| ICAJ
NEWS
Amendments
to Public Accountancy Act….
Gives
New Teeth to the PAB
Amendments
to the Public Accountancy Act (PAA),
approved by the Senate on Friday, January
30, now gives the Public Accountancy Board
(PAB) the "legislative teeth" to
effectively monitor and ensure compliance
of its members (Registered Public
Accountants/RPAs) with a Code of Conduct
as well as technical standards in keeping
with those being met by members of the
ICAJ.
The
revisions are geared towards modernising
the existing legislation to reflect
developments within the local accountancy
profession since the Act was first passed
in 1968. It is intended that the
amendments will promote higher standards
for public accountancy and enable the
monitoring of the public practice and
professional conduct of RPAs.
The
Amendments strengthen the powers and
enables the PAB to carry out its
responsibilities as the entity issuing
licenses to applicants who qualify as
public accountants. They may now establish
systems for the review of the methods and
records of the work of registered public
accountants to ensure adherence to any
prescribed standard of professional
conduct and established accounting and
auditing standards. Additionally,
disciplinary action may now be taken
against registered public accountants for
breaches of the Act, as the range and
value of penalties have now been increased
significantly.
It also
provides for the establishment,
implementation and regulation of a system
of continuing professional education for
Registered Public Accountants. The Board
will also, among other things, implement,
regulate and monitor a system of quality
control reviews to ensure the maintenance
of high professional standards among
members of the profession.
The ICAJ
was incorporated in 1968 and formally
accorded recognition as the regulators of
the national profession, after the PAA was
passed. On March 7, 2001, the Institute
was designated the regulatory arm of the
Public Accountancy Board. These
legislative changes now remove anomalies
previously existing between both arms of
the profession. The Institute
applauds these landmark changes.
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