Certificate of Attest Experience Form 11A-7 (Revised 01/22)

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Purpose: The Certificate of General Experience is to document evidence of an applicant’s general

accounting experience.

Applicability: Type A, B, C and E applicants and F licensees

Types of Licensure Applicants:

 Type A – An applicant who passed the Uniform CPA Exam in California, has not been issued a valid

license to practice public accounting in any state and is applying for licensure as a CPA in California for

the first time.

 Type B – An applicant who passed the Uniform CPA Exam in a state other than California and has

not been issued a valid license to practice public accounting in any state and is applying for licensure

as a CPA in California for the first time. Has completed a baccalaureate or is within 6 months of

completion prior to sitting for the CPA Exam in another state.

 Type C – An applicant who was issued a valid license to practice public accounting in a state other

than California.

 Type D – An applicant who previously was licensed as a CPA in California and the certificate was

cancelled after five years for nonpayment of license renewal fees.

 Type E – An applicant who passed the International Uniform Certified Public Accountant Qualification

Examination (IQEX) of the AICPA and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy

(NASBA).

 Type F - A California licensee originally issued a license to perform general accounting services who

has now completed attest experience

Who Completes this Form: The licensed CPA holding a valid license to practice public accounting

who supervised the applicant’s performance of services provided.

Required Action: Complete and verify your supervision of the applicant’s experience.

When to Complete this Form: Upon the applicant’s request. Failure to submit the Certificate of

Attest Experience is viewed by the California Board of Accountancy as an attempt to impede the

applicant’s certification and may result in enforcement action.

Where to Send this Form:

California Board of Accountancy

2450 Venture Oaks Way, Suite 300

Sacramento, CA 95833

Authority for this Form: Business and Professions Code Sections 5092, 5093, 5095, and Sections

12 and 12.5 of Title 16, Division 1 of the California Code of Regulations.

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STATE OF CALIFORNIA – BUSINESS, CONSUMER SERVICES AND HOUSING AGENCY GAVIN NEWSOM, GOVERNOR

California Board of Accountancy

2450 Venture Oaks Way, Suite 300

Sacramento, CA 95833

phone:

(916) 263-3680

fax:

(916) 263-3675

web:

www.cba.ca.gov

CERTIFICATE OF ATTEST EXPERIENCE

PRINT OR TYPE

FULL NAME OF APPLICANT: (No Initials) (First) (Middle) (Last)

SOCIAL SECURITY # (Last 4 only)

XXX-

XX- ___________

PERIOD OF EMPLOYMENT

List the dates applicant was under your supervision and obtained qualifying general accounting experience, as defined below.

FULL TIME FROM TO

DATES (mm/dd/yyyy) (mm/dd/yyyy)

/ / / /

PAR

-TIME FROM TO

DATES (mm/dd/yyyy) (mm/dd/yyyy)

/ / / /

TOTAL PART-

TIME HOURS

The experience required by Section 5095 of the Business and Professions Code should be fulfilled primarily by financial statement audits and,

secondly, by other attest services. Section 12.5 of Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations establishes the attest experience requirement.

To be considered as qualifying, experience is that which enables the applicant to demonstrate the ability to understand the

requirements of planning and conducting a financial statement audit or perform other attest services with minimum supervision that

results in an opinion on full disclosure financial statements.

Check either yes or no for each of the following items (A and B) to identify the experience of the applicant, while under your

supervision, for purposes of qualifying the applicant for a CPA license.

QUALIFYING EXPERIENCE Yes No

I. A. Does the applicant have experience in the planning of the audit, including the selection of the procedures to be

performed?

B. In your opinion, did such experience demonstrate a satisfactory understanding of the requirements of planning an audit

consistent with current practice standards and pronouncements of the profession?

II. A. Does the applicant have experience in applying a variety of auditing procedures and techniques to the usual and

customary financial transactions included in financial statements?

In your opinion, did the application of the above-described procedures demonstrate satisfactory knowledge of

current practice standards and pronouncements of the profession?

III. A. Does the applicant have experience in the preparation of working papers in connection with the various elements of

I and II, above?

In your opinion, do the working papers demonstrate satisfactory knowledge of current practice standards and

pronouncements of the profession?

IV. A.

Does the applicant have experience in the preparation of written explanations and comments on the work performed

and its findings?

In your opinion, do the written explanations and comments demonstrate satisfactory knowledge of current practice

standards and pronouncements of the profession?

V. A. Does the applicant have experience in the preparation of and reporting on full disclosure financial statements as part of

the Audit or other Attest Services? This does not include experience earned through the performance of preparation

engagements in accordance with the provisions of the Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services

(SSARS).

In your opinion, did such participation demonstrate satisfactory knowledge of current professional standards?

