(1) The commissioner shall not recognize any person or firm as a qualified independent certified public accountant that is not in good standing with the AICPA and in all states in which the accountant is licensed to practice, or, for a Canadian or British company, that is not a chartered accountant.

(2) Except as otherwise provided herein, an independent certified public accountant shall be recognized as qualified as long as he or she conforms to the standards of his or her profession, as contained in the code of professional ethics of the AICPA and rules and regulations and code of ethics and rules of professional conduct of the Montana board of public accountants or its counterparts in sister states.

(3) Following the effective date of these rules, no partner or other member of a firm responsible for rendering a report may act in that capacity for more than seven consecutive years. Following any period of service such person shall be disqualified from acting in that or a similar capacity for the same company or its insurance subsidiaries or affiliates for a period of two consecutive years. This does not preclude other partners or members of any accounting firm from succeeding to the responsibility for rendering reports. An insurer may make application to the commissioner for relief from the above rotation requirement on the basis of unusual circumstances. The commissioner may consider the following factors in determining whether relief should be granted:

(a) number of partners, expertise of the partners or the number of insurance clients in the currently registered firm;

(b) premium volume of the insurer; and

(c) number of jurisdictions in which the insurer transacts business.

(4) The commissioner shall not recognize as a qualified independent certified public accountant, nor accept any annual audited financial report prepared in whole or in part, by any natural person who:

(a) has been convicted of fraud, bribery, a violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 18 U.S.C. Sections 1961-1968, or any dishonest conduct or practices under federal or state law;

(b) has been found to have violated the insurance laws of this state with respect to any previous reports submitted under this rule; or

(c) has demonstrated a pattern or practice of failing to detect or disclose material information in previous reports filed under the provisions of this rule.

(5) The commissioner may hold a hearing pursuant to 33-1-701 , MCA, to determine whether a certified public accountant is qualified and, after considering the evidence and arguments presented, may decide whether the accountant is qualified to express his opinion on the financial statements in the annual audited financial report filed pursuant to these rules and may require the insurer to replace the accountant with another whose relationship with the insurer is qualified within the meaning of these rules.