Terms Used In South Carolina Code > Title 40 > Chapter 2 > Article 1 - Regulation of Certified Public Accountants and Public Accountants

• Administrator: means the individual to whom the director has delegated authority to administer the programs of a specific board or of a professional or occupational group for which the department has regulatory authority or has delegated authority to administer the programs of a specific board;
  
  (2) "Authorization to practice" or "Practice authorization" means the approval to practice the specified profession, engage in the specified occupation, or use a title protected under this article, which has been granted by the applicable board. See South Carolina Code 40-1-20
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• AICPA: means the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants or successor organizations. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Board: means the South Carolina Board of Accountancy. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Client: means a person or entity that agrees with a licensee or licensee's employer to receive any professional service. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Client records: means those accounting records or other records provided by a client or removed from a client's premises, including hardcopy and electronic reproductions of records, that belong to the client and that were provided to a certified public accountant, public accountant, or accounting practitioner by, or on behalf of, the client. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Commission: means the Interstate Advisory Health Care Commission. See South Carolina Code 44-10-30
• Compilation: means providing a service of any compilation engagement to be performed in accordance with SSARS. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• CPA-prepared records: means accounting or other records that a licensee or firm was not specifically engaged to prepare and that are not in a client's books and records or are otherwise not available to the client, which render the client's financial or tax information incomplete. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Current year inflation adjustment factor: means the total gross domestic product deflator in the current year divided by the total gross domestic product deflator in federal fiscal year 2010. See South Carolina Code 44-10-30
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Department: means the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Direct: means the person supervised in the usual line of authority or is in a staff position reporting to the supervisor. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Effective date: means the date upon which this compact shall become effective for purposes of the operation of state and federal law in a member state, which shall be the later of:
  
  (a) the date upon which this compact shall be adopted under the laws of the member state; and
  
  (b) the date upon which this compact receives the consent of the United States Congress pursuant to Article I, Section 10 of the United States Constitution, after it is adopted by at least two member states. See South Carolina Code 44-10-30
• Electronic files: means data files in a format created by software commonly available to the general public such as Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Excel or Word, and consumer accounting programs. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Experience: means providing any type of service or advice involving the use of accounting, attest, compilation, management advisory, financial advisory, tax, or consulting skills whether gained through employment in government, industry, academia, or public practice. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Firm: includes a person or persons practicing public accounting in the form of a proprietorship, partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, or professional corporation or association. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Firm ownership: means one hundred percent of the partners, members, managers, shareholders, and equity owners in a firm, which must be owners. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Health care: means care, services, supplies, or plans related to the health of an individual and includes, but is not limited to:
  
  (a) preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, rehabilitative, maintenance, or palliative care and counseling, service, assessment, or procedure with respect to the physical or mental condition or functional status of an individual or that affects the structure or function of the body; and
  
  (b) sale or dispensing of a drug, device, equipment, or other item pursuant to a prescription; and
  
  (c) an individual or group plan that provides, or pays the cost of care, services, or supplies related to the health of an individual, except any care, services, supplies, or plans provided by the United States Department of Defense and United States Department of Veteran Affairs, or provided to Native Americans. See South Carolina Code 44-10-30
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• License: means authorization to practice as issued under this chapter. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Licensee: means the holder of a license. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Manager: means a licensee in responsible charge of an office. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Mandatory spending: Spending (budget authority and outlays) controlled by laws other than annual appropriations acts.
• Member state: means a state that is a signatory to this compact and has adopted it under the laws of that state. See South Carolina Code 44-10-30
• Member state base funding level: means a number equal to the total federal spending on health care in the member state during federal fiscal year 2010. See South Carolina Code 44-10-30
• Member state current year funding level: means the member state base funding level multiplied by the member state current year population adjustment factor multiplied by the current year inflation adjustment factor. See South Carolina Code 44-10-30
• Member state current year population adjustment factor: means the average population of the member state in the current year less the average population of the member state in federal fiscal year 2010, divided by the average population of the member state in federal fiscal year 2010, plus one. See South Carolina Code 44-10-30
• NASBA: means the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy
  
  (20) "Non-CPA owner" means any owner in a firm who is not a currently licensed certified public accountant. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Owner: means any person who owns all or part of a firm. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Peer review: means a study, appraisal, or review of one or more aspects of the professional work of a licensee of the board or a firm registered with the board that performs attest or compilation services by a person or persons who hold certificates and who are not affiliated with the certificate holder or certified public accountant firm being reviewed. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Practice of accounting: means :
  
  (a) issuing a report on financial statements of a person, firm, organization, or governmental unit or offering to render or rendering any attest or compilation service. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Preparation of financial statements: means any preparation of financial statements engagement to be performed in accordance with SSARS. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Principal place of business: means the office location designated by a licensee for the purposes of substantial equivalency and reciprocity. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Professional: means arising out of or related to the specialized knowledge or skills associated with licensees. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Registration: means an authorization, issued under this chapter, to practice as a firm. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Renewal lapse date: is a date fifteen days subsequent to the renewal date. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• report: includes any form of language which disclaims an opinion when the form of language is conventionally understood to imply positive assurance as to the reliability of the attested information or compiled financial statements referred to or special competency on the part of the person or firm issuing such language, or both; and it includes any other form of language that is conventionally understood to imply such assurance or such special knowledge or competency, or both. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Resident manager: means a responsible party for a firm. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• State: means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam; except that "this State" means the State of South Carolina. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• substantially equivalent: is a determination by the board or its designee that the education, examination, and experience requirements contained in the statutes and administrative rules of another jurisdiction are comparable to, or exceed the completion of, a baccalaureate or higher degree in an accounting concentration that includes one hundred fifty semester hours of education, at least one year of acceptable experience, and successful completion of the Uniform CPA Examination. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20
• Temporary restraining order: Prohibits a person from an action that is likely to cause irreparable harm. This differs from an injunction in that it may be granted immediately, without notice to the opposing party, and without a hearing. It is intended to last only until a hearing can be held.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Uniform CPA Examination: means the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination as prepared by the AICPA. See South Carolina Code 40-2-20