It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Sections 5-3.1-16 and 5-3.1-18 of the General Laws in Chapter 5-3.1 entitled "Public Accountancy" are hereby amended to read as follows:

5-3.1-16. Acts declared unlawful -- (a) Except as permitted by the board pursuant to section 5-3.1-18(b), no person shall hold himself or herself out to the public as a certified public accountant or assume or use the designation "certified public accountant" or "CPA" or any other title, designation, words, letters, abbreviation, sign, card, or device tending to indicate that the person is a certified public accountant or CPA, unless that person has been issued a permit to practice under section 5-3.1-7.

(b) No partnership, corporation or sole proprietorship shall hold itself out to the public as being engaged in the practice of certified public accounting, or assume or use the designation "certified public accountants" or "CPAs" or any other title, designation, words, letters, abbreviation, sign, card, or device tending to indicate that the practice unit is composed of certified public accountants or CPAs, unless:

(1) The practice unit holds a permit to practice under section 5-3.1-9;

(2) Every partner, shareholder, officer, director, and every manager of every office of the practice unit is the holder of a certificate from some state; and

(3) Every partner, shareholder, officer, and director personally engaged in the business of the practice unit within this state holds a permit issued under section 5-3.1-7.

(c) Except as subsequently provided, no person shall hold himself or herself out to the public as a public accountant, or assume or use the designation "public accountant" of "PA" or any other title, designation, words, letters, abbreviation, sign, card, or device tending to indicate that the person is a public accountant or PA, unless that person holds an authority as a public accountant and a permit to practice in this state issued under section 5-3.1-7. This subsection does not apply to those persons qualified under subsection (a) to hold themselves out to the public as certified public accountants and to use the designation "certified public accountant" or "CPA".

(d) No partnership, corporation, or sole proprietorship shall hold itself out to the public as being engaged in the practice of public accounting, or assume or use the designation "public accountants" or "PAs" or any other title, designation, words, letters, abbreviation, sign, card, or device tending to indicate that the practice unit is composed of public accountants or PAs, unless the practice unit holds a permit to practice under section 5-3.1-9.

(e) No person, partnership, corporation, or sole proprietorship shall hold himself, herself, or itself out to the public as, or assume or use alone, or in connection with his, her, or its name, or any other name, the title or designation "certified accountant", "chartered accountant", "enrolled accountant", "licensed accountant", "registered accountant", "accredited accountant", or any other title or designation likely to be confused with "certified public accountant" or "public accountant", and shall not assume or use alone, or in connection with his, her, or its name, or any other name, the abbreviation "CA", "EA", "RA", "LA", "AA", or similar abbreviation likely to be confused with "CPA" or "PA"; provided, that anyone who holds a permit to practice under section 5-3.1-7 may hold himself or herself out to the public as an "accountant" or "auditor". The title "Enrolled Agent" may only be used by those individuals so designated by the Internal Revenue Service. In addition, the board may at its discretion allow titles or abbreviations to be used which do not mislead the public and for which appropriate certification or accreditation by a national organization can be demonstrated.

(f) No person shall prepare or attempt to prepare, or sign, affix, or associate his or her name or any trade name used by him or her in his or her business or profession to any of the following enumerated reports or any report in any manner having the appearance or import of any of the following enumerated reports, unless he or she holds a permit to practice under section 5-3.1-7 or 5-3.1-8, and unless his or her practice unit holds a permit to practice under section 5-3.1-9:

(1) A report expressing or disclaiming an opinion on a financial statement based on an audit or examination of that statement;

(2) A report expressing limited assurance on a financial statement based on a review of that statement; or

(3) A report on a financial statement based on a compilation of that statement.

(g) No person shall prepare or attempt to prepare on behalf of the partnership, corporation or sole proprietorship with which he or she is affiliated, or sign, affix, or associate the name of the practice unit to any of the following enumerated reports or any report having the appearance or import of any of the following enumerated reports, unless the practice unit holds a permit to practice under section 5-3.1-9:

(1) A report expressing or disclaiming an opinion on a financial statement based on an audit or examination of that statement;

(2) A report expressing limited assurance on a financial statement based on a review of that statement; or

(3) A report on a financial statement based on a compilation of that statement.

(h) No person, partnership, corporation, or sole proprietorship not holding a permit to practice under this chapter shall hold himself, herself, or itself out to the public as an "accountant" or "auditor", whether or not the term is accompanied by any other description or designation, on any sign, card, or letterhead, or in any advertisement or directory.

(i) No person shall assume or use the designation "certified public accountant" or "CPA" or "public accountant" or "PA" in conjunction with names of other persons so as to indicate or imply that there is a practice unit comprised of those persons which is engaged in the practice of public accounting, or in conjunction with the designation "and Company" or "and Co." or a similar designation, if, in this case, there is in fact no bona fide partnership, corporation, or sole proprietorship holding a permit under section 5-3.1-9.

(j) No person, partnership, corporation, or sole proprietorship shall hold himself, herself, or itself out to the public as being qualified for the practice of public accounting unless the person, partnership, corporation, or sole proprietorship holds a permit to practice under this chapter.

(k) The provisions of subsections (a), (c), and (e) do not prohibit any accountant licensed by a foreign country who holds an annual limited permit to engage in the practice of public accounting under section 5-3.1-8 from using the accounting designation by which he or she is known in his or her own country, translated into the English language, followed by the name of the country from which his or her certificate, license, or degree was issued, as required by section 5-3.1-8.

(l) No licensee, in connection with the practice of public accounting, may accept a payment, including a commission, for the recommendation or referral of products or services of others to a client, or for the recommendation or referral of products or services to be supplied by a client.

(m) Any person, partnership, corporation, or sole proprietorship that is found to have violated any provision of this section by a court of competent jurisdiction is liable to the board for reasonable attorneys' fees in connection with the proceeding in which the finding was made.

5-3.1-18. Exceptions -- Acts not prohibited -- (a) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed as prohibiting any person not a certified public accountant or public accountant from serving as an employee of or an assistant to a licensee; provided, that the employee or assistant does not issue any accounting or financial statement or report over his or her name.

(b) Nothing contained in this chapter is construed as prohibiting any person who is the holder of a certificate issued by this state or any other state which has not been revoked or suspended by the board or board of accountancy of the other state from assuming or using the designation "certified public accountant" or "CPA" or any other title, designation, words, letters, sign, card, or device tending to indicate that the person is a certified public accountant; provided, that the provisions of this subsection are not construed to authorize the use of those designations in connection with the practice of public accounting in this state unless the person using the designations holds a permit to practice issued by the board.

(c) Nothing contained in this chapter or in any other law of this state is construed as prohibiting a licensee or any employee of a licensee from disclosing any information in confidence to other licensees engaged in conducting peer reviews, or any of their employees or agents, in connection with peer reviews which are conducted under the auspices of a recognized professional association or under this chapter.

(d) Nothing contained in this chapter or in any other law of this state is construed as prohibiting a licensee or any employee of a licensee from disclosing any information in confidence to any employee, representative, officer, or committee member of a recognized professional association or to the board or any of its employees or committees in connection with a professional ethics investigation held under the auspices of the professional association or the board.

(e) The provisions of subsections (f), (g), and (h) of section 5-3.1-16 do not prohibit any officer, employee, partner, or principal of any organization from affixing his or her signature to any statement or report in reference to the affairs of that organization with any wording designating the position, title, or office which he or she holds in that organization, or from describing himself or herself by the position, title, or office which he or she holds in the organization; nor do those provisions prohibit any act of a public official or a public employee in the performance of his or her duties as a public official or public employee.

(f) Nothing contained in this chapter is construed as prohibiting any person, partnership, corporation, or sole proprietorship not holding a permit under this chapter from offering or rendering to the public bookkeeping services, including devising and installing systems, recording and presentation of financial information or data, preparing financial statements or similar services, preparation of tax returns, or the furnishing of advice on tax matters; provided, that no person, partnership, corporation, or sole proprietorship shall: (1) Audit or examine a financial statement and issue a report expressing or disclaiming an opinion on that statement, (2) Review a financial statement and issue a report expressing limited assurance on that statement, or (3) Compile a financial statement and issue a compilation report on that statement; nor shall any person, partnership, corporation, or sole proprietorship attempt to prepare or prepare a report in any manner having the appearance or import of any report enumerated in this subsection so as to mislead the public.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.