RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE S/WPPS/W/7/Add.1
28June1996
ORGANIZATION
(96-2491)
Working Party onProfessional Services Original: English
COMMUNICATION FROM THAILAND
Response tothequestionnaire ontheaccountancy sector
Thefollowing communication iscirculated attherequest ofThailand.
________
I. GENERAL
1. What aretheprofessional titlesofaccountants inyourcountry? Arethese professional titles
protected? Please specify how.
Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
Yes,itisprotected bylaw.
2. Howistheaccountancy sector regulated inyourcountry: bylaw,professional self-regulation,
acombination ofboth?
Bylaw.
3. Arethere anyprovisions toprotect company names, whether national orforeign, inyour
country?
No.
4. What aretheprofessional bodies inyourcountry? Aretheyrecognised bylawasaregulatory
ordisciplinary bodyfortheaccountancy profession inyourcountry, orarethese functions
fulfilled byother institutions (please specify)?
TheInstitute ofCertified Accountants andAuditors ofThailand (ICAAT).
Ithasbeenvoluntarily created.
5. Howmany members dothese professional bodies have? What istheestimated proportion
ofthose:
Ithasabout 3,500 members.
There arenostatistic survey about theproportion.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.1
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6. What isthescope ofactivities regularly practised byaccountants inyourcountry?
Statutory audit
Audit ofmergers
Audit ofcontributions inkind
Public sector audit
Accounting
Insolvency practice
Taxadvice
Taxrepresentation
Investment advice
Consulting
Expert witness inaccounting
7. Which ofthese activities areregulated inyourcountry?
Statutory audit
8. Which oftheseactivities arereserved bylawtoaccountants, shared byaccountants withother
professions (please specify), orevenforbidden toaccountants inyourcountry, e.g.byfull
prohibition orbynotallowing cumulation ofcertain activities which areconsidered
incompatible ormutually exclusive?
Only auditing activities arereserved bylawtoaccountants.
Theforbidden activities forauditor arenottoengage inanyother occupations which arenot
suitable orwhich willdeprive himofthefreedom toperform theduties ofauditor.
II. QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
9. What arethequalification requirements forthese activities inyour country interms of
university/higher education degree, practice andprofessional exam? Specify thenumber
ofyears required foreachelement, andthedifferences according totheactivities (audit,
insolvency, tax,etc.)covered bythequalification.
Thequalification requirements forregistration tobeacertified Accountant (CPA) asfollow:
1. Education requirement hasadegree inaccountancy orholdacertificate inaccountancy
recognized bytheBoard ofSupervision ofAuditing Practices (B.S.A.P.) asnotlower
thanthebachelor degree inaccountancy.
2. Experience requirement has1yearinauditing practice andnotlessthan1,000 hours.
3. CPA Examination requirement has5papers are:
(1) Accounting Principles
(2) Auditing 1
(3) Auditing 2
(4) Computerization inBookkeeping andAuditing
(5) Relevant Auditing Professional LawsS/WPPS/W/ 7/Add.1
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10. Arethere anypre-conditions tomeet tostarttheprofessional education: minimum age,
particular diploma ortitle,prior education, registration withaprofessional body, payment
ofafee,other (please specify)?
There are:
- having bachelor degree inaccountancy
- having experience inauditing for1year
- passing CPA examination
- having completed histwentieth yearofage
- being acitizen ofThailand
- notbeing aperson ofbadconduct orwholacks inmorality
- having never beensentenced toimprisonment inacaseconsidered bytheB.S.A.P.
asmaybring discredit totheprofession
- notbeing aninsane ormentally unsound person
- notengaging inanyother occupations which arenotsuitable orwhich willdeprive
himoffreedom toperform theduties ofauditor
- paying ofafee.
11. What arethesubjects tobecovered bytheeducation: accounting, audit, tax,general law,
economics, ethics, information technology, other (please specify)?
Thesubjects tobecovered are:
- financial accounting 3courses
- advance accounting 1course
- costaccounting 1course
- auditing 1course
- taxation 1course
III. TECHNICAL STANDARDS AND ETHICS
12. Inrelation towhich activities donational standards exist(audit, accounting, insolvency,
other)? Please specify theirmain policy objectives.
There areaccounting standard andauditing standard.
Their main policy objectives are:
- providing theguidance fortheaccountancy profession
- using theinternational standards asaguideline.
13. Which bodyorinstitution develops thesestandards andmonitors theirimplementation? What
aretheconsequences ofabreach ofthestandards (fortheprofessional, forclients, etc.)?
TheInstitute ofCertified Accountants andAuditors ofThailand (ICAAT) develops these
standards andforwards them totheBoard ofSupervision ofAuditing Practice (B.S.A.P) for
endorsement.
Theconsequences ofabreach ofthestandards fortheauditors arethefollowing actions by
theB.S.A.P:S/WPPS/W/7/Add.1
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- warning
- suspension ofthelicenses
- revoking ofthelicenses
Theconsequences ofabreach ofthestandards fortheclient shallbeliable totheAccountancy
Law.
14. Aretheinternational standards developed byIFAC (International Education Standards and
Guidelines, International Standards onAuditing) andIASC (International Accounting
Standards) recognised orusedinyourcountry? Ifyes,please explain how. Ifno,please
explain why.
Yes,ICAAT usestheinternational standards asaguideline.
15. Inrelation towhich activities does aparticular ethical code exist (audit, accounting,
insolvency, other)? Please specify itsmain policy objectives.
Ethical codeexists intheauditing profession.
Themain policy objectives are:
- supervising theauditors toperform theirduties withhighethical value andstandard
- having thenorms ofconduct forauditors
- protecting thepublic interests.
16. Which body orinstitution develops thiscodeandmonitors itsimplementation? What are
theconsequences incaseofbreach oftheethical codebyaprofessional orafirm?
BothB.S.A.P. andICAAT develop thiscode.
B.S.A.P. monitors itsimplementation.
17. Arethere restrictions onmarketing, solicitation, advertising?
Yes,there are.
18. Arethere restrictions onfee-setting (minimum/maximum levels imposed, indicative scale,
etc.)?
No,except therestriction about contingency fee.
IV. LICENSING REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES
19. Apart fromthequalification requirements, whatarethelicensing requirements forindividuals
inyourcountry?
- Registration withtheMinistry ofCommerce (B.S.A.P.)
- Absence ofanycriminal record
- Minimum ageS/WPPS/W/ 7/Add.1
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20. Arethere anyconditions imposed tobeeligible formembership oftherelevant professional
body(ies)? Please specify.
Tobeeligible formembership ofICAAT mustbegraduate inbachelor degree ofaccountancy.
21. Arethere specific licensing requirements forprofessional firms?
Atthepresent theyarenotregulated.
22. Cananapplication forlicensing befiledatanytimeoftheyearorarethere specific dates
torespect? Howlongdoesittaketocomplete thewhole licensing procedure? Please specify
incaseofdifferences between individuals andfirms.
Anapplication oflicensing canbefiledanytimeofyear.
Ittakes atleast2-3years.
There isnolicensing forprofessional firm.
23. Arethere differences interms oflicensing requirements and/or procedures, according to
theactivities covered bythelicence (audit, insolvency, etc.)? Please specify. What kind
ofdocumentation isnecessary/accepted? Aredocuments issued inother countries acceptable?
Please specify.
There isonlythelicensing requirement forstatutory audit.
There areeducational andprofessional practising documents.
Yes,educational document.
24. What happens when thelicensing conditions arenolonger respected bytheindividual or
thefirm?
B.S.A.P. hastheauthority tocancel thelicence.
V. RECOGNITION OFQUALIFICATIONS
25. Arethereanypossibilitiesfortakingaccountofqualificationsacquiredbyforeignprofessionals
inanother country? Arethere bilateral agreements withother countries inthisrespect?
Atpresent there isnoregulation about mutual recognition.
Nobilateral agreements withother countries.
Accounting andauditing profession arenotallowed forforeigner.
26. Arethere anyautomatic recognition ormutual recognition agreements between your
professional bodies andtheircounterparts inother countries? Ifso,please specify themain
characteristics ofsuchagreements; ifnot,please explain why.
Seeresponse toquestion no.25.S/WPPS/W/7/Add.1
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27. Where possibilities oftaking account offoreign qualifications exist, isafulllocalexamination
oralocaltraining exceeding 12months required? Please specify. Isalocallicence always
necessary topractice aregulated accountancy activity? Please specify when thisisnotthe
case.
Seeresponse toquestion no.25.
28. Whataretheaccreditation/licensingrequirementsimposedonforeignprofessionalsauthorised
topractice intheirhome country? Maycertain (regulated) activities becarried outonthe
basis ofaforeign licence?
Seeresponse toquestion no.25.
VI. REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OFACOMMERCIAL
PRESENCE
29. Arethere anyrestrictions ontheform under which onecanestablish (partnership,
incorporation, other)? Please specify.
Yes,there are:
- foreign equity participation notexceeding 49percent oftheregistered capital
- foreign partners orshareholders numbering lessthanhalfthetotalnumber ofpartners
orshareholders
- notallow theforeigner tobethemanaging partner ormanager ofthelimited partnership
orregistered ordinary partnership.
30. Arethere restrictions onforeign direct investment andownership, including restrictions
applying tonotlocally qualified individuals orfirms? Please specify.
Seetheanswer no.25.
31. Isthere arequirement ofaminimum number orpercentage oflocal directors, managers
orstaff(please specify)?
Yes, ajuridical person must have more thanhalfofitspartners orshareholders ofThai
nationality. Besides that,themanaging partner ormanager oflimited partnership andregistered
ordinary partnership must havetheThainationality.
32. Arethererestrictionsontheabilityoflocallyestablishedfirmstodevelopinternationalrelations
(membershipofaninternationalnetwork,associationwithforeignfirms,etc.)?Pleasespecify.
No.
33. Istheuseofinternational orforeign names restricted forfirms?
No.S/WPPS/W/ 7/Add.1
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VII. REGULATIONSGOVERNINGTHEENTRYANDTEMPORARYSTAYOFNATURAL
PERSONS FOR THE PURPOSE OFSUPPLYING ACCOUNTANCY SERVICES
34. Istheentry andstayofprofessionals subject tolabour market testsoranyother restrictions?
Please specify.
Accounting andauditing profession arenotallowed forforeigners.
35. Isthere anyprocedure facilitating thetemporary entry andstayofprofessionals tosupply
accountancy services? Please explain.
Seeresponse toquestion no.34.
36. Arethere anyrestrictions onhiring oflocalprofessionals byforeign firms andprofessionals?
Please explain.
Seeresponse toquestion no.34.
VIII NATIONALITY/RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS
37. Isacondition ofnationality/citizenship imposed topractice certain activities, tostartan
education, toobtain alicence, tobecome member ofaprofessional body, etc.? Please specify.
Yes,acondition ofnationality imposed:
- toobtain aprofessional licence
- tobecome member ofICAAT.
38. Isacondition ofestablishment, prior residency orresidency imposed topractice certain
activities, toobtain alicence, tobecome member ofaprofessional body, etc.? Please specify
theconditions andthedefinition ofestablishment, residency, etc.when relevant. Isitpossible
tohaveaprofessional establishment inmore thanonecountry?
Atpresent thisisnotregulated.