After notice and hearing the board may revoke, suspend, or refuse to renew any permit or certificate granted under Article 4 (commencing with Section 5070) and Article 5 (commencing with Section 5080), or may censure the holder of that permit or certificate for unprofessional conduct that includes, but is not limited to, one or any combination of the following causes:

(a) Conviction of any crime substantially related to the qualifications, functions and duties of a certified public accountant or a public accountant.

(b) A violation of Section 478, 498, or 499 dealing with false statements or omissions in the application for a license, in obtaining a certificate as a certified public accountant, in obtaining registration under this chapter, or in obtaining a permit to practice public accountancy under this chapter.

(c) Dishonesty, fraud, gross negligence, or repeated negligent acts committed in the same or different engagements, for the same or different clients, or any combination of engagements or clients, each resulting in a violation of applicable professional standards that indicate a lack of competency in the practice of public accountancy or in the performance of the bookkeeping operations described in Section 5052.

(d) Cancellation, revocation, or suspension of a certificate or other authority to practice as a certified public accountant or a public accountant, refusal to renew the certificate or other authority to practice as a certified public accountant or a public accountant, or any other discipline by any other state or foreign country.

(e) Violation of Section 5097.

(f) Violation of Section 5120.

(g) Willful violation of this chapter or any rule or regulation promulgated by the board under the authority granted under this chapter.

(h) Suspension or revocation of the right to practice before any governmental body or agency.

(i) Fiscal dishonesty or breach of fiduciary responsibility of any kind.

(j) Knowing preparation, publication, or dissemination of false, fraudulent, or materially misleading financial statements, reports, or information.

(k) Embezzlement, theft, misappropriation of funds or property, or obtaining money, property, or other valuable consideration by fraudulent means or false pretenses.

(l) The imposition of any discipline, penalty, or sanction on a registered public accounting firm or any associated person of such firm, or both, or on any other holder of a permit, certificate, license, or other authority to practice in this state, by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board or the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or their designees under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 or other federal legislation.

(m) Unlawfully engaging in the practice of public accountancy in another state.

(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 921, Sec. 12. Effective January 1, 2005.)