(1) A person may not knowingly:

(a) Practice public accounting unless the person is a certified public accountant or a public accountant;

Attorney's Note

Under the Florida Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
misdemeanor of the first degreeup to 1 yearup to $1,000
For details, see Fla. Stat. § 775.082(4)(a)

Terms Used In Florida Statutes 473.322

  • Board: means the Board of Accountancy. See Florida Statutes 473.302
  • Certified public accountant: means an individual who holds a license to practice public accounting in this state or an individual who is practicing public accounting in this state pursuant to the practice privilege granted in…. See Florida Statutes 473.302
  • 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.
  • Firm: means any legal entity that is engaged in the practice of public accounting. See Florida Statutes 473.302
  • 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.
  • person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
  • public accounting: means :
    (a) Offering to perform or performing for the public one or more types of services involving the expression of an opinion on financial statements, the attestation as an expert in accountancy to the reliability or fairness of presentation of financial information, the utilization of any form of opinion or financial statements that provide a level of assurance, the utilization of any form of disclaimer of opinion which conveys an assurance of reliability as to matters not specifically disclaimed, or the expression of an opinion on the reliability of an assertion by one party for the use by a third party;
    (b) Offering to perform or performing for the public one or more types of services involving the use of accounting skills, or one or more types of tax, management advisory, or consulting services, by any person who is a certified public accountant who holds an active license, issued pursuant to this chapter, or who is authorized to practice public accounting pursuant to the practice privileges granted in…. See Florida Statutes 473.302
(b) Assume or use the titles or designations “certified public accountant” or “public accountant” or the abbreviation “C.P.A.” or any other title, designation, words, letters, abbreviations, sign, card, or device tending to indicate that the person holds a license to practice public accounting under this chapter or the laws of any other state, territory, or foreign jurisdiction, unless the person holds an active license under this chapter or has the practice privileges pursuant to s. 473.3141;
(c) Perform or offer to perform any services described in s. 473.302(8)(a) or (d) unless such person holds an active license under this chapter and is a licensed firm, provides such services through a licensed firm, or complies with ss. 473.3101 and 473.3141. This paragraph does not prohibit the performance by persons other than certified public accountants of other services involving the use of accounting skills, including the preparation of tax returns and the preparation of financial statements without expression of opinion thereon;
(d) Present as her or his own the license of another;
(e) Give false or forged evidence to the board or a member thereof;
(f) Use or attempt to use a public accounting license that has been suspended, revoked, or placed on inactive or delinquent status;
(g) Employ unlicensed persons to practice public accounting; or
(h) Conceal information relative to violations of this chapter.
(2) Any person who violates any provision of this section commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.