A firm license applicant must meet ownership, registration, reporting, and compliance requirements, and the board has powers to investigate, require compliance, and deny or revoke licenses in some cases.
Sec. 901.354. FIRM LICENSE INFORMATION AND ELIGIBILITY. (a) An applicant for initial issuance or renewal of a firm license must show that a majority of the ownership of the firm, in terms of financial interests and voting rights, belongs to persons who hold certificates issued under this chapter or are licensed in another state. A firm and its owners shall comply with board rules regardless of whether the firm includes owners who are not license holders. (b) A certified public accountancy firm may include individuals as owners who are not license holders if: (1) the firm designates to the board as responsible for the firm's license a license holder who resides in this state; (2) each owner who is not a license holder and who is a resident of this state as determined by board rule: (A) is actively involved in the firm or an affiliated entity; (B) lacks a history of dishonest or felonious acts; (C) maintains any professional designation held by the individual in good standing with the appropriate organization or regulatory body that is identified or used in an advertisement, letterhead, business card, or other firm-related communication; (D) has passed an examination on the rules of professional conduct as determined by board rule; and (E) complies with the rules of professional conduct as determined by board rule; and (3) the firm and the owners who are not license holders comply with board disciplinary actions and other requirements the board may impose by rule. (c) The board by rule may adopt a system to investigate the background of individual owners who are not license holders under this chapter. (d) The board may obtain criminal history record information maintained by the Department of Public Safety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation identification division, and other law enforcement agencies to investigate the qualifications of an individual who is not a license holder under this chapter. (e) The board may require an individual who is not a license holder under this chapter to comply with the requirement of Section 901.169(a). If the individual does not comply with the requirement of that subsection on request, the board may refuse to allow that individual to become an owner of a certified public accountancy firm and may cancel or refuse to issue or renew a firm license to the firm. (f) An applicant for issuance or renewal of a firm license under this section must register each office of the firm in this state and show that all attest services performed in this state are under the supervision of a person who holds a certificate issued under this chapter or by another state. (g) An application for a firm license under this chapter must be made on an affidavit of the owner, an officer, or the general partner of the firm, as applicable, stating: (1) the name of the firm; (2) the firm's post office address in this state if the firm has an office in this state; (3) the address of the firm's principal office; (4) the address of each office of the firm in this state if the firm has an office in this state; (5) the name of the resident manager of each office of the firm in this state; and (6) the name, residence, and post office address of: (A) each partner, member, shareholder, or other owner; and (B) if the firm is a partnership, each shareholder of a partner that is a professional corporation. (h) A sole proprietorship is eligible for a firm license if the sole proprietor and each resident manager of an office of the sole proprietorship in this state are certified public accountants in good standing. (i) The board shall determine whether an applicant is eligible for a firm license under this section. The board by rule shall define "good standing" for purposes of this section. (j) A certified public accountancy firm shall notify the board not later than the 31st day after the date on which information in the affidavit is changed, including information regarding the admission or withdrawal of an owner or resident manager. (k) A certified public accountancy firm that is no longer in compliance with this section because of a change in firm ownership or personnel that occurs after the firm receives or renews a firm license shall report that fact to the board not later than the 30th day after the date the firm ceases to be in compliance and shall take corrective action to bring the firm into compliance. Failure to bring the firm into compliance within a reasonable time as determined by board rule is grounds for the suspension or revocation of the firm's firm license. Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 388, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1497, Sec. 23, eff. Sept. 1, 2001. Amended by: Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 315 (H.B. 2144), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2007. Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 181 (H.B. 1520), Sec. 12, eff. September 1, 2019.