Under IC 4-22-2-24, notice is hereby given that on October 15, 2010, at 10:00 a.m., at the Indiana Government Center South, 402 West Washington Street, W064, Indianapolis, Indiana, the Indiana Board of Accountancy will hold a public hearing on proposed amendments to 872 IAC 1-3-3, which seek to remove terms for continuing education reporting periods that have since passed and qualifying terms for the type of ethics continuing education required of certified public accountants (CPA).

The Indiana Board of Accountancy has the authority to promulgate rules pursuant to IC 25-2.1-2-15, which states the board may promulgate rules regarding, "the continuing professional education required for renewal certificates". The Proposed Rule amends 872 IAC 1-3-3 by removing (i) a reference to a continuing education reporting period that has since passed (i.e., "Through the reporting period ending on December 31, 2008. . ."); and (ii) a qualifying term for the type of ethics continuing professional education (CPE) required for CPAs to renew their certification (i.e., the amendment deletes "for accountants" as a condition on the type of ethics CPE a CPA must obtain).

This amendment eliminates the narrow scope of the ethics CPE requirement to permit CPAs the opportunity to obtain professional ethics CPE from courses that are specific to the industry in which the CPA practices, but may not be specific to the practice of accounting. It is common for CPAs to practice in areas other than "accounting". The CPA profession is quite diverse: CPAs are engaged in financial planning, investment banking, operations, and other areas of business practice. This amendment will permit a CPA practicing in an industry or field other than accounting to attend education courses specific to that industry or field and earn ethics credit to meet the CPE requirements.

This proposed rule will not impose costs on small businesses. There are no new reporting or record keeping requirements for small businesses as a result of the proposed rule.

Copies of these rules are now on file at the office of the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, Indiana Government Center South, 402 West Washington Street, Room W072 and Legislative Services Agency, Indiana Government Center North, 100 North Senate Avenue, Room N201, Indianapolis, Indiana and are open for public inspection.