure to furnish all information required under this chapter;
(ii) Conviction of a felony under any state or United States law;
(iii) Conviction of any crime, an element of which is dishonesty or fraud, any state or United States law;
(iv) Falsifying information required by the application process; or
(v) Misconduct on the examination as set forth in section 4(e) of this chapter or as determined by any United States board of accountancy.
(g) Applicants shall meet the requirements of W.S. 33-3-109(a)(i) through (ii) by demonstrating that they:
(i) Are at least eighteen years of age; and
(ii) Hold a valid Wyoming drivers license; or
(iii) Have a current Wyoming physical/street address (not P.O. Box); or
(iv) Are currently employed in Wyoming or have a valid documented and accepted offer of employment that will begin within six (6) months of the application date; or
(v) Are a current student at a Wyoming community college or the University of Wyoming (UW).
(a) Applicants shall furnish evidence in the form of a transcript(s) delivered directly to the board office by the college or university that evidences completion of the following education requirements:
(i) An applicant who qualifies under W.S. 33-3-111 shall have completed a baccalaureate or higher degree including a minimum of twenty-four (24) semester hours in accounting courses in some or all of the following subjects:
(A) Financial accounting and reporting for business organizations;
(B) Financial accounting and reporting for government and not-for profit entities;
(C) Auditing and attestation services;
(D) Managerial or cost accounting;
(E) Taxation;
(F) Fraud examination;
(G) Internal controls and risk assessment; (H) Financial statement analysis; (I) Accounting or tax research and analysis; (J) Accounting information systems; (K) Ethics; or
(L) Other areas included in the Uniform CPA Examination Content Specification Outline or as may be determined by the board.
(ii) An applicant who qualifies under W.S. 33-3-111 shall also have completed at least twenty-four (24) semester hours of business courses (other than accounting) at the undergraduate or graduate level covering some or all of the following subjects:
(A) Business law; (B) Economics; (C) Management; (D) Marketing; (E) Finance; (F) Business communications; (G) Statistics; (H) Quantitative methods; (I) Technical writing; (J) Information systems or technology; (K) Ethics; or (L) Others areas as may be determined by the board.
(b) A maximum of six (6) semester hours for internships may count toward the accounting or business subject matter requirements. “Internship” means short-term faculty supervised work experience usually related to a student’s major field of study for which the student earns academic credit.
(c) The official transcript which evidences compliance with the requirements set forth in subsection (a) above shall be forwarded to the board’s office directly from the college or university that is accredited by one of the following accrediting associations or successor accrediting associations:
(d) Credit earned through life experience as a result of an applicant passing the examination shall not qualify towards meeting any of the course requirements.
(e) Transcripts that document a graduate degree with a concentration in accounting from a program that is accredited in accounting by the AACSB shall be equivalent to the requirements outlined in subsection (a)(i) of this section.
(f) One quarter unit or hour is equivalent to two-thirds (2/3) of a semester unit or hour.
(g) Candidates qualifying based on a degree earned in a foreign country shall submit transcripts to a foreign education 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 rely on the examination and the AICPA advisory grading service.
(b) The candidate shall receive a passing score as determined by the AICPA in each of the four (4) examination sections before a certificate will be issued. A passing score shall be seventy-five (75). Credit for passing a section is valid from the date of the testing event regardless of the date the candidate is notified or receives the score.
(c) Granting of Credit.
(i) A candidate may take examination sections individually and in any order. Credit for any examination section passed shall be valid for eighteen (18) months from the date the candidate took the examination section. A candidate must pass all four (4) examination sections within a rolling eighteen (18) month period that begins on the testing date of the first passed examination section. A candidate may take any section of the examination up to four (4) times during a one-year period but cannot retake any failed examination section in any one (1) three (3) month testing period. In the event all four (4) examination sections are not passed in the rolling eighteen (18) month period, credit for any examination section passed outside the eighteen (18) month period shall expire and that examination section shall be retaken. The eighteen (18) month period may be extended by the board at its discretion upon a showing by the candidate of good cause.
(ii) Transfer credit shall be granted to a candidate for satisfactory completion of any section of the examination given by the licensing authority in any jurisdiction, provided the requirements as outlined in W.S. 33-3-109 and sections 3 and 4 of this chapter have been met.
(d) Fees: Each candidate shall pay an initial application fee to the board of $110.00 or a re-examination application fee of $50.00. The examination fees charged to candidates by the AICPA, NASBA, and the examination delivery service provider are paid directly to NASBA. All transfer candidates who qualify under subsection (c)(ii) above and all re-examination candidates who last applied for the examination in excess of three (3) years before the current application date 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) Misconduct by a candidate in applying for, taking, or subsequent to the examination shall invalidate any score otherwise earned by a candidate on any examination section of the examination, may require the candidate to be relocated, or may warrant summary expulsion from the examination 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 misconduct:
(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 examination site while the examination is in progress;
(f) In any case where the board believes it has evidence a candidate has engaged in misconduct 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 Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. Contested case hearings shall be conducted pursuant to the Office of Administrative Hearings’ Uniform Rules for Contested Case Practice and Procedure. The board shall notify NASBA, the AICPA, and the examination center of the investigative findings. In any case where a candidate is barred from taking the examination in the future, the board shall provide information regarding the board’s findings and actions taken to any other board of accountancy to which the candidate may apply.
(g) Subject to terms and conditions imposed by NASBA or the AICPA, including but not limited to, the candidate bearing all travel and examination score review and appeal costs, the board may allow a Wyoming candidate the privilege to review and appeal the scores earned on the examination within sixty (60) days after the release of the examination section scores in question.
(a) The board hereby incorporates by reference the following uniform rules:
(i) Chapter 2 - Uniform Rules for Contested Case Practice and Procedure adopted by the Office of Administrative Hearings and effective on October 17, 2014, found at: https://rules.wyo.gov.
(b) For these rules incorporated by reference:
(i) The board has determined that incorporation of the full text in these rules would be cumbersome or inefficient given the length or nature of the rules;
(ii) The incorporation by reference does not include any later amendments or editions of the incorporated matter beyond the applicable date identified in subsection (a)(i) of this section; and
(iii) The incorporated rules are maintained at the board office and are available for public inspection and copying at the same location.
Section 6. Security and Irregularities. Notwithstanding any other provisions under these rules, the board may postpone scheduled examinations, the release of scores, 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.