Code Section

5094.3.  

(a) An applicant for licensure as a certified public accountant shall, to the satisfaction of the board, provide documentation of the completion of 10 semester units or 15 quarter units of ethics study, as set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 5093, in the manner prescribed in this section.

(b) Beginning January 1, 2017, an applicant shall complete 10 semester units or 15 quarter units in courses described in subdivisions (c), (d), (e), and (f).

(c) A minimum of three semester units or four quarter units in courses at an upper division level or higher devoted to accounting ethics, accountants’ professional responsibilities, auditing, or fraud unless the course was completed at a community college, in which case it need not be completed at the upper division level or higher.

(d) A maximum of 7 semester units or 11 quarter units, in the following subjects relating to ethics:

(1) Business, government, and society.

(2) Business law.

(3) Corporate governance.

(4) Corporate social responsibility.

(5) Ethics.

(6) Fraud.

(7) Human resources management.

(8) Business leadership.

(9) Legal environment of business.

(10) Management of organizations.

(11) Morals.

(12) Organizational behavior.

(13) Professional responsibilities.

(14) Auditing.

(e) (1) A maximum of three semester units or four quarter units in courses taken in the following disciplines:

(A) Philosophy.

(B) Religion.

(C) Theology.

(2) To qualify under this subdivision, the course title shall contain one or more of the terms “introduction,” “introductory,” “general,” “fundamentals of,” “principles,” “foundation of,” or “survey of,” or have the name of the discipline as the sole name of the course title.

(f) A maximum of one semester unit of ethics study for completion of a course specific to financial statement audits.

(g) An applicant who has successfully passed the examination requirement specified under Section 5082 on or before December 31, 2013, is exempt from this section unless the applicant fails to obtain the qualifying experience as specified in Section 5092 or 5093 on or before December 31, 2015.