The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus · • ACCA and ICPAC partnered in a JES...
Transcript of The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus · • ACCA and ICPAC partnered in a JES...
The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus
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• ICPAC Overview
• Joint Examination Scheme
ACCA-ICPAC
• Continuing Professional
Development
• ICPAC as regulatory and
supervisory authority
• Capacities of a professional
accountant
• Practising the profession
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• Registers
• Monitoring
• Disciplinary Committee
• Cooperation with other
bodies / institutions
• PUBLIC OVERSIGHT BOARD
• TROIKA & other reviews
• Updating/supporting
Members
• Sundry
• Established in 1961
• ICPAC is the competent authority for regulating the
accounting / auditing profession in Cyprus.
• Numbers more than 3.600 professional accountants
as members, and around 3.000 students.
• Member composition: mainly ACCAs, ACAs, CPAs
and other professional accountants from other
countries.
• A private company limited by guarantee, under the
Companies Law (Cap. 113).
• Self Regulated body in 2001, by the amendment of
the Companies Law (L.76(I)/2001).
• In 2001, the Council of Ministers recognised ICPAC
as a competent authority for anti-money laundering
activities.
• In 2002, the Council of Ministers recognised ICPAC
as the official accounting body in Cyprus.
• To provide an organisational framework to all professional
accountants of Cyprus
• To provide professional training, guidance and education
to its members
• To regulate the profession, by means of issuing the
practising licences and monitor the work performed by the
practising members and their firms
• To ensure adherence to the Code of Ethics
• To promote the interests of the members and the
profession.
• Council of 14 members
• Each term is of 3 yrs duration
• Max consecutive terms per council member = 4
• President has a fixed 2-year term
• Works as a body and through 3 permanent
Committees for corporate governance purposes:
Audit committee
Nominations & Compensations committee
Risk Management committee
Investment committee
• Operates through ad hoc committees too.
Philippos Raptopoulos
Marios Skandalis
Spyros Spyrou
Demetris Taxitaris
Liakos Theodorou
Christos Vassiliou
Demetris Vakis - President
Demetris Halios - Vice President
Maria Pastellopoulou - Secretary
Members:
Andreas Andreou
Panicos Charalambous
Nicos Chimarides
Pieris Marcou
Stavros Pantzaris
Council composition
• 9 full time staff members:
– 1 General Manager, 1 Senior Officers, 7 officers and support
staff
• It operates via 24 specialised committees and
working groups
• It uses the services of specialised partners for
specific matters (outsourcing)
1. Accounting Standards
2. Administrative Service Providers
3. Advisory Services
4. Auditing Standards
5. Chief Financial Officers
6. Consultative Committee for SMPs
7. Corporate Governance, Internal
Audit and Risk Management
8. Economic Crime and Forensic
Accounting
9. Education
10.Energy
11.Financial Services
12. Insolvency
13. International Business and
Foreign Investment
14.Larnaca – Ammochostos
Coordinating Committee
15.Limassol – Paphos Coordinating
Committee
16.Public Relations
17.Public Sector
18.Shipping
19.Stock Exchange and Capital
Markets
20.Taxation
21.VAT
22.Specialized Working Group for
Compliance
23.Specialized Working Group for
Company Law
24.Specialized Working Group for
Ethics & Institutions Committee
• The Institute has adopted the IFAC Code of Ethics,
as it ethical code for all members.
• All members, irrespective of their professional
capacity, they abide by the Code of Ethics and
potential breach of the code constitutes a
disciplinary offence.
• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (UK)
• Agreement for the outsourcing of the monitoring function
• Joint Examination Scheme ACCA/ICPAC
• Continuing Professional Development Schemes
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in England &
Wales
• Provision of technical support to members
• Other local arrangements for Tax & VAT support and
for AML training and support.
• Have attained university entrance or equivalent level,
possesses the prescribed practical experience and
has passed the prescribed examinations of
professional competence.
• Be a member of at least one of the corresponding
bodies of Professional Accountants of EU countries,as well as other international bodies.
• Succeed in the Joint Examination Scheme ACCA-
ICPAC.
