Wyo. Code R. 061-0001-6
Accountants, Board of Certified Public
Chapter 6: Rules of Professional Conduct
Effective Date: 09/24/2007 to 09/05/2008
Rule Type: Superceded Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 061.0001.6.09242007
Section 1. Preamble. This Code of Professional Conduct is promulgated under the authority granted by W.S. 33-3-108, which delegates to the Wyoming Board of Certified Public Accountants the power and duty to prescribe rules of professional conduct for establishing and maintaining high standards of competence and integrity in the profession of public accountancy.
(a) The Rules of Professional Conduct set out below rest upon the premise that the public places trust and confidence in the CPA profession and the services it provides. The public consists of clients, credit grantors, governments, employers, investors, the business and financial community, and others who use CPA services. Consequently, licensees have a duty to conduct themselves in a manner that will be beneficial to the public and which fosters such trust and confidence. This Code of Professional Conduct identifies the fundamental principles of conduct intended to govern licensees' in all aspects of professional performance whether they are in public practice, industry, not-for profit organizations, government, education or other professional endeavors. The independence rules apply only to those professional services where it is required by the applicable professional standards.
(b) When a certificate or permit holder accepts an engagement to perform professional services in the practice of public accounting, or uses a title which implies a particular competence, the certificate holder accepts the obligations set forth in the Rules of Conduct, and accordingly has a duty to abide by the Rules of Conduct.
(c) In applying any of the professional standards, the Board may consider as persuasive, but not necessarily conclusive, and or adopt by reference applicable interpretations and rulings of the Code of Professional Conduct adopted by the AICPA, as well as similarly applicable interpretations and rulings issued by other authorities such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Government Accountability Office, and the PCAOB. The rules of conduct shall apply to certificate holders regardless of membership status in the AICPA.
(d) A certificate holder who is engaged in the practice of public accounting outside the United States will not be subject to discipline by the Board for departing, with respect to such foreign practice, from any of the rules, so long as his conduct is in accordance with standards of professional conduct applicable to the practice of public accounting in the country in which he is practicing. However, even in such a case, if a holder's name is associated with financial statements in such a manner as to imply that he is acting as an independent public accountant and under circumstances that would entitle the reader to assume that United States practices are followed, he will be expected to comply with Rules 202, 203, 205 and 206.
(e) All standards referenced in the Chapter and applicable interpretations thereto are adopted by the Board and do not include any later amendments or editions than specifically referenced. Copies of the authoritative standards referenced in this chapter are available or may be purchased from the AICPA, electronically at https://www.cpa2biz.com/Stores/AICPA; Securities & Exchange Commission, 1801 California, Suite 4800, Denver, CO 80202-2648; or US Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington DC, 20210; Government Auditing Standards may be accessed electronically at http://www.gao.gov. PCAOB standards may be accessed electronically at http://www.pcaobus.org.
(a) Rule 101 - Independence. A holder shall be independent in the performance of professional services as required by standards promulgated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Code of Professional Conduct, ET Section 55 and ET Section 101 as of June 1, 2007; the Government Auditing Standards, January 2007; the standards issued by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission or the PCAOB as of May 12, 2006 where applicable; and the standards issued by the US Department of Labor @29CFR 2509.75-9 where applicable.
(b) Rule 102 - Integrity and Objectivity. In the performance of any professional service, a holder shall maintain objectivity and integrity, shall be free of conflicts of interest, and shall not knowingly misrepresent facts or subordinate his judgement to others.
(c) Rule 103 - Commissions. A holder shall not pay a commission to obtain a client or accept a commission from or in behalf of a client when the holder also performs for that client:
(i) an audit or review of a financial statement;
(ii) a compilation of a financial statement when the holder expects, or reasonably might expect, that a third party will use the financial statement and the holder's report does not disclose a lack of independence;
(iii) an examination of prospective financial information; or
(iv) any other service requiring independence.
(d) Rule 104 - Contingent Fees. Solely for purposes of this rule, fees are not regarded as being contingent if fixed by courts or other public authorities; or in tax matters, if determined based on the results of judicial proceedings or the findings of governmental agencies; or fees from services performed for other non-attest clients.
(i) A holder shall not offer to perform or perform professional services for a fee which is contingent upon the findings or results of such services when providing any of the services listed in subsection (c)(i) through (iv) of this section.
(ii) A holder shall not prepare an original or amended tax return or claim for a tax refund for a contingent fee for any client.
(e) Referral Fees. A holder may accept or pay a referral fee for the sale of services or products to a client if the holder does not perform any of the services listed in subsection (c)(i) through (iv) of this section.
(f) The prohibitions listed in subsections (c), (d) and (e) of this section shall apply during the period in which the holder is engaged to perform any of the services listed above and the period covered by any historical financial statements involved in the listed services.
(g) Disclosure of permitted commissions, contingent fees, or referral fees. A holder who is not prohibited by these rules from performing services or receiving commissions, contingent fees, or referral fees and who expects to be paid the fee shall make written disclosure in advance of accepting the engagement.