NUMBER OF HOURS

VI. SUMMARY OF ATTEST EXPERIENCE HOURS

Audit Other Attest

Review

Services

Compilation

Experience in Planning the Audit or Other Attest Services (I. above)

Experience in Applying a Variety of Audit Procedures and Techniques on the Audit

or Other Attest Services Procedures (II. above)

Experience in the Preparation o

Working Papers (III. above) and in the Preparation o

Written Explanations on the Audit or Other Attest Services (IV. above)

Experience in the Preparation of Full Disclosure Financial Statements as part of the

Audit or Other Attest Services (V. above)

Compilation Hours Obtained Prior to January 1, 2008

Total

VII.

Is the applicant related to anyone in your firm?

Yes

☐

(If Yes, explain relationship)

11A-7 (Rev. 01/22)

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NOTES TO EMPLOYER COMPLETING Certificate of Attest

For the authorization to sign attest reports, applicants must obtain a minimum of 500 hours of qualifying attest experience.

Section 69 of the California Code of Regulations provides that the California Board of Accountancy (CBA) may require an

explanation of any representation made on the Certificate of Attest Experience (Public Accounting) and/or may inspect the

documentation relating to the applicant’s fulfillment of the experience requirement.

Section 12.5 of the California Code of Regulations requires that public accounting experience be verified by the licensee

supervising the experience. Supervised experience means that the applicant’s supervisor shall have reviewed and

evaluated the applicant’s qualifying work on a routine and recurring basis and shall have authority and oversight

over the applicant.

I hereby certify, under penalty of perjury under the laws of the state of California, that the applicant has (1) been supervised or employed

by me or my firm for the period indicated herein, and (2) in the course of such employment has obtained the experience indicated on this

Certificate of Attest Experience.

FIRM NAME: BUSINESS TELEPHONE: Area Code ( )

ADDRESS: (Include City, State, and Zip Code)

SIGNATURE (Supervisor)

SOLE PROPRIETOR

PARTNER

SHAREHOLDER

OTHER

CERTIFICATE NO. ___________________

U.S. STATE OR OTHER AUTHORITY OF ISSUANCE

☐

CPA ☐ PA ☐

______________

PRINTED NAME

DATE

OFFICE USE ONLY

Date of last Section 69 Review ___________

___________ APPROVED

___________ REAPPEARANCE

___________ NO RECORD

Verified by: _________________________

Date: _________________________

11A-7 (Rev. 01/22)

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PERSONAL INFORMATION COLLECTION AND ACCESS

The information provided in this form will be used by the CBA, to determine qualifications for a

Certified Public Accountant License. Sections 5080 through 5095 of the Business and

Professions Code authorize the collection of this information. Failure to provide any of the

required information is grounds for rejection of the application as being incomplete.

Information provided may be transferred to the Department of Justice, a District Attorney, a City

Attorney, or to another government agency as may be necessary to permit the CBA, or the

transferee agency, to perform its statutory or constitutional duties, or otherwise transferred or

disclosed as provided in Civil Code Section 1798.24.

Each individual has the right to review his or her file, except as otherwise provided by the

Information Practices Act. Certain information provided may be disclosed to a member of the

public, upon request, under the California Public Records Act.

The Executive Officer of the CBA is responsible for maintaining the information in this

application, and may be contacted at 2450 Venture Oaks Way, Suite 300, Sacramento, CA

95833, telephone number (916) 263-3680 regarding questions about this notice or access to

records.

11A-7 (Rev. 01/22)

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THE

CERTIFICATE OF ATTEST EXPERIENCE

Form 11A-7

(Rev 01/22)

The Certificate of Attest Experience is used by licensees to communicate to the California Board of

Accountancy the experience an applicant has obtained while under their supervision in order for the

CBA to determine whether the experience meets the requirements of Title 16, Division 1 of the California

Code of Regulations (CCR), Section 12.5.

Public accounting experience should be of a character and variety that enables the applicant to

demonstrate the ability to understand the requirements of planning and conducting a financial statement

audit or perform other attest services with minimum supervision that results in an opinion on full disclosure

financial statements.

For the authorization to sign attest reports, applicants applying for licensure must obtain a minimum of

500 hours of attest experience. It is important that very early in the applicant’s employment the licensee

and applicant formulate a plan tailored to demonstrate a variety of experience in audit services. A

contemporaneous time record should be prepared and monitored by the licensee and the applicant.

Qualifying Experience.

