Members Obligation Compliance

All professional accountants upon admission as members of the Institute are required to attend an Induction Course organised by the Institute, within six (6) months of admission. Please refer to Section 400 of the Institute’s By-laws.

Paragraph 15 of IES 7 prescribes that member bodies shall require each professional accountant to:

1. Complete at least 120 hours (or equivalent learning units) of relevant professional development activity in each rolling three-year period, of which 60 hours (or equivalent learning units) shall be verifiable;
2. Complete at least 20 hours (or equivalent learning units) of relevant professional development activity in each year; and
3. Measure learning activities to meet the above requirements.

Section B110 of the Institute’s By-Laws on Professional Ethics, Conduct and Practice (“Institute’s By-Laws”) states that all professional accountants are required to complete at least 120 CPE credit hours of relevant CPE learning for every rolling 3 calendar year period, of which at least 60 CPE credit hours should be structured and verifiable, and at least twenty (20) CPE credit hours of such structured and verifiable CPE learning should be obtained each calendar year.

In order to maintain professional competence and to ensure the exercise of due care at all times, a professional accountant is required to participate in CPE learning activities that are relevant to his or her current and future work and professional responsibilities. CPE requirements are applicable to all professional accountants regardless of sector or size of business in which they operate.

CPE learning activities are those learning activities that develop and maintain capabilities to enable professional accountants to perform competently within their professional environments. Participation in CPE learning activities is therefore vital in maintaining high standards and public confidence in the profession.

A CPE audit will be conducted by the Institute on a sample of professional accountants who will be selected at random from the Institute’s records. During each CPE audit, the randomly selected professional accountants will be required to produce evidence of their compliance with the CPE requirements and as such all professional accountants are required to maintain records of their compliance with the CPE requirements. Professional accountants are required to tender the appropriate evidence of such compliance if called upon to do so.

Online Submission

Members are required to update the event date, course title, organiser and duration of event via online by checking “Add CPE Hours” without the need to submit supporting documents (for example, certificate of attendance). The Institute however, reserves the right to request for evidence to verify any such information provided by members. Members are also required to make a declaration of their CPE Compliance online.

Online Declaration

Upon fulfiling the requirements for structured learning, members are required to click ‘CPE Declaration’ to declare their compliance and to perform the above.

Your update of the CPE events and the CPE Compliance online declaration must be performed by 31 December of each calendar year.

Please log on HERE to ‘add CPE online’ and submit the online declaration.

The Institute views compliance with CPE requirements seriously and will take disciplinary action against those members who wilfully fail to comply or to respond to the Institute’s inquiries on compliance.

Every professional accountant in describing himself or herself as an accountant in Malaysia shall use the designations “Chartered Accountant”, "Licensed Accountant" or “Associate Member” with the designatory letters “C.A.(M)”, “L.A.(M)” or “A.M.(M)” respectively.
Please refer to Section 420 of the Institute’s By-laws.

A member in public practice shall describe his or her firm as a firm of “Chartered Accountants” or as a firm of "Licensed Accountants" as appropriate.

Every member in public practice who signs any reports or other documents in a professional capacity either as an individual or for and on behalf of the firm shall only use the designations “Chartered Accountant” or “Chartered Accountants” or "Licensed Accountant" or "Licensed Accountants" to describe that member in public practice or the firm in the report or documents.

Please refer to Section 420 of the Institute's By-laws.

Every member in public practice is required to –

1. register his firm with the Institute by informing the Institute in writing of the name and address of his or her firm and the addresses of any branches and any other relevant particulars requested by the Institute;
2. inform the Institute of any changes in respect of the particulars referred to in sub-paragraph (a) within one (1) month thereafter;
3. if the firm is associated with any other firm of accountants, register such association whether local or overseas with the Institute and this must be supported by evidence;
4. upon registration of his firm with the Institute, lodge an annual return with the Institute by 31 January of each calendar year despite the fact that there may be no changes in particulars to the firm.
5. to state his/her firm's number immediately after or below the firm's name, in official letters, accounts, invoices, official notices, publications, bills of exchange, cheque, receipts, requisition forms and other like documents issued by the firm.
   A member in public practice should not allow the member firm including any branches of the member firm to be under the management and control of a person who is not a member of the Institute. It is the duty and responsibility of a member in public practice to ensure that any branch of his or her firm is under the management and control of a member of the Institute.
   
   Please refer to Section 500 of the Institute’s By-laws.
   
   
6. Professional Indemnity Insurance
   
   Every member in public practice is required to ensure that his or her firm carries and maintains a policy of professional indemnity insurance.
   
   Every member in public practice must maintain a policy of professional indemnity insurance with a minimum coverage of Ringgit Malaysia One Hundred Thousand (RM100,000.00), upon commencement of public practice.
   
   Proof of such coverage is required for the purpose of the annual renewal of the member’s practising certificate pursuant to Rule 9 of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (Membership and Council) Rules 2001.
   
   Please refer to Section 510 of the Institute's By-laws.
   


7. Continuity of Practice in the event of death or incapacity of a Sole Practitioner
   
   In order to protect the own interests of a sole practitioner as well as the interests of the clients, it is important for the sole practitioner to enter into an arrangement with another member or member firm as it will enable the practice to be carried on with a minimum of dislocation in the event of incapacity or death.
   
   Such arrangements should be made within two (2) years from the date the sole proprietorship was set up and should provide, so far as possible, for the practice to be continued as a going concern until such time as the sole practitioner recovers or the representatives of his or her estate decide to dispose of the practice.
   
   Please refer to Section 520 of the Institute’s By-laws.
   
   
8. Quality Assurance and Practice Review
   
   Every member in public practice is required to ensure that his or her firm complies with all relevant professional standards for the purposes of assurance as to the quality of the public practice services provided by the firm whether through that member, his or her partner(s) and/or employees. In doing so, every member in public practice has to ensure that the firm adopts and applies policies and procedures designed to maintain adherence to professional standards.
   
   The professional standards required to be maintained, observed and applied by a member in public practice to the extent applicable to the type of public practice services provided by that member or the firm, include:
   1. all standards and statements of professional conduct and ethics in the form of the Institute's By-Laws in issue from time to time;
   2. all approved standards whether issued by the Council or otherwise, and all guidelines, statements and/or circulars of best practices issued or prescribed by the Council and/or the Institute from time to time.
      
      
   The objectives of the Practice Review programme are -
   
   1. to ensure that all members in public practice maintain, observe and apply the relevant professional standards, so as to assure that those members in public practice, their firms and their employees are competent, ethical, and exercise due professional care in their professional work;
   2. to assist members in public practice to improve their professional standards where necessary; and
   3. to identify areas where members in public practice may require assistance in maintaining and observing professional standards.
   
   All members in public practice and/or member firms are required to submit to and undergo the Institute’s Practice Review programme as established.
   
   The Practice Review programme will be conducted over a cycle of not more than five (5) years or such other period as determined by the Council in respect of member firms which are selected at random from the Institute’s records.
   
   Practice Review Fees
   
   Each member in public practice and/or the member’s firm is required to settle in full, the fees if any, in respect of the practice review conducted pertaining to that firm including any interim fees, as may be charged and determined by the Practice Review Committee for that firm. Such fees are due and payable within 30 days of the date of the invoice raised for this purpose.
   
   The fees, if any, that are charged for the practice review are based on hourly rates as approved by the Council on the recommendation of the Practice Review Committee. Such fees are in respect of the time involved in the planning, execution and reporting of the practice review.
   
   Please refer to Section 550 of the Institute’s by-laws.