Rule 30-1-2.2 - CPA ExaminationRule 2.2.1. Examinee Qualifications: The CPA examination as required by the Public Accountancy Act is to determine minimum competency of an individual for licensure purposes. The CPA examination shall test the knowledge and skills required for performance as an entry-level certified public accountant. The examination shall include the subject areas of accounting and auditing and related knowledge and skills as the Board may require. In accordance with Rule 2.1. of these Rules and Regulations, an applicant for a CPA license must pass the CPA examination in addition to other licensure requirements. Candidates for the CPA examination must satisfy the following requirements to qualify to sit for the CPA examination as a Mississippi candidate:(a) Educational Requirement: Candidates who first sit for the CPA examination on or after July 1, 2016, must have completed at least 120 semester hours of college education including a baccalaureate or higher degree conferred by an accredited four-year college or university or the equivalent acceptable to the Board, with an accounting concentration determined by Board rule to be appropriate. (1) Accreditation acceptable to the Board shall be by one of the following accrediting agencies or its successor: a. For the accounting program or business school, accreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business - International (AACSB), orb. For colleges or universities without AACSB accreditation, accreditation by one of the following regional accrediting agencies or its successor:i. Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools; Middle States Commission on Higher Educationii. The Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of The New England Association of Schools and Collegesiii. North Central Association of Colleges Schools - The Higher Learning Commissioniv. Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universitiesv. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Collegesvi. Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities(2) Accounting Concentration: The candidate shall be determined to have the equivalent of an accounting concentration if he has at least 48 semester hours of upper division or graduate level accounting and business related courses as approved by the Board at an accredited four-year college or university with a minimum of 24 semester hours of accounting at the upper division or graduate level, including a minimum of 3 semester hours each in courses covering the following subjects: d. accounting information systems(3) The educational requirements must be completed before the candidate first applies to take the examination.(4) Credit for hours taken at accredited colleges and universities using the quarter system shall be counted as 1/2 of a semester hour for each hour of credit received under the quarter system.(b) Residency: The candidate must be a resident of the State of Mississippi. Residency shall be determined by the Board based on all of the facts and circumstances of each individual case. Factors normally considered by the Board in determining residency are as follows:(1) Place of registration as a voter(2) Vehicle registration and tags(3) Filing of Mississippi State Resident Income Tax Returns(4) Qualifying for Homestead Exemption in Mississippi and payment of real estate taxes to this state, and/or(5) Graduation from a Mississippi university or college(c) Good Moral Character: As the passing of the CPA examination is the initial qualification to licensure, a candidate must be able to demonstrate that he possesses good moral character in order to qualify to sit for the examination. In evaluating good moral character, the Board shall consider a candidate's criminal record including but not limited to felony convictions or pleas; discipline before state, local or federal jurisdictions; and other documents and/or records determined appropriate in the circumstance.Rule 2.2.2. Fees: The candidate shall, for each test section applied for, pay to the Board or its designee candidate testing fees that include the actual fees charged by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), and the test delivery service provider, as well as a nonrefundable application processing fee established by the State Board.Rule 2.2.5. Applications: (a) Candidates must apply for the CPA examination on application forms provided by the Board and filed with the Board as specified in the application form.(b) An application will not be considered filed until the application processing fee, other examination fees, and all required supporting documents have been received, including proof of identity as determined by the Board and specified on the application form, official transcripts and proof that candidate has satisfied the education, residency, and good moral character requirements.(c) Applications are active until the candidate sits for the applicable (s) but no longer than six months. A candidate who fails to appear for an examination shall forfeit all fees charged for both the application and the examination.(d) The Board or its designee will forward notification of eligibility for the computer-based examination to NASBA's National Candidate Database.(e) Any person who files an application for the CPA examination containing false statements, false references, or false signatures, may, at the discretion of the Board, be temporarily or permanently barred from taking the examination.Rule 2.2.6. Time and place of CPA examination: The Board shall notify candidates of their eligibility and notice eligible candidates to schedule within the required time period and with an approved test site identified by the Board. Scheduling reexaminations must be made in accordance with Rule 2.2.10. below.Rule 2.2.10 Examination Grades, Conditioning, Reexamination:(a) The Board shall notify CPA examination candidates in writing of examination results. The passing grade for each test is 75.(b) The Board may use the Uniform CPA Examination and advisory grading service and may rely solely upon grades assigned to that examination by the administering entity.(c) A candidate may take the required test sections individually and in any order. Credit for passing any test section shall be valid for that test section for thirty (30) months from the date the passing score for such test section is released by NASBA to the candidate or the Board, as the case may be, regardless of the number of test sections taken or having to attain a minimum score on any failed section(s). (1) A candidate shall pass all required test sections within a rolling thirty (30) month period. The rolling thirty (30) month period begins on the date the first passing score(s) are released by NASBA to the candidate or the Board, as the case may be. The rolling thirty (30) month period concludes on the date the candidate sits for the final test section passed, regardless of when the score is released by NASBA for the final test section.(2) A candidate who earns initial credit on one or more test section(s) of the CPA examination must sit for and complete the remaining required test section(s) of the examination by midnight local time at the Board's main office on the last day of the thirty (30) month period.(3) If all required test sections are not passed within this initial thirty (30) month period, credit for the first test section(s) passed shall expire and a new rolling thirty (30) month period shall begin on the date the second passing score(s) were released by NASBA to the candidate or the Board, as the case may be, and continue for thirty (30) months from that date. If all required test section(s) are not passed within this next rolling thirty (30) month period, credit for the second test section(s) passed shall expire and a new rolling thirty (30) month period will begin on the date the next test section passing score, if any, was released by NASBA to the candidate or the Board, as the case may be, and this cycle of thirty (30) month rolling periods and test section credit expirations will continue until all test sections are passed within one thirty (30) month rolling period. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a candidate stops testing for a thirty (30) month period, then all credit for previously passed test sections will expire.(d) A candidate shall not retake a failed test section until the candidate has been notified of the score for the most recent attempt of that failed test section.(e) A candidate shall be deemed to have passed the examination if the candidate obtains credit for passing all required test sections in one rolling thirty (30) month period.(f) A candidate shall retain credit for any and all required test sections of the examination passed as a candidate of another state if such credit would have been given under then applicable requirements in this State.(g) Notwithstanding subsection (c), (d), and (e) of this rule, the period of time in which to pass all required test sections of the examination may be extended by the Board upon a showing of: 1. Individual hardship including, but not limited to, health; military service; a disruption at a local, regional, or national level impacting the candidate; or other circumstances beyond the candidate's control, or2. Recommendations of NASBA, AICPA, or other state regulatory authority for additional extensions of time.Rule 2.2.11. Transfer of Credits from Other States: A candidate shall retain credit for any and all test sections of an examination passed in another state if such credit would have been given, under then applicable Mississippi requirements had the candidate taken the examination in this State. The applicant's grade or grades on test sections passed in such other states shall be determined and approved by the Board before transfer is approved. A candidate who applies for a transfer of any credits from another state shall file an application acceptable to the Board and pay the required fee. Rule 2.2.12. Cheating:(a) 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, and may warrant summary expulsion from the test site and disqualification from taking the examination.(b) For purposes of this rule, the following actions or attempted activities, among others, may be considered cheating: (1) Falsifying or misrepresenting educational credentials or other information required for admission to the examination;(2) Communication between candidates inside or outside the test site or copying another candidate's answers while the examination is in progress;(3) Communication with others inside or outside the test site while the examination is in progress;(4) Substitution of another person to sit in the test site in the stead of a candidate;(5) Reference to cheat sheets, textbooks or other material or electronic media (other than that provided to the candidate as part of the examination) inside or outside the test site while the examination is in progress.(6) Violating the nondisclosure prohibitions of the examination or aiding or abetting another in doing so.(7) Retaking or attempting to retake a test section by an individual holding a valid CPA certificate/license or by a candidate who has unexpired credit for having already passed the same test section, unless pursuant to Board order or unless the individual has been expressly authorized by the Board to participate in a "secret shopper" program.(c) In any case where it appears that cheating has occurred or is occurring, the Board or its representatives may either summarily expel the candidate involved from the examination or move the candidate to a position in the test center away from other examinees where the candidate can be watched more closely.(d) In any case where the Board believes that it has evidence that 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 disciplinary hearing following the examination session for the purpose of determining whether or not there was cheating, and if so what remedy should be applied. In such proceedings, the Board shall decide: (1) Whether the candidate shall be given credit for any portion of the examination completed in that session; and(2) Whether the candidate shall be barred from taking the examination and if so, for what period of time.(e) In any case where the Board or its representative permits a candidate to continue taking the examination, it may, depending on the circumstances: (1) Admonish the candidate;(2) Seat the candidate in a segregated location for the rest of the examination;(3) Keep a record of the candidate's seat location and identifying information, and the names and identifying information of the candidates in close proximity of the candidate; and/or notify the National Candidate Database and the AICPA and/or the test center of the circumstances, so that candidate may be more closely monitored in future examination sections.(f) In any case in which a candidate is refused credit for any test section of an examination taken, disqualified from taking any test section, or barred from taking the examination in the future, the Board will provide to the Board of Accountancy of any other state to which the candidate may apply for the examination information as to the Board's findings and actions taken.Rule 2.2.13. 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.Rule 2.2.14. Candidate's Request for Review. A candidate may request through the Board a review of his nonpassing examination papers by the advisory grading service of the AICPA. The review shall be conducted in accordance with the uniform procedures designed for such. The fees for the review shall be paid by the candidate.Rule 2.2.15. Appeal. After the grades have been released and subsequent to a review of nonpassing examination papers a candidate may request through the Board an appeal of the examination grade. The appeal shall be conducted in accordance with the uniform procedures and in accordance with Board requirements. The fees for the appeal shall be paid by the candidate.