It is expected that the applicant will have gained the attest experience required under Items I, II

and III on the Certificate of Attest Experience through the application of normal accounting

procedures, and the planning of audits. Experience in all of the items listed below is not necessary

for a successful application. This experience may be obtained in one or more engagements, in one

or more industries. Typical audit planning and procedures include, but are not limited to, the

following:

Obtaining sufficient understanding of the components of internal control (control

environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communications, and

monitoring) to plan the audit. Procedures are usually performed to ascertain whether such

components were in effect and operating effectively.

Assessing risks embodied in the account balance, transaction class, and disclosure

components of the financial statements and determining materiality.

Applying appropriate analytical review procedures in performing an attestation engagement.

Applying appropriate testing procedures to determine the existence and reasonableness of

asset account balances such as cash, accounts receivable, inventory, property, plant and

equipment, and other assets such as prepaids, intangible assets, and other deferred charges.

Understanding and determining the valuation of accounts such as inventories, accounts

receivable, marketable securities, real estate investments, and the appropriate accounting

and applicable disclosures. These include costing and pricing concepts such as LIFO, FIFO,

lower of cost or market, and excess and obsolete inventory, etc.

Applying appropriate testing procedures to determine the reasonableness of liability

account balances, such as accounts payable, accrued liabilities, income taxes, and notes

and contracts payable, and the reasonableness of capital accounts and revenue and

expense accounts.

Testing of revenue and profit recognition, cut off of sales, purchases, cash receipts

and disbursements, subsequent events review, and examination of pertinent

documentation.

Determining the existence of related party transactions, commitments and contingent

liabilities, and appropriate financial statement disclosures.

Under Item IV on the Certificate of Attest Experience it is expected the applicant has written

comments, observations, and conclusions resulting from the work performed.

Under Item V on the Certificate of Attest Experience it is expected the applicant has participated in

the preparation of and reporting on full disclosure financial statements. The experience required

under this item may be fulfilled partially by review services, if adequately supported by workpapers.

Experience in this section should not include performance of preparation engagements in

accordance with the provisions of the Statements on Standards for Accounting and Review Services

(SSARS).

Experience Discussion.

The performance of financial statement audits should primarily fulfill the experience

requirement. In addition, attest experience may include a combination of:

Review services to the extent they comply with the documentation of analytical

procedures and the development of expectations as required by the Statements on

Standards for Accounting and Review Services. Frequently, only analytical review

procedures qualify; however, the scope of work may be extended in selected areas and,

thereby, may qualify. Examples include performing analytical review procedures or extending

the scope of work in selected areas. Experience obtained in other areas (such as accounting

write-up, tax compliance, consultations, forecasting and projections) is not considered

qualifying under Title 16, Division 1 of the CCR, Section 12.5.

Other attest services including, but not limited to:

Statements on Auditing Standards 70.

Agreed-upon procedures.

Compliance audits.

Compilation services only to the extent preparation of full disclosure financial statements

is supported by work papers. Compilation hours obtained after December 31, 2007, are

no longer accepted as qualifying attest experience for licensure.

The most frequent problems encountered by applicants with public accounting experience are:

Failure to demonstrate and/or document participation in the audit planning process.

Limited experience in applying audit procedures and participating in preparing and reporting

on full disclosure financial statements. As a result, an applicant has difficulty demonstrating

experience with disclosure requirements, financial statement preparation, and Generally

Accepted Accounting Principles and Generally Accepted Auditing Standards requirements.

Failure to demonstrate a reasonable awareness and understanding of current professional

standards.

Other Sections of the Certificate of Attest Experience.

Summary of Attest Experience Hours (Part VI of Certificate of Attest Experience).

This summary should reflect only hours the applicant spent performing audit procedures

pursuant to Title 16, Division 1 of the CCR, Section 12.5.

Experience in areas such as controllership functions, accounting write-up, tax compliance,

consultations, forecasting, and projections, are not considered qualifying under Title 16,

Division 1 of the CCR, Section 12.5.

The specific categories of experience should be completed as follows:

Audit Hours: This section should reflect only those hours spent in the

planning

and performing of audit procedures or other

attest services in an audit engagement, and the hours

spent on financial statement preparation.

Review Hours: This section should reflect only those hours spent in the

performance of audit-type procedures or other attest

services in a review engagement, and the hours spent on

financial statement preparation. Frequently, analytical

review is the only audit-type procedure performed, unless

the scope in selected areas has been expanded, and

audit-type procedures have been performed and

documented.

Other Attest Hours: This section should reflect only those hours spent in the

performance of operational audits, compliance audits,

and other audits, as well as performance of agreed-upon

procedures of an audit nature. If the predominant

qualifying experience is shown in this section, it is

probable it will be reviewed by the Qualifications

Committee of the CBA.

Compilation Hours: Compilation services only to the extent preparation of

full disclosure financial statements is supported by

work papers. Compilation hours obtained after December

31, 2007, are no longer accepted as qualifying attest

experience for licensure.