(h) This rule does not prohibit payments for the purchase of all, or a material part, of an accounting practice, or retirement payments to persons formerly engaged in the practice of public accounting, or payments to the heirs or estates of such persons.
(a) Rule 201 - Competence. A holder shall not undertake any engagement for the performance of professional services which cannot reasonably be completed with due professional competence in a timely manner, including compliance, where applicable, with Rules 202, 203, 205, 206, and 207.
(b) Rule 202 - Auditing Standards. Holders who perform auditing services shall comply with applicable generally accepted auditing standards. Applicable generally accepted auditing standards are the standards set forth in the Codification of Statements on Auditing Standards as of January 1, 2007; Government Auditing Standards, January 2007; standards issued by the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission or the PCAOB standards as of February 6, 2006 where applicable; and other pronouncements having similar generally recognized authority are considered to be interpretations of generally accepted auditing standards, and departures therefrom must be justified by those who do not follow them.
(c) Rule 203 - Accounting Principles. A holder shall not express an opinion that financial statements are presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles if such financial statements contain any departure from such accounting
principles which has a material effect on the financial statements taken as a whole, unless the holder can demonstrate that by reason of unusual circumstances the financial statements would otherwise have been misleading. In such a case, the holder's report must describe the departure, the approximate effects thereof, if practicable, and the reason why compliance with the principle would result in misleading statement. For purposes of this rule, generally accepted accounting principles are considered to be defined by pronouncements issued by: the Financial Accounting Standards Board and its predecessor entities, as published in Accounting Standards, Current Text, General Standards as of June 1, 2007 and Accounting Standards, Current Text, Industry Standards as of June 1, 2007 the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, its predecessor entities, as published in the Codification of the Governmental Accounting and Financial Reporting Standards as of June 30, 2007; and similar pronouncements issued by other entities having similar generally recognized authority.
(d) Rule 205 - Accounting and Review Services. A holder who performs accounting and review services shall conform to the professional standards applicable to such services. For purposes of this rule, such professional standards are considered to be defined by Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services as of January 1, 2007 issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and by similar pronouncements by other entities having similar generally recognized authority.
(e) Rule 206 - Attestation standards. A holder shall not be associated with assurances on representations other than historical financial statements unless such assurances have been made in accordance with the Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements as of January 1, 2007 or the Government Auditing Standards as of January 2007, where applicable.
(f) Rule 207 - Other professional standards: In performing tax services, personal financial planning, business valuation, litigation support and expert witness, and other management advisory or consulting services certificate holders shall comply with the applicable professional standards for such services. For purposes of this rule, such professional standards are defined by the Statements on Standards for Consulting Services, Statement on Standards for Tax Services, Statements on Responsibilities in Personal Financial Planning Practice, all of which are issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as of June 1, 2007, the Governmental Auditing Standards as of January 2007 where applicable, the PCAOB standards as of May 12, 2006 where applicable, or by similar pronouncements by other entities having similar generally recognized authority.
(a) Rule 301 - Confidential Client Information. A holder shall not without the consent of his client disclose any confidential information pertaining to his client obtained in the course of performing professional services.
(i) This rule does not:
(A) relieve a holder of any obligation under Rules 202 and 203;
(B) affect in any way a certificate holder's obligation to comply with a validly issued subpoena or summons enforceable by order of a court;
(C) prohibit disclosures in the course of a quality review of a holder's professional services; or
(D) Preclude a certificate holder from responding to any inquiry made by the Board or any investigative or disciplinary body established by law or formally recognized by the Board.
(ii) Members of the Board and professional practice reviewers shall not disclose any confidential client information which comes to their attention from certificate holders in disciplinary proceedings or otherwise in carrying out their responsibilities, except that they may furnish such information to an investigative or disciplinary body of the kind referred to above.
(b) Rule 302 - Records. A certificate holder shall furnish to his client or former client, upon request made within a reasonable time after original issuance of the document in question;
(i) a copy of a tax return of the client;
(ii) a copy of any report, or other document, issued by the certificate holder to or for such a client;
(iii) other client records - a client's records are any accounting or other records belonging to the client that were provided to the certificate holder by or on behalf of the client;
(iv) a copy of the certificate holder's working papers when those work papers contain information that is not reflected in the client's books and records, with the result that the client's financial information is incomplete. This includes adjusting, closing, combining or consolidating journal entries; information normally contained in books of original entry general ledgers or subsidiary ledgers; and tax and depreciation carry forward information. The certificate holder may require that all fees due be paid before this information is provided. A certificate holder's working papers, including but not limited to, analysis and schedules prepared by the client at the request of the certificate holder, are the certificate holder's property, not client records, and need not be made available.
(v) The information shall be provided in the medium requested, written or electronic, provided it exists in that medium. The certificate holder may make and retain copies of such documents when they form the basis for work done by him and is entitled to reasonable reimbursement for copies made for the client. If an engagement is terminated prior to completion, the certificate holder is required to return only client records.
(vi) Record Retention: Absent any specific regulations or professional standards issued by governmental agencies or other agencies having generally recognized authority with jurisdiction over the certificate or permit holder's engagement, holders shall retain records for attest engagements no less than seven (7) years from the date of completion of the engagement. All other records must be retained for a minimum of three (3) years from the date of completion of the engagement. In the absence of regulations mentioned which define records, retained records shall include, but are not limited to, work papers and other documents that contain conclusions, opinions and analysis, or financial data related to the engagement. If records are retained electronically, the holder shall ensure that records are capable of being accessed, for read-only purposes, throughout the required retention period established and are safeguarded through sound computer security procedures to prevent unauthorized access to records. If a pending investigation exists, records shall not be destroyed until the Board has notified the holder in writing of the closure of the investigation or issued a formal decision based on the investigation.
(a) Rule 401 - Discreditable Acts. A holder shall not commit any act that reflects adversely on his fitness to engage in the practice of public accounting. Acts which reflect adversely on one's fitness include but are not limited to:
(vii) Solicitation or disclosure of CPA examination questions.
(b) Rule 402 - Acting Through Others. A certificate holder shall not permit others to carry out on his behalf, either with or without compensation, acts which, if carried out by the certificate holder, would place him in violation of the Rules of Conduct.
(c) Rule 403 - Advertising.
(i) A certificate holder shall not use or participate in the use of any form of public communication which contains a false, fraudulent, misleading, deceptive or unfair statement or claim. A false, fraudulent, misleading, deceptive or unfair statement or claim includes, but is not limited to, a statement or claim which:
(A) contains a misrepresentation of fact;
(B) is likely to mislead or deceive because it fails to make full disclosure of relevant facts;
(C) contains any testimonial, laudatory, or other statement or implication that the certificate holder's professional services are of exceptional quality, which are not supported by verifiable acts;
(D) is intended or likely to create false or unjustified expectations of favorable results;
(E) implies educational or professional attainments, formal recognition as a specialist, or licensing recognition which cannot be verified;
(F) represents that professional services can or will be competently performed for a stated fee when this is not the case, or makes representation with respect to fees for professional services that do not disclose all variables that may reasonably be expected to affect the fees that will in fact be charged; or
(G) contains other representations or implications that in reasonable probability will cause an ordinarily prudent person to misunderstand or be deceived.
(H) A holder advertising to perform professional services via the Internet shall include the following information on the Internet:
(I) business or firm name;
(II) principal place of business;
(III) business phone; and
(IV) Wyoming certificate number or if for a CPA firm, the Wyoming designated certificate holder's certificate number.
(ii) A certificate holder who maintains the certificate on inactive or retired status shall not hold out or participate in any form of public communication which constitutes advertising accounting services or references the CPA designation.
(d) Rule 405 - Form of Practice.
(i) Subject to all the provisions and restrictions of the Rules and Regulations, a certificate holder may practice public accounting within a duly registered CPA Firm, or as an employee of a governmental entity, academic institution, or private industry.
(e) Rule 406 - Firm Names.
(i) A certificate holder shall not practice public accounting under a firm name which is misleading in any way, as to the legal form of the firm, or as to the persons who are partners, members, officers or shareholders of the firm, or as to any matter with respect to which public communications are restricted by Rule 403.
(A) Unless otherwise approved by the Board, firms may not register under a firm name that includes names of individuals who have never been certified in any jurisdiction or names of individuals whose certificates are currently suspended or revoked.
(B) A CPA firm registered in compliance with W. S. 33-3-127 and the rules and regulations that uses persons names within it may use the name(s) of current, retired or deceased owners, either alone or with other descriptive terms in its name.
(C) A CPA firm registered in compliance with W. S. 33-3-127 and the rules and regulations may use an assumed or trade name if it is not misleading.
(D) The designation 'and company' or 'and associates' or similar terms will not be considered misleading when used in a firm name when a certificate holder or public accounting firm registered in compliance with W. S. 33-3-127 and the rules and regulations, has employees, professional associates, or contractual relationships with other professionals.
(ii) A firm may not designate itself as 'Certified Public Accountants' unless it meets all the requirements to register under this act and the rules and regulations.
(iii) No misleading name may be adopted or used for any CPA Firm registered with the Board.
(i) A certificate holder shall, when requested, respond in writing to communications from the Board within thirty (30) days of the mailing of such communications by registered or certified mail.
(ii) A certificate holder shall fully cooperate with the Board in connection with any inquiry it may make and is also obliged to comply with a lawfully issued subpoena.
(iii) A certificate holder shall furnish all documentation required to support any application as requested by the Board.
(i) Unless the Board has granted a specific exemption, a certificate holder who maintains the certificate on inactive or retired status is prohibited from providing any service defined in W. S. 33-3-109 or Chapter 1, Section 2(d) to any employer, client, other party or organization, or any entity not wholly owned by the certificate holder.
(ii) This prohibition applies regardless of the assumption or use of the CPA designation in connection with services provided.
(iii) This prohibition applies regardless of compensation received or not received for services provided.