OAR 801-030-0010: General and Technical Standards

(1) General Standards . Licensees shall comply with the following general standards. (a) Professional Competence. Licensees shall undertake only those professional services that the licensee or the licensee’s firm can reasonably expect to be completed with professional competence. (b) Due Professional Care . Licensees shall exercise due professional care in the performance of professional services. (c) Planning and Supervision. Licensees shall plan and supervise the performance of professional services. (d) Sufficient Relevant Data . Licensees shall obtain sufficient relevant data to afford a reasonable basis for conclusions or recommendations in relation to any professional services performed. (e) The Board adopts the General Standards and the compliance with the General Standards sections of the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct. The AICPA interpretations and definitions of these sections are adopted as non-exclusive guidance to licensees, prospective licensees, the board, and members of the public. (2) Auditing standards. A licensee shall not permit the licensee's name to be associated with financial statements in such a manner as to imply that the licensee is independent with respect to such financial statements unless the licensee has complied with applicable generally accepted auditing standards. Statements on Auditing Standards issued by the AICPA, and other pronouncements having similar generally recognized authority, are considered to be interpretations of generally accepted auditing standards, and departures must be justified when such standards are not followed. (3) Accounting principles. (a) Responsibility of Licensees in Public Accounting . A licensee shall not express an opinion that financial statements are presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles if such financial statements contain any departure from such accounting principles which has a material effect on the financial statements taken as a whole, unless the licensee can demonstrate that by reason of unusual circumstances, the financial statements would otherwise have been misleading. In such a case, the licensee's report must describe the departure, the approximate effects thereof, if practicable, and the reasons why compliance with the principle would result in a misleading statement. For purposes of this rule, generally accepted accounting principles are defined by pronouncements issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and its predecessor entities and similar pronouncements issued by other entities having similar generally recognized authority, including International Financial Reporting Standards promulgated by the International Accounting Standards Board. (b) Responsibility for the Reporting on financial statements in conformity with GAAP. A person who holds an active or inactive license shall not state affirmatively that financial statements or other financial data of an entity are presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) if such statements or data contain any departure from an accounting principle promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and its predecessor entities and similar generally recognized authority that has a material effect on the statements or data taken as a whole, including International Financial Reporting Standards promulgated by the International Accounting Standards Board. (c) Departures from Established Accounting Principles. There is a strong presumption that adherence to officially established accounting principles would in nearly all instances result in financial statements that are not misleading. There may be unusual circumstances where literal application of pronouncements on accounting principles would have the effect of rendering financial statements misleading. In such cases the proper accounting treatment is that which will render the financial statements not misleading. The question of what constitutes unusual circumstances is a matter of professional judgment involving the ability to support the position that adherence to a promulgated principle would be regarded by a reasonable person as producing a misleading result. (4 ) Tax standards. Licensees shall not perform tax planning services, recommend tax return positions or prepare or sign tax returns (including amended returns, claims for refund and information returns) filed with any taxing authority unless the licensee has complied with Statements on Standards for Tax Services issued by the Tax Executive Committee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and with United States Department of Treasury Circular No. 230. (5) Other professional standards . Licensees, in the performance of consulting services or accounting and attest services, shall conform to the professional standards applicable to such services. For purposes of this rule such professional standards are considered to be defined by Statements on Consulting Services and Statements for Accounting and Review Services, respectively, in each instance issued by the AICPA, and by similar pronouncements by other entities having generally recognized authority.