The Regulation CSO is:

The Regulation CSO is:

Ethics, Professional, & Legal Responsibilities (17%)

1. Treasury Department Circular 230

2. AICPA Statements on Standards for Tax Services

3. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and Regulations related to tax

return preparers

B. Licensing and Disciplinary Systems

1. Role of state boards of accountancy

2. Requirements of regulatory agencies

C. Legal Duties and Responsibilities

1. Common law duties and liability to clients and third parties

2. Federal statutory liability

3. Privileged communications, confidentiality, and privacy acts22

  

§  Business Law (19%)

§  Agency

1. Formation and termination

2. Authority of agents and principals

3. Duties and liabilities of agents and principals

§  Contracts

1. Formation

2. Performance

3. Third party assignments

4. Discharge, breach, and remedies

§  Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)

1. Sales contracts

2. Negotiable instruments

3. Secured transactions

4. Documents of title and title transfer

§  Debtor-Creditor Relationships

1. Rights, duties, and liabilities of debtors, creditors, and guarantors

2. Bankruptcy and insolvency

§  Government Regulation of Business

1. Federal securities regulation

2. Other federal laws and regulations (antitrust, copyright, patents, moneylaundering, labor, employment, and ERISA)

  

§  Business Structure

1. Advantages, disadvantages, implications, and constraints

2. Formation, operation, and termination23

3. Financial structure, capitalization, profit and loss allocation, and distributions

4. Rights, duties, legal obligations, and authority of owners and management

§  Federal Tax Process, Procedures, Accounting, & Planning (13%)

A. Federal Tax Legislative Process

B. Federal Tax Procedures

1. Due dates and related extensions of time

2. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audit and appeals process

3. Judicial process

4. Required disclosure of tax return positions

5. Substantiation requirements

6. Penalties

7. Statute of limitations

C. Accounting Periods

D. Accounting Methods

1. Recognition of revenues and expenses under cash, accrual, or other

permitted methods

2. Inventory valuation methods, including uniform capitalization rules

3. Accounting for long-term contracts

4. Installment sales

E. Tax Return Elections, Including Federal Status Elections, Alternative Treatment

Elections, or Other Types of Elections Applicable to an Individual or Entity’s Tax

Return

F. Tax Planning

1. Alternative treatments

2. Projections of tax consequences

3. Implications of different business entities24

4. Impact of proposed tax audit adjustments

5. Impact of estimated tax payment rules on planning

6. Role of taxes in decision-making

G. Impact of Multijurisdictional Tax Issues on Federal Taxation (Including

Consideration of Local, State, and Multinational Tax Issues)

H. Tax Research and Communication

1. Authoritative hierarchy

2. Communications with or on behalf of clients

§  Federal Taxation of Property (14%)

§  Types of Assets

§  Basis and Holding Periods

§  Cost Recovery (Depreciation etc.)

§  Taxable and Nontaxable Sales and Exchanges

§  Amount and Character of Gains, Losses, and the Netting Process

§  Related Party Transactions

§  Estate and Gift Taxation

1. Transfers subject to the gift tax

2. Annual exclusion and gift tax deductions

3. Determination of taxable estate

4. Marital deduction

5. Unified credit

§  Federal Taxation of Individuals (16%)

§  Gross Income (Inclusions & Exclusions)

§  Items from Pass-Through Entities

2. Characterization of income

§  Adjustments and Deductions to Arrive at Taxable Income

§  Passive Activity Losses

§  Loss Limitations

§  Taxation of Retirement Plan Benefits

§  Filing Status and Exemptions

§  Tax Computations and Credits

§  Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)

  

§  Federal Taxation of Entities (21%)

§  Similarities and Distinctions in Tax Treatments

§  Differences Between Tax and Financial Accounting

§  C Corporations

§  S Corporations

§  Partnerships

§  Trusts and Estates

§  Tax Exempt Organizations

The regulation exam is 3 hours long and contains 3 testlets of 24 multiple choice question and one simulation with 6 tasks. The multiple choice portion of the test is weighted 60% and the simulation is weighted 40%