Certifying an Applicant’s Experience if Obtained in More Than One Office.

If a single Certificate of Attest Experience is submitted for an applicant who has obtained experience

in more than one office of the same firm, a cover letter must also be submitted furnishing information

as to the basis for completing the Certificate of Attest Experience for multiple offices. Alternatively,

separate Certificates of Attest Experience should be submitted by the separate offices. A separate

Certificate of Attest Experience must be submitted for experience obtained outside the United

States regardless of whether it was obtained from the same firm as that obtained in the

United States.

Responsibility Associated with Signing the Certificate of Attest Experience.

All California licensees in public practice signing the Certificate of Attest Experience are subject to

the provisions of the Title 16, Division 1 of the CCR, Section 69. The signer must carefully review the

Certificate of Attest Experience, evaluate and judge each applicant’s experience. The signer is

certifying, under penalty of perjury, whether in their opinion, the applicant has met the attest

experience requirements of the CBA for licensure.

If additional information would be helpful in evaluating the applicant’s experience, the CBA

encourages an employer to attach an explanatory letter.

Title 16, Division 1 of the CCR, Section 69 provides that the CBA may require an explanation of any

representation made on the Certificate of Attest Experience and/or may inspect the documentation

relating to an applicant’s fulfillment of the experience requirement.

Under Title 16, Division 1 of the CCR, Section 69, the CBA expects the documentation in support of

affirmative answers on the Certificate of Attest Experience to consist of a record of engagements on

which an applicant actually performed the attest procedures, the amount of time spent by the

applicant on the procedures, and the aggregate amount of time spent on such engagements. Upon

request, actual financial statements and supporting workpapers are required to be furnished to the

CBA.

Current Experience.

In evaluating the experience of an applicant, emphasis is given to recent activities that demonstrate

the applicant’s knowledge and application of applicable professional standards. In determining

currency, the CBA generally considers experience gained in the last five years. If the experience

was gained prior to that time, the CBA will require the applicant to furnish evidence that they are

knowledgeable of current practice standards and pronouncements of the profession.

Worksheet.

The Worksheet for Substantiation of Qualifying Experience under Title 16, Division 1 of the CCR,

Section 12.5 has been included to assist the applicant and the employer in accumulating information

to support the opinions expressed on the Certificate of Attest Experience. It is not necessary to

submit this worksheet with the Certificate of Attest Experience.

WORKSHEET FOR SUBSTANTIATION OF QUALIFYING

EXPERIENCE UNDER TITLE 16 CCR, SECTION 12.5

EMPLOYER APPLICANT

For informational purposes only. Indicate by working paper reference procedures performed by applicant. Use tick

marks to indicate completion of activity. Use last four rows to track hours per engagement.

ENGAGEMENT TYPE:

ACTIVITY

COMPLETED

YEAR:

COMPLETED

YEAR:

COMPLETED

YEAR:

COMPLETED

YEAR:

I. Planning of the audit, including preparation of related working

papers.

1. Obtaining an understanding of the components of internal

control, and performing procedures to determine such

components are in effect.

2. Assessing risks.

3. Determining materiality and selecting procedures to be

performed.

II. Performing a variety of auditing procedures and techniques to

transactions and balances in the financial statements that address

the relevant assertions. Preparing working papers documenting

the work performed, including explanations and comments on the

work performed and findings.

1. Applying appropriate analytical review procedures.

2. Applying appropriate testing procedures to determine the

existence and amounts of:

a. Cash.

b. Accounts and notes receivable.

c. Inventories.

d. Prepaids, intangibles, and deferred charges.

e. Property, plant, and equipment.

f. Notes and contracts payable and long-term debt.

g. Accounts payable, accrued liabilities, and deferred

credits.

h. Commitments and contingencies.

i. Income taxes.

j. Capital and retained earnings.

k. Revenue recognition, purchases cutoff, other income

and expenses, and subsequent events review

(including unrecorded liabilities).

l. Related party transactions, commitments, and

contingencies.

III. Preparing working papers in connection with the various elements

of I and II, above.

IV. Preparing written explanations and comments on the work

performed and its findings

V. Preparing full disclosure financial statements including, but not

limited to:

Accounting principles and policies for significant accounts.

2. Analyses of accounts and related accounting and

disclosures.

3. Capital accounts and leases.

4. Income taxes and employee benefits.

5. Related party transactions, commitments and contingencies,

and subsequent events.

Hours spent by applicant on engagement.

(If review, only note Title 16, Division 1, CCR, Section 12.5 audit and

financial statement hours.)

Total hours for engagement.

(If review, only note Title 16, Division 1, CCR, Section 12.5 audit and

financial statement hours.)