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The UAA Model Rules have no immediate effect on state board rules. As the membership organization of the 55 U.S. Boards of Accountancy, NASBA, through its Uniform Accountancy Act Committee, provides the Model Rules as recommendations to boards for adoption whereby uniform adoption is encouraged. As such, each individual board may consider the amendment to the Model Rule 5-7 and, if so choose, commence a process to change the rules at the state level. Current Exam candidates remain under existing rules until, if and when, the board to which they applied makes changes.

The Virginia Board of Accountancy has contracted with the Virginia Society of CPAs as the sole provider of the Virginia-Specific Ethics Course content and material for the 2020 course.

All sponsors of the Virginia-Specific Ethics Course must be pre-approved annually by VBOA staff before offering the course to CPAs. Sponsors will be required to demonstrate their compliance with the VBOA’s policy on content/material and instructor requirements prior to approval. Beginning in 2020, all instructors must also be pre-approved by the VBOA.

Potential sponsors and instructors must follow the guidelines for the Virginia-Specific Ethics Course including certifying the ethics material will be obtained from the VSCPA, provide a list of course instructors and submit it to the VBOA for approval.

Once approved, the sponsor and instructors will appear on the VBOA website.

The VBOA will not accept any Virginia-Specific Ethics Course completed from a non-approved sponsor and the licensee will be penalized for not completing the approved course.

Please contact the VBOA by phone at (804) 367-8505 or by email at boa@boa.virginia.gov with any questions.

The Virginia Board of Accountancy’s newsletter, Accrued Interest, is now available online. The winter 2020 issue is filled with news and updates from the last few months. Articles include information tailored to individual licensees, firms and CPA exam candidates.

The winter issue includes information on license renewals, the launch of a redesigned VBOA website, changes to Inactive status and a question and answer with Aubrey Layne, the Virginia Secretary of Finance. Other vital information for CPAs about CPE and the CPE Audit Service, disciplinary actions and much more.

The newsletter remains one of the VBOA’s central sources of communicating to licensees and exam candidates. The VBOA distributes Accrued Interest twice each year, in January and in July.

Contact Kelli Anderson, VBOA Communications Manager, at kelli.anderson@boa.virginia.gov or at (804) 367-1586 with any comments and suggestions.

Also, please don’t forget to take a look back at the VBOA’s previous newsletters.

As of January 1, 2020, the Active – CPE Exempt status was renamed Inactive but the requirements and guidelines remain the same.

CPAs who hold the Inactive status can still use the CPA title in their name but must be pre-approved by the VBOA. In order to qualify for the Inactive status a licensee’s current job duties cannot require a substantial use of accounting, financial, tax or other skills that are relevant, as determined by the VBOA.

If a licensee is not currently providing services to the public or to or on behalf of an employer, they may not be required to meet the VBOA’s CPE requirements.

Other state boards of accountancy use the term Inactive and the VBOA approved to make a change in the status name to alleviate any confusion or misunderstandings with the Active – CPE Exempt name.

Every November, the Virginia Board of Accountancy travels to a Virginia college or university to hold their campus board meeting. The on-location board meeting is a wonderful opportunity to educate and inform future Virginia CPAs on the responsibilities and workings of the VBOA.

Students and faculty members have the opportunity to talk with board members individually and ask staff member’s questions.

Since October 2010, board meetings have been held at Old Dominion University, Virginia State University, University of Richmond, Longwood University, William & Mary, James Madison University, Christopher Newport University, Virginia Tech, George Mason University, and most recently Virginia Commonwealth University in November 2019.

Please contact the VBOA Communications Manager at kelli.anderson@boa.virginia.gov if you are interested in having the VBOA travel to your campus.

During the Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, meeting, the Board reviewed and approved changes to the following policies:

• Policy #4: Continuing Professional Education Guidelines for CPAs
• Policy #9: Active – CPE Exempt Status Procedure for Approval/Denial/Appeal
• Policy #10, Electronic Participation in Virginia Board of Accountancy Meetings

These changes will be effective Dec. 11, 2019.

Questions or comments regarding updates to the policy can be directed to VBOA Communications Manager Kelli Anderson at (804) 367-1586 or at kelli.anderson@boa.virginia.gov.

Gov. Ralph Northam appointed Nadia A. Rogers, CPA, as the newest Board Member of the Virginia Board of Accountancy.

Rogers, of Blacksburg, is Associate Professor of Practice and Director of the Master of Accounting and Information Systems Program at Virginia Tech. She will serve as the Educator member on the Board. Rogers has served as the Chair of the VBOA’s Peer Review Oversight Committee.

Before joining Virginia Tech, she was in public practice, most recently as a Partner of Creedle, Jones & Alga, P.C. and previously as a Senior Manager in KPMG LLP’s Audit Practice.

Rogers began her four-year term on July 1, 2019. She succeeds previous Board Member Susan Quaintance Ferguson, CPA.

The Virginia Board of Accountancy moved to a single renewal date of June 30 each year for all CPA licensees and firms.

Licenses can be renewed 120 days prior to expiration.

The renewal fee is $60 for individuals and $75 for firms. This fee has not changed.

Renew online on the VBOA website at:

• Individuals
• Firms

In May 2019, NASBA transitioned from the previous CPE Tracking System to the new CPA Audit Service for individual CPAs.

For CPAs who used the previous CPE Tracking System, all historical data, including past course and attendance records, has been transitioned to the new system.

When the CPE Audit Service launched, CPAs received an email containing information to register a new account in the new system. Access information is included in the first registration email.

Learn more about the CPE Audit Service.

Nancy Glynn, CPA, joined the Virginia Board of Accountancy team in October 2018 as Executive Director. She brings with her a wealth of experience in prior leadership roles in government, private and nonprofit industries.

Most recently, she was the Chief Compliance and Operations Officer with a national healthcare-related nonprofit. In that capacity, she led the development, execution and revision of the organization’s operations to ensure they met industry standards and regulations.

Nancy spent several years as the Director of Global Assurance at ChildFund International where she was responsible for global audit and compliance efforts covering more than 20 country offices and 400 partner organizations.

Previous positions have also included serving as the Controller for the City of Richmond, Senior Audit Manager at MeadWestvaco and Audit Director at the Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts.

She is a certified public accountant (CPA), certified fraud examiner (CFE) and certified compliance and ethics professional (CCEP).