Dear Members & Affiliates,

On 31 October 2018, The Society of Chinese Accountants & Auditors invited Ms Elsa Ho, Director, Quality Assurance Department (QAD), HKICPA to conduct a seminar “Know more about Practice Review”.

At the seminar, a member raised a question about employing an accountant whose name has been removed from the register of CPAs. We would like to draw your attention to the follow-up email reply from Elsa, here I quoted:

To follow up the question raised at the seminar, we note from our website that there was a Resolution by Agreement case in 2017 where the respondent, without obtaining Council's approval in writing, allowed his practice to employ a former member of the Institute whose name had been removed from the register of CPAs and therefore was in breach of section 28 of the Professional Accountants By-laws. Attached is the relevant press release.

By-law 28 states the following:

"Save with the approval in writing of the Council, a certified public accountant holding a practising certificate who knowingly ... (b) employs, in or in connection with his practice as an accountant, a person whose name has been removed from the register under section 35(1)(a) of the Ordinance and has not been restored thereto ... shall be guilty of professional misconduct."

Please however note that approval from Council is not required if the employment is in relation to someone whose practising certificate has been suspended but his/her name still remains on the CPA register.

Thank you very much for your attention.

Regards,
Donald Chau
Chairman of Practice Management
The Society of Chinese Accountants & Auditors