(1) In order for credits for passing the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination to be recognized by the board, an applicant who has never held a certificate as a certified public accountant, or a license as a licensed public accountant in any state must have earned those credits under circumstances comparable to those applicable to Montana applicants at the time those credits were earned. Those circumstances and conditions include the conditioning requirements for accumulation of examination credits, if the applicant did not pass all required parts of the examination on the first attempt.