• International Federation of Accountants
• European Federation of Accountants
• Mediterranean Federation of Accountants
ICPAC in numbers as at December 31, 2014:
No.
Members 3.555
Practising Members 1023
Practising Firms 622
J.E.S. Students 2904
Graduates 892
Practitioners as at December 31, 2014:
Type of Practising Certificate Members Firms
General Practising Certificate 1.023 622
Auditing 894 487
ASP 525 295
Number of Members, as at December 31, 2014:
Rate of Members’ growth Annual growth No.
2010 212 2.899
2011 210 3.109
2012 181 3.290
2013 110 3.400
2014 155 3.555
Practising Members as at December 31, 2014:
Type 2014 2013
Practising 1.023 904
Non-practising 2.532 2.496
Total 3.555 3.400
71%
29%
• ACCA and ICPAC partnered in a JES since 2004
• All ACCA students who are Cyprus residents are
automatically included in the JES
• The JES has 3 variant papers out of 14 papers:
F4 – Cyprus company law
F6 – Cyprus taxation
P6 – Cyprus advance taxation
More than 2.800 students follow JES
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• ICPAC has established its own CPD scheme, which
identical to that of ACCA.
• Valid CPD activity, is any training activity which is
related to the work and duties of each member.
• Required amount of CPD units = 40 p.a., of which 21
units must be verifiable.
• One net hour of training is equivalent to 1 CPD unit
• Submissions: Αnnual CPD declaration (mandatory)
CPD evidence review (upon request)
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• There are also 3 CPD schemes for employers:
– Approved Employer (trainee development)
– Approved Employer (professional development)
– Approved Employers (practising certificate
development audit)
• ICPAC, via ACCA, monitors the Approved Employer
Schemes on a regular basis.
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• The Auditors and Statutory Audits of Annual and
Consolidated Accounts Law (L.42(I)/2009)
• Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering
Activities Laws (L.188(I)/2007 and L.58(I)/2010)
• Law Regulating Companies Providing Administrative
Services and Related Matters (L.196(I)/2012)
• The Insolvency Practitioners Law (L.64(I)/2015)
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ICPAC, under the above laws,
• Licences (issues separates practising certificates)
• Monitors
• Disciplines, and
• Regulates
it members and their firms for the relevant services
offered by them.
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• Accountant
• Auditor
• Tax consultant
• Administrative
Service provider
• Co. manager
• Financial controller
• Internal auditor
• Banker
• Analyst
• Insolvency
Practitioner
• Fund manager
• Financial advisor
• Business consultant
• Investment analyst
• IT consultant
• Businessman
• Tuition provider
• + many more …
ICPAC members may be:
• Practising accountants/auditors/asp’s/ip’s
In public practice, holding a practising certificate. They
provide accounting, audit, tax, consulting, trustee,
administrative services, etc.
• Non-practising
Working in the public and private sector, banking
sector, from any post or role, without being required to
have a practising certificate.
Base certificate
Specialisation certificates
General PractisingCertificate
PractisingCertificate and
Audit Qualification
Provision of Administrative
Services
Insolvency Practitioner
Practising
Certificate
Auditing
Certificate
Provision of
Administrative
Services
– Members Register
– Register of Students
– Register of Graduate Accountants
– Practising Members Register (per p/c
issued)
– Practising Firms Register (per p/c issued)
– Register of Insolvency Practitioners
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– Register of Trusts
– Register of subsidiary co’s of ASP licensed
firms
– Register of staff of ASP licensed firms
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ICPAC currently performs the following types of
monitoring visits:
– The Audit Monitoring, for all statutory auditors
and audit firms
– The AML/Rules and Regulations review, for
ALL LICENSED FIRMS
Both have been outsourced to ACCA
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ICPAC has outsourced this function to ACCA
since 2005, in order to capitalise on:
• Their broader experience and knowhow on
the subject
• Their independence from the Cypriot market
• Their universal application of a similar
process (as those followed in UK and other
countries)
• The scope of the audit monitoring visit is to assess
the adherence to the Auditor’s Law, the accounting
and auditing standards, ISQC 1, Code of Ethics and
the ICPAC Regulations. (Commenced in 2005)
• The AML/Rules and Regulations review assesses the
adherence to the AML Directive of ICPAC, the AML
Law, the ASP Law, the Code of Ethics and the
Regulations of the Institute.
• Both follow a 6-year monitoring cycle, except for the
audit firms which have PIEs as clients (3-year cycle).31
Visits performed
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No of visits 9/2015 2014 2013 2012
162 195 185 58
OFFSITE SURVEILLANCE
• Data for all firms is gathered via a standardised
questionnaire
• Data is processed electronically and a risk score is
calculated for every firm
• The firms are classified into three categories, being,
High – Medium – Low risk
• Data is collected on an annual basis, hence once a
year the risk scoring exercise is repeated.
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ONSITE INSPECTION
• Depending on the results of the risk scoring, the
sample for the onsite visits is selected
• There is priority on High risk firms
• Other factors are also taken into consideration in order
to determine the sample, such as the size of the firm
and the previous visit results
• The onsite inspection is done using ACCA’s
monitoring programmes (separate for audit and AML).
• Visit cycle is every 6 years, apart from audit firms
which have PIE clients [reviewed every 3 years]. 34
ONSITE INSPECTION (cont’d)
• The onsite inspection for the AML/Rules and
Regulations review looks into, inter alia, the following:
– The client acceptance procedures
– The KYC and Customer Due Diligence performed
– Identification of Politically Exposed Persons
– Keeping of proper documentation and accounting records
– The AML Procedures Manual and the Compliance Officer
– Information about any Ultimate Beneficial Owners
– Reporting of any suspicious transactions
– Education and Training.
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• Matters arising from the monitoring visits are
referred to the Regulatory Committee.
• This is a body independent from the Council
and the management of the Institute, that
examines the unsatisfactory outcomes of
visits and imposes measures on the firms for
improvement.
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• This is a body independent from the Council and the
management of the Institute, where complaints,
accusations and other allegations are filed.
• Mainly deals with matters arising form breach of
Laws and Regulations, of the Code of Ethics and for
conduct and professional issues.
• Comprises of 15 members (8 non-ICPAC members:7
ICPAC members) and each tribunal consists of 5
members.
• The examiner of each allegation and the prosecutor
are usually a lawyer.
• The decisions of the Disciplinary Committee are
publicised both in the quarterly magazine
“Accountancy Cyprus” and on the website of the
Institute.
ICPAC, within its scope as a regulatory authority,
cooperates closely with:
• Tax Department
• Auditor General
• Accountant General
• Registrar of Companies
• Cyprus Stock Exchange
• KEBE
• OEB
• Cyprus Bar Association
• Cyprus Banks Association
• Cyprus Shipping Chamber
• Ministry of Finance
• Ministry of Energy,
Commerce, Industry and
Tourism
• Parliament
• Public Oversight Board
• CIPA
• Cyprus Securities and
Exchange Commission
• Central Bank of Cyprus
• MOKAS
All statutory auditors and ICPAC, as a
licensing body, are under the supervision of
the Public Oversight Board, as appointed by
the Council of Ministers in accordance with
the Auditors Law (L.42(I)/2009).
ICPAC is under the quarterly review of TROIKA
regarding its role as a competent authority
under the AML and the ASP Laws.
ICPAC is committed to the Action Plan given by
TROIKA and the results so far indicate
compliance with the required actions.
:
ICPAC falls under the review and assessment
of other bodies too, such as:
• Moneyval
• Global Forum for Transparency and
Exchange of Information on Tax Matters
• World Bank, in the National Risk Assessment
project
• EU Commission
:
This has been effected via:
- Seminars & Presentations
- Circulars
- Announcements
Support agreements have been made with
companies both local and abroad for the
provision of specialised guidance and support.
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Support to members in cooperation with:
• AML & compliance:
• IFRS/Audit/Ethics:
• Tax support: Neofytos Neofytou
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InBusiness magazine
presented ICPAC with
the “Professional
Association of the Year
Award”
for 2009.
www.icpac.org.cy