Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes > Title 37 > Chapter 2 > Part I - In General

• 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.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Attest: means providing the following services, subject to the exceptions provided for in La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73
• Board: means the State Board of Certified Public Accountants of Louisiana. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73
• Certificate: means a certificate as a certified public accountant issued pursuant to the provisions of this Part, as follows:

              (a) An "active certificate" is granted to or renewed by an individual who has met all requirements pursuant to the provisions of this Part, including the experience requirement. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73

• Civil proceeding: means any civil judicial action, arbitration, administrative proceeding, review panel pursuant to this Chapter, or proceeding before the State Board of Certified Public Accountants of Louisiana. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73
• Client: means a person or entity that agrees with a licensee to receive any professional service. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• 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 firm: means any sole proprietorship, corporation, partnership, registered limited liability partnership, limited liability company, or other form of organization issued a permit to practice in accordance with the provisions of this Part. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73
• CPA-Retired: means either of the following:

              (i) A licensee holding an active certificate for a minimum of twenty consecutive years, who has reached the age of fifty-five years, and is no longer an owner, partner, shareholder, member, contractor, contractee, or employee of a CPA firm. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73

• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Good moral character: means the propensity to provide professional services in a fair, honest, and open manner and the lack of history of any dishonest or felonious acts. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73
• 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.
• Jurisprudence: The study of law and the structure of the legal system.
• Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
• License: means an active certificate of certified public accountant, pursuant to Subparagraph(3)(a) of this Section, or a CPA firm's permit to practice issued in accordance with the provisions of this Part. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73
• Licensee: means the holder of a license. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Manager: means a manager of a limited liability company or a limited liability partnership. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73
• Member: means a member of a limited liability company or a limited liability partnership. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• 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.
• 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 CPA firm that performs attest services by a person or persons who hold licenses and who are not affiliated with the CPA firm being reviewed. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73
• Permit: means a permit to practice as a CPA firm issued pursuant to the provisions of this Part or pursuant to corresponding provisions of law of another state. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
• Political subdivision: means a parish, municipality, and any other unit of local government, including a school board and a special district, authorized by law to levy and collect a sales and use tax. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:337.6
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Preparation of financial statement: means an engagement by a licensee to prepare financial statements for an entity but not to perform a compilation, review, or audit with respect to those financial statements and as provided in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• 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 CPAs. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Report: means , when used with reference to any attest services, an opinion, report, or other form of language that states or implies an assurance as to the reliability of any financial statement or assertion. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73
• Rule: means any rule, regulation, or other written directive of general application adopted by the board in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73
• secretary of revenue: means the secretary of the Department of Revenue for the state of Louisiana. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:337.6
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• State: means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• substantially equivalent: means a determination by the board, or its designee, that the education, examination, and experience requirements contained in the statutes and administrative rules of another state or jurisdiction are comparable to or exceed the education, examination, and experience requirements of this state or that an individual CPA's education, examination, and experience qualifications are comparable to or exceed the education, examination, and experience requirements of this state. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:73
• Subtitle: means and includes all the Chapters in Subtitle II of this Title 47 and any other Title of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 except the provisions of Chapter 1 of Subtitle IV of Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 and estate taxes for the assessment, collection, administration, and enforcement of taxes, fees, licenses, penalties, and interest due the state of Louisiana which have been delegated to the Department of Revenue. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1501
• 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.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• 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.
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.