Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 15-23.1 > Article 3 - Civil Provisions of General Application

• 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.
• 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.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Attest: means providing the following services:

  (i)  Any audit or other engagement to be performed in accordance with the Statements on Auditing Standards (SAS);

  (ii)  Any review of a financial statement to be performed in accordance with the Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARS);

  (iii)  Any examination of prospective financial information to be performed in accordance with the Statements on Standards for Attestation Engagements (SSAE);

  (iv)  Any engagement to be performed in accordance with the standards of the public company accounting oversight board;

  (v)  Any examination, review, or agreed-upon procedures engagement to be performed in accordance with the SSAE, other than an examination described in subsection (1)(iii); and

  (vi)  The statements on standards specified in this definition shall be adopted by reference by the board pursuant to rulemaking and shall be those developed for general application by recognized national accountancy organizations, such as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-3.1-3

• Authority: means an authority to practice as a public accountant in this state granted by the public accountants advisory commission under former § 5-3-6 (P. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-3.1-3
• Board: means the board of accountancy, a public authority created by § 5-3. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-3.1-3
• Certificate: means a certificate as certified public accountant issued under this chapter or corresponding provisions of prior law, or a corresponding certificate as certified public accountant issued after examination under the law of any other state. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-3.1-3
• Compilation: means providing a service to be performed in accordance with the Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services (SSARS), as adopted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, that is presenting in the form of financial statements, information that is the representation of management without undertaking to express any assurance on the statements. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-3.1-3
• 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.
• 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: means a person holding a certificate issued under this chapter or corresponding provisions of prior law or under the accountancy act or similar law of any other state. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-3.1-3
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• Entity: includes a general partnership, limited-liability company, limited-liability partnership, corporation, sole proprietor, trust, and joint venture. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-3.1-3
• 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.
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
• in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
• 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.
• Licensee: means the holder of a certificate, authority, or permit issued under this chapter or under the prior laws of this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-3.1-3
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Majority: refers to more than fifty percent (50%) ownership in terms of financial interests and voting rights. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-3.1-3
• 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.
• 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 practice unit engaged in the practice of public accountancy in this state, by a licensee or licensees who are not affiliated with the practice unit being reviewed. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-3.1-3
• Permit: means a permit to practice public accountancy issued under § 5-3. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-3.1-3
• person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
• Practice unit: means a sole proprietorship, corporation, partnership, or other entity engaged in the practice of public accounting in this state. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-3.1-3
• Principal residence: means the state in which a person has the right to register to vote for, or the right to vote in, general elections and in which he or she qualifies to file a resident state income tax return. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-3.1-3
• 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.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• 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.
• report: includes any form of language that disclaims an opinion when that language is conventionally understood to imply any positive assurance as to the reliability of the attested information or compiled financial statements referred to and/or any special competence on the part of the person or practice unit issuing that language; and it also includes any other form of language that is conventionally understood to imply that assurance and/or special knowledge or competence. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-3.1-3
• seal: shall be construed to include an impression of the seal made with or without the use of wax or wafer on the paper. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-15
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• State: means the states of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-3.1-3
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Substantial equivalency: means a determination by the board of accountancy 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 included in this chapter or that an individual CPA's education, examination, and experience qualifications are comparable to or exceed the education, examination, and experience requirements contained in this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-3.1-3
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• this state: means the state of Rhode Island. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-3.1-3
• town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
• 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.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8