FAQs - Practising Certificate

Applicants are required to complete and submit  “Application for the Issuance of a Practising Certificate” (Form PC-1) through the AFRC Online Registration System together with the application fee and all necessary supporting documents.

Please refer to the AFRC’s Guide for the Issuance of Practising Certificates paragraphs 3.3.3 to 3.3.5 for details of the application procedures and supporting documents.

No. Pursuant to section 20AA(1) of the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council Ordinance (Cap. 588), only a certified public accountant (i.e. a member of the HKICPA) can apply to the AFRC for a practising certificate.

Pursuant to section 20AAL of the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council Ordinance (Cap. 588), the applicant is required to:

• have had the following full-time approved accounting experience¹ in one or more specified offices².
  • at least 30 months acquired after the applicant has become a member of a specified accountancy body³ or a certified public accountant; or
  • at least 4 years, and at least 1 year of that experience has been acquired after the applicant has become a member of a specified accountancy body³ or a certified public accountant; and
• possess the local experience and knowledge of local law and practice that the Council of the HKICPA considers necessary. In respect of local experience, the Council of the HKICPA requires the applicant to have had at least 1 year of full-time approved accounting experience¹ in Hong Kong within three years preceding the practising certificate application.
   

Notes:

¹ Approved accounting experience means the professional accountancy experience approved as sufficient practical experience by the Council of the HKICPA. Please refer to the HKICPA’s Approved Accounting Experience for Issuance of Practising Certificate on its website for the relevant requirements.

² A specified office means the office of a CPA (practising) or a person practising public accountancy in the jurisdiction of a specified accountancy body.

³ A specified accountancy body means:

• an accountancy body between which and the HKICPA there is in force an agreement of mutual or reciprocal recognition⁴ ; or
• an accountancy body accepted by the Council of the HKICPA as described in section 24(1A) of the Professional Accountants Ordinance (Cap. 50)⁴.

⁴ The information is available on the HKICPA website (https://www.hkicpa.org.hk/en) under the heading “Recognition of overseas bodies”.

Full-time experience in public practice gained in Chinese Mainland will not be accepted as satisfying the four-year / thirty-month approved accounting experience requirement and the one-year recent local experience requirement unless:

• the approved accounting experience was acquired in a Chinese Mainland CPA practice that is a branch / subsidiary of or affiliated with a CPA firm or a corporate practice in Hong Kong; and
• an official letter duly signed by the sole practitioner / practising partner / practising member director of the CPA firm or corporate practice in Hong Kong is obtained to certify that you have satisfied the prescribed criteria for recognition of such experience as specified by the Council of the HKICPA.
   

Please refer to the HKICPA’s Approved Accounting Experience for Issuance of Practising Certificate on its website for the prescribed criteria for recognition of Chinese Mainland experience.

Pursuant to section 20AAL of the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council Ordinance (Cap. 588), the applicant is required to sit and pass the examinations set by the Council of the HKICPA, which include an examination in local law and taxation. Please refer to the HKICPA’s Practising Certificate Examinations on its website for the relevant requirements.

You are required to submit a fresh application to the AFRC for a practising certificate. Your application will be assessed according to requirements now in force. Please refer to the Q1 above for the application procedures.

You can be regarded as being ordinarily resident in Hong Kong for practising certificate issuance purpose if you satisfy any of the following criteria:

• You have been present in Hong Kong for no less than 180 days during the period of 12 months preceding the date of the application;
• You are presently residing in Hong Kong at the time of application, intend to reside in Hong Kong for the next 12 months AND:
  • have the right of abode in Hong Kong or the right to land in Hong Kong and are not subject to any condition of stay; or
  • have been residing in Hong Kong for a period of time; OR
• You are working in Chinese Mainland and continue to be a partner / director / employee of a CPA firm / corporate practice registered with the AFRC; have the right of abode in Hong Kong or the right to land in Hong Kong and are not subject to any condition of stay; AND
  • continue to maintain a place of residence in Hong Kong; or
  • the principal members of your family (spouse and/or minor children) have been present in Hong Kong for no less than 180 days during the period of 12 months preceding the date of the application.

Under section 37Q of the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council Ordinance (Cap. 588), you may apply to the Accounting and Financial Reporting Review Tribunal for a review of the decision within the specified period.

At present, there is no restriction in respect of the business sector of the full-time employment of certified public accountants (practising). However, you must commence your practice within 6 months of the effective date of the practising certificate, otherwise your practising certificate may be cancelled. Please inform the AFRC of any change in the mode of your practice within 14 days of the change by completing and submitting “Notification for Change in Particulars of a CPA (practising)” (Form PC-3) through the AFRC Online Registration System together with all necessary supporting documents.

There are no rules about the number of accounts signed by a certified public accountant (practising) for annual renewal. However, certified public accountants (practising) are required to declare in the annual renewal application that they have commenced practice within 6 months from the date they were issued the practising certificate and will continue to practise as such in the following year upon renewal of their practising certificate.

You, as a CPA (practising), must notify the AFRC of the change by completing and submitting “Notification for Change in Particulars of a CPA (Practising)” (Form PC-3) through the AFRC Online Registration System within 14 days of the change.

Yes, you can practise in your own name and in the name of a CPA firm at the same time. However, the number of CPA firm / corporate practice names under which you are registered as a sole practitioner, a director, a partner or an authorized signatory of a CPA firm should in no case exceed three.

Therefore, you may, in addition to practising in your own name, practise in at most three of the following mode of practice:

• in the name of a CPA firm
• in the name of a corporate practice; and / or
• as an authorized signatory of a CPA firm.

At present, there is no restriction about how your name appears in your letterhead for your practice. However, in order to avoid confusion, you are advised to use your full name that is kept in the register of certified public accountants maintained by the HKICPA (“HKICPA’s register of CPAs”).

In addition, you must practise accountancy on your own account under the name that is kept in the HKICPA’s register of CPAs or otherwise you commit a professional irregularity pursuant to section 3B(2)(a)(i) of the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council Ordinance (Cap. 588).

You are required to notify the AFRC of the change of mode of practice to practise in your own name by completing and submitting  “Notification for Change in Particulars of a CPA (Practising)” (Form PC-3) through the AFRC Online Registration System within 14 days of the change, together with the following supporting documents:

• a copy of the Business Registration Certificate;
• where you are the landlord of the registered office, documentary evidence to prove the ownership of the property such as land search results; and
• where you are not the landlord of the registered office, a letter of consent from the landlord or leaseholder authorizing the use of his or her or its premises as your registered office.

The AFRC maintains a register of certified public accountants (practising) containing the full name of each certified public accountant (practising) and the address of their registered office on our website. The register is also available for public inspection during office hours at our office.

Yes.  The AFRC and the HKICPA have agreed that as from 1 October 2022, a Fellow of the HKICPA who holds a practising certificate may continue to use the designation “Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (Practising)”, the related characters “執業資深會計師” and initials “FCPA (practising)”. Please refer to the Joint Statement of the AFRC and the HKICPA for more details.