RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE S/WPPS/W/7
3April 1996
ORGANIZATION
(96-1223)
Working Party onProfessional Services
QUESTIONNAIRE ONTHE ACCOUNTANCY SECTOR
Note bytheSecretariat
1. Theattached questionnaire hasbeendeveloped tocomplete theinformation already available
ontheregulatory regimes affecting theaccountancy sector. Tothateffect, thetable following the
questionnaire provides anoverview ofthequestions inthequestionnaire which havealready beenasked,
evenpartially, byanyofthethree surveys carried outthusfarbytheOECD, ISAR andIFAC. The
tableissupplemented withthelistofcountries covered byeachofthethree surveys. Thiscould help
delegations toidentify questions theyshould address inpriority. Given theabsence ofstrict
correspondence between thequestions inthequestionnaire andthose usedbytheother organisations
fortheirownsurveys, delegations arealsoinvited torevisit theirresponses tothese other surveys,
andcheck thattheyarecomplete andappropriate.
2. Where aquestion hasnotbeenanswered orhasbeenonlypartially answered, please provide
therelevant information. Where aquestion hasbeenanswered inthecontext ofoneoftheearlier
surveys, please indicate thesurvey andthequestion inresponse towhich theinformation hasbeen
given.
3. Theobjective ofthisexercise being tofurther theknowledge oftheWorking Party on
Professional Services ontheregulatory regimes intheaccountancy sector, delegations should tryto
beasexplicit andspecific aspossible intheirresponses. Inparticular, theirattention isdrawn tothe
differences which existbetween titles orbetween sub-federal jurisdictions:
- whendifferenttitlescanbeusedbyaccountantstopractice,theresponsesshouldindicate
thespecificities oftheregime governing eachofthem where differences exist;
- infederal states, when differences existbetween theregimes oftheirvarious sub-federal
jurisdictions, theresponses should provide details oneachparticular case.
4. Participation inthisexercise isvoluntary.
5. Tofacilitate andspeed uptheprocessing oftheresponses, delegations arekindly requested
toprovide theSecretariat withbothahardcopy andamachine-readable copy ondiskette oftheir
responses tothequestionnaire.
6. Theresponses tothequestionnaire should besenttotheSecretariat nolaterthan21June1996.S/WPPS/W/7
Page2
QUESTIONNAIRE ONTHE ACCOUNTANCY SECTOR
I. GENERAL
1. What aretheprofessional titlesofaccountants inyourcountry? Arethese professional titles
protected? Please specify how.
2. Howistheaccountancy sector regulated inyourcountry: bylaw,professional self-regulation,
acombination ofboth?
3. Arethere anyprovisions toprotect company names, whether national orforeign, inyour
country?
4. What aretheprofessional bodies inyourcountry? Aretheyrecognised bylawasaregulatory
ordisciplinary body fortheaccountancy profession inyourcountry, orarethese functions
fulfilled byother institutions (please specify)?
5. Howmany members dothese professional bodies have? What istheestimated proportion of
those:
- inpublic practice
- inindustry orcommerce
- inthepublic sector
- ineducation
- unoccupied (retired, etc.)
- other
6. What isthescope ofactivities regularly practised byaccountants inyourcountry?
- statutory audit
- audit ofmergers
- audit ofcontributions inkind
- public sector audit
- other audits
- accounting
- insolvency practice
- taxadvice
- taxrepresentation
- investment advice
- consulting
- expert witness inaccounting
- other
7. Which ofthese activities areregulated inyourcountry?
8. Which ofthese activities arereserved bylawtoaccountants, shared byaccountants withother
professions (please specify), orevenforbidden toaccountants inyourcountry, e.g.byfull
prohibitionorbynotallowingcumulationofcertainactivitieswhichareconsideredincompatible
ormutually exclusive?S/WPPS/W/7
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II. QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
9. What arethequalification requirements forthese activities inyour country interms of
university/higher education degree, practice andprofessional exam? Specify thenumber of
yearsrequiredforeachelement,andthedifferencesaccordingtotheactivities(audit,insolvency,
tax,etc.)covered bythequalification.
10. Arethereanypre-conditionstomeettostarttheprofessionaleducation:minimumage,particular
diploma ortitle,prioreducation, registration withaprofessional body, payment ofafee,other
(please specify)?
11. What arethesubjects tobecovered bytheeducation: accounting, audit, tax,general law,
economics, ethics, information technology, other (please specify)?
III. TECHNICAL STANDARDS AND ETHICS
12. Inrelation towhich activities donational standards exist(audit, accounting, insolvency, other)?
Please specify theirmain policy objectives.
13. Which bodyorinstitution develops these standards andmonitors theirimplementation? What
aretheconsequences ofabreach ofthestandards (fortheprofessional, forclients, etc.)?
14. Aretheinternational standards developed byIFAC (International Education Standards and
Guidelines,InternationalStandardsonAuditing)andIASC(InternationalAccountingStandards)
recognised orusedinyourcountry? Ifyes,please explain how. Ifno,please explain why.
15. Inrelation towhich activities doesaparticular ethical codeexist(audit, accounting, insolvency,
other)? Please specify itsmain policy objectives.
16. Which body orinstitution develops thiscodeandmonitors itsimplementation? What arethe
consequences incaseofbreach oftheethical codebyaprofessional orafirm?
17. Arethere restrictions onmarketing, solicitation, advertising?
18. Arethererestrictions onfee-setting (minimum/maximum levels imposed, indicative scale, etc.)?
IV. LICENSING REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURES
19. Apart fromthequalification requirements, whatarethelicensing requirements forindividuals
inyourcountry?
- membership ofaprofessional body (inthejurisdiction, elsewhere)
- registration withtheministry oranyother institution
- subscription toaprofessional indemnity insurance
- taking ofanoath
- absence ofanycriminal record
- police enquiry
- minimum age
- other (please specify)S/WPPS/W/7
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20. Arethere anyconditions imposed tobeeligible formembership oftherelevant professional
body(ies)? Please specify.
21. Arethere specific licensing requirements forprofessional firms?
- minimum capital
- number ofpartners
- membership ofaprofessional body
- registration withtheministry oranyother institution
- professional indemnity insurance
- withreference tonatural persons carrying outaccountancy activities onbehalf ofthe
firm
- withreference tovoting rights
- withreference tomanagement/administration ofthefirm
- other (please specify)
22. Cananapplication forlicensing befiledatanytimeoftheyearorarethere specific dates to
respect? How longdoesittaketocomplete thewhole licensing procedure? Please specify
incaseofdifferences between individuals andfirms.
23. Arethere differences interms oflicensing requirements and/or procedures, according tothe
activities covered bythelicence (audit, insolvency, etc.)? Please specify. What kindof
documentation isnecessary/accepted? Aredocuments issued inother countries acceptable?
Please specify.
24. What happens when thelicensing conditions arenolonger respected bytheindividual orthe
firm?
V. RECOGNITION OFQUALIFICATIONS
25. Arethereanypossibilities fortaking account ofqualifications acquired byforeign professionals
inanother country? Arethere bilateral agreements withother countries inthisrespect?
26. Arethereanyautomaticrecognitionormutualrecognitionagreementsbetweenyourprofessional
bodies andtheircounterparts inother countries? Ifso,please specify themaincharacteristics
ofsuchagreements; ifnot,please explain why.
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 thisisnotthecase.
28. What aretheaccreditation/licensing requirements imposed onforeign professionals authorised
topractice intheirhome country? Maycertain (regulated) activities becarried outonthebasis
ofaforeign licence?S/WPPS/W/7
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VI. REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE ESTABLISHMENT OFACOMMERCIAL
PRESENCE
29. Arethereanyrestrictions ontheformunder which onecanestablish (partnership, incorporation,
other)? Please specify.
30. Arethererestrictionsonforeigndirectinvestmentandownership,includingrestrictionsapplying
tonotlocally qualified individuals orfirms? Please specify.
31. Isthere arequirement ofaminimum number orpercentage oflocal directors, managers or
staff(please specify)?
32. Arethererestrictions ontheability oflocally established firms todevelop international relations
(membership ofaninternational network, association withforeign firms, etc.)? Please specify.
33. Istheuseofinternational orforeign names restricted forfirms?
VII. REGULATIONSGOVERNINGTHEENTRYANDTEMPORARYSTAYOFