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. 01-2010
CBT-e to Launch
January 1, 2011
Are You Practicing Law?
In 2009, the AICPA announced that
January 1, 2011, had been selected as
the launch date for what will, in
effect, be a new Uniform CPA Ex¬
amination. [TTiis new version of the
Exam has been named the CBT-e; CBT
stands for Computer-Based Testing and
the "e" for evolution.]
The following are just some of
the many changes that will be imple¬
mented on January 1, 2011, when
CBT-e is launched:
• New Content and Skill Speci¬
fication Outlines (CSOs/SSOs), in¬
cluding International Financial Re¬
porting Standards (IFRS), will go into
effect.
• A new release of authorita¬
tive literature, with codified FASB
Accounting Standards, and a new
research task format will be intro¬
duced on the Exam.
• The components of Exam sec¬
tions will be reorganized, with all
written communication tasks to be
concentrated in one section - Busi¬
ness Environment and Concepts
(ВЕС);
section time allocations will
be adjusted.
• Short Task-Based Simulations
(TBS) will replace simulations in the
current (long) format in Auditing
and Attestation (AUD), Financial Ac¬
counting and Reporting (FAR), and
Regulation (REG).
For more information on the
CBT-e, visit the AlCPA's Exam web
site, www.cpa-exam.org.
North Carolina General Statute (NCGS)
93-1 (b) prohibits CPAs from engaging
in the practice of law unless duly
licensed to do so; NCGS 84-2.1 and 4
define which activities constitute the
practice of law.
The statutes identify certain spe¬
cific activities as the practice of law,
including the organizing of corpora¬
tions, the preparation and filing of legal
pleadings, the preparation and filing of
estate inventories and accountings with
a Clerk of Court, and the preparation of
wills and trusts.
The North Carolina State Bar has
consistently held that the preparation
of articles of incorporation and corpo¬
rate bylaws is the practice of law.
The filing of an initial and ninety-
day inventory and accountings for an
estate with a Clerk of Court is also
considered the practice of law.
However, providing assistance to
clients in preparation of the informa¬
tion for estate filings is permissible.
Although attorneys also provide
these sendees, CPAs may filefiduciary,
federal estate, and North Carolina in¬
heritance tax returns for an estate.
According to the statutes, the statu¬
tory listing of activities constituting the
practice of law is neither exclusive nor
exhaustive.
The statutes also prohibit non-law¬
yers from representing parties in quasi¬
judicial proceedings.
Accordingly, the State Bar has
previously ruled that representing a
third party before the regular Tax
Review Board constitutes the practice
of law as it is expressly defined as a
quasi-judicial proceeding.
Although the State Bar has not had
an opportunity to consider
representation of third parties before
the augmented Tax Review Board, the
State Bar states that any proceeding at
which evidence and legal arguments
are presented with a right of appeal to
the courts should be considered as
quasi-judicial.
21 NCAC 08N .0204 states that
CPAs shall not act in a way that would
cause them to be disciplined by a federal
or state agency or board for violation of
laws, rules, or ethics.
If you have questions about ser¬
vices you offer or perform that may be
considered the practice of law, please
contact David Johnson, counsel to the
Authorized Practice Committee of the
North Carolina State Bar, by telephone
at (919) 828-4620 or by e-mail at
djohnson@ncbar.com.
www.nccpaboard.gov
—
In This Issue...
2010 Board Meetings . 4
Board Committees . 6
Board Staff E-Mail Addresses . 7
Cease & Desist Order . 6
Disciplinary Actions . 2
Licensing Activity . 4
NC Public Campaign Fund . 7
Resolution:
Norwood G. Clark, Jr., CPA . 3
