TITLE 43 PROFESSIONS AND BUSINESSES

Section 3. Accountants, 43-3-1 through 43-3-38.

43-3-2. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, the term:

1. "Any other state" means the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, Guam, or a state other than Georgia.
2. "Attest" means providing the following public accountancy services:
   1. Any audit to be performed in accordance with the professional standards adopted by the board's rules or regulations;
   2. Any review of a financial statement to be performed in accordance with the professional standards adopted by the board's rules or regulations;
   3. Any examination of prospective financial information to be performed in accordance with the professional standards for attestation engagements adopted by the board's rules or regulations;
   4. Any engagement to be performed in accordance with the professional standards related to public companies adopted by the board's rules or regulations; and
   5. Any examination, review, or agreed upon procedures engagement to be performed in accordance with the professional standards adopted by the board's rules or regulations, other than an examination of prospective financial information as described in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.
3. "Board" means the Georgia State Board of Accountancy.
4. "Compilation" means providing a service to be performed in accordance with professional standards adopted by the board's rules or regulations that presents information in the form of financial statements that are the representation of management or owners without undertaking to express any assurance as to the statements.
5. "CPA" means certified public accountant.
6. "Executive director" means the individual appointed by the board to serve as the chief executive officer of the board.
7. "Firm" means any proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association, or any other legal entity which is practicing public accountancy.
8. "Peer review" means a study, appraisal, or review of one or more aspects of the professional work of a licensee that provides attest or compilation services, by a licensee who is not affiliated with the individual or firm being reviewed.
9. "Practice of public accountancy" or "practicing public accountancy" means offering to perform or performing attest or compilation services or while holding oneself out in such manner as to state or imply that one is a licensee, offering to perform or performing for an individual or entity services involving:
   1. The use of accounting or auditing skills;
   2. Management advisory or other consulting services;
   3. The preparation of tax returns; or
   4. The furnishing of advice on tax matters.
10. "Report" when used with reference to any attest or compilation service, means an opinion, report, or other form of language that states or implies assurance as to the reliability of the attested information or compiled financial statements and that also includes or is accompanied by any statement or implication that the person or firm issuing it has special knowledge or competence in accounting or auditing. Such a statement or implication of special knowledge or competence may arise from use by the issuer of the report of names or titles indicating that the person or firm is an accountant or auditor, or from the language of the report itself. Such term includes any form of language which disclaims an opinion when such form of language is conventionally understood to imply any positive assurance as to the reliability of the attested information or compiled financial statements referred to or special competence on the part of the person or firm issuing such language; and it includes any other form of language that is conventionally understood to imply such assurance or such special knowledge or competence.
11. "State Accounting Office" means the office created under Code Section 50-5B-1.

(Code 1933, § 84-202, enacted by Ga. L. 1977, p. 1063, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 43; Ga. L. 1993, p. 123, § 6; Ga. L. 2008, p. 1112, § 2/HB 1055; Ga. L. 2014, p. 136, § 1-2/HB 291; Ga. L. 2015, p. 325, § 1/HB 246.)

The 2014 amendment, effective July 1, 2014, rewrote this Code section.

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, in paragraph (1), deleted "a state other than Georgia," preceding "the District of Columbia" near the beginning and substituted "Northern Marianas Islands, Guam, or a state other than Georgia" for "Northern Marianas Islands, or Guam" at the end; substituted "the board" for "the state accounting officer" in paragraph (6); added paragraph (10); renumbered former paragraph (10) as present paragraph (11); and deleted former paragraph (11), which read: "'State accounting officer' means the individual appointed by the Governor under Code Section 50-5B-1 to administer the State Accounting Office."