South Carolina § 40-2-255 - Renewal of registration; peer reviews.

§ 40-2-255. Renewal of registration; peer reviews.

(A) A registrant shall file an application for renewal of the calendar-year registration on or before the renewal date of the following year.

(B) The application for renewal of a registration shall include:

(1) current information concerning ownership;

(2) current information concerning the identity of the licensee in charge of the office;

(3) renewal fee, if any.

(C) As a condition of renewal of registration, an applicant who engages in attest or compilation services, or both, must provide evidence of satisfactory completion of peer review no more frequently than once every three years. Peer review must be conducted in a manner as the board specifies by regulation. This review must include a verification that individuals in the firm, who are responsible for supervising attest or compilation services, or both, and who sign or authorize someone to sign the accountant's report on the financial statements on behalf of the firm, meet the competency requirements set out in the professional standards for these services and these regulations must:

(1) require an applicant to show that the applicant has, within the preceding three years, undergone a peer review that is a satisfactory equivalent to peer review as generally required pursuant to this subsection;

(2) require peer reviews to be subject to oversight by a body established or sanctioned by the board, which shall periodically report to the board on program review effectiveness under its charge and provide to the board a listing of firms that have participated in a peer review program;

(3) require peer reviews to be conducted and that work and documents be maintained in a manner designed to preserve confidentiality of documents furnished or generated in the course of the review.

(D) All licensees who have not filed an application for renewal by the renewal due date shall be given notification, prior to the renewal lapse date, that an application for renewal has not been received.

(E) If a registrant does not file an application for renewal on or before the renewal due date, then the registration is considered late. If a registrant does not file an application for renewal on or before the renewal lapse date, then the registration is considered lapsed. Continued practice with a lapsed registration may be sanctioned as the unlicensed practice of accounting.

(F) Renewal applications filed or completed after the renewal lapse date are subject to a reinstatement fee in the amount of five hundred dollars.

HISTORY: 2004 Act No. 289, SECTION 1; 2015 Act No. 51 (S.301), SECTION 8, eff June 3, 2015; 2022 Act No. 174 (S.812), SECTION 1, eff May 16, 2022.

Effect of Amendment

2015 Act No. 51, SECTION 8, rewrote the section.

2022 Act No. 174, SECTION 1, in (A), substituted "the renewal date" for "February first"; inserted (D) and redesignated former (D) as (E); rewrote (E); and added (F).