Activity Review
North Carolina State
Board of Certified Public
Accountant Examiners
1101 Oberlin Road, Suite 104 • PO Box 12827 • Raleigh, NC 27605 • 919-733-4222 • No. 8-2007
Is Your Firm’s Web Site in Compliance
with Board Rules?
Many North Carolina CPA firms now
have web sites, but some CPA firms
may not be aware that the Board con¬
siders a CPA firm's web site as a form
of advertising, and as such, the web
site must comply with 21 NCAC
8N .0306, Advertising or Other Forms of
Solicitation.
21 NCAC 8N .0306(d) states, "Any
CPA or CPA firm offering to or per¬
forming professional services via the
Internet shall include the following
information on the Internet:
(1) CPA business or CPA firm name;
(2) principal place of business;
(3) the business phone; and
(4) North Carolina certificate number
and North Carolina as state of certifi¬
cation."
In addition, a CPA or CPA firm
can offer or perform professional
services via the Internet only in the
exact name of the CPA firm as
registered with the Board
[21 NCAC 8N .0306(c)],
Although the Board allows a CPA
firm's web site to provide a descrip¬
tion of a CPA's position within the
firm or his or her professional experi¬
ence, the Board limits the information
that can be provided on unlicensed
staff.
In a December 2001 Declaratory
Ruling (Activity Review No. 4-2002),
the Board concluded that unlicensed
staff, if listed on the CPA firm's web
site, must be listed in a separate sec¬
tion from the licensed staff.
The section for unlicensed staff
must be clearly titled in such a way
that the public will not be misled into
believing that those staff members are
licensed by this Board, or are other¬
wise authorized to render professional
services without the supervision of an
individual licensed by the Board.
In regard to an unlicensed staff
member, the Board ruled that on the
firm's web site, a firm can only include
the unlicensed staff member's name,
his or her position title, the firm's busi¬
ness address, and the staff member's
telephone number, fax number, and e-
mail address.
Resume-type information for an
unlicensed staff member cannot be in¬
cluded on the firm's web site.
If your firm has a web site or is
developing a web site, it is important
to ensure that your web site is in com¬
pliance with the Board's rules and
guidance on advertising, and that the
information on the web site is up-to-
date and accurate.
If you have questions regarding
your firm's web site, please contact the
Board's Executive Director, Robert N.
Brooks, by e-mail at rbrooks®
nccpaboard.gov.
Developing a Practice
Continuation Plan
No one likes to think about it, but we
are all subject to illnesses and inju¬
ries, some of which can disable us for
months or years.
What would happen to your firm
if you were unable to work for an
extended period of time? Whatwould
happen to your firm if you were per¬
manently disabled and never able to
return to work? What would happen
to your firm if you died?
A practice continuation plan
(PCP) can prove to be invaluable to a
CPA firm in ensuring the firm's con¬
tinued operation in the event of the
retirement, disability, ordeathof key
personnel.
A 2004 succession planning sur¬
vey by the A1CPA indicated that more
Practice Continuation Plan
continued on
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www.nccpaboard.gov
In this issue...
Amended Consent Judgment . 2
Board Meetings . 6
Certificates Issued . 5
Disciplinary Action . 6
Exam Fees . 4
Inactive Status . 7
Licensing Fees . 5
Reclassifications . 6
