Idaho State Board of Accountancy Ethics Requirement

 

This is an Idaho State Board of Accountancy Rule (ISBA), not an ISCPA rule.
However, ISCPA is working diligently to help our members meet the new ethics requirement.

Idaho now has an Ethics CPE Requirement for all active licensees.

It is a rolling total of 4 CPE credits of Ethics included in the rolling total of 80 or more CPE credits. All active licensees are required to report a minimum of 4 hours of ethics by the end of the 2009 reporting period. The 4 hours are a rolling two-year total within the hours required by the individual starting in 2008. For example, if you took 1 hour in 2008, you will need 3 in 2009. Then, in 2010, you will be required only 1 again, but can report up to 4. If you reported 0 for 2008, you must report 4 in 2009. Then, in 2010 you are not required to report any ethics credits, but can report up to 4. This then determines how many you need to report 2011 and so on.

The easiest way to grasp the two-year rolling credits concept is using pen and paper and writing it out. For example:

Who must comply with the new State Specific Ethics requirement?

New, Reinstated, Re-entered or Reciprocal licensees that obtained a license on or after July 1, 2008 are required to take the Idaho State Specific Ethics course. This course will cover Idaho’s Accountancy Act and Rules and is free of charge. You may register for the Idaho State Specific Ethics Course on our home page.

Any licensee may take the course; however, you may only count the credits once. For example, lets say you viewed the video in 2008 and reported the 2 ethics credits on your 2008 CPE report. You may view the course again in 2009, but you may not report the credits again in 2009. When the video is updated, you may view it again and then report those credits.

Is the new Ethics requirement in addition to the current CPE required?

No, it is a component of the current requirement. The CPE requirement is a rolling 80 or more credits in each two-year period and beginning July 1, 2008, 4 of the rolling total credits must be in Ethics every two years. Therefore, you will need to complete a minimum of 30 credits of CPE between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009. 2009 is the completion of the first two year rolling total of the 4 CPE credits in Ethics.

For more information, visit the Idaho State Board of Accountancy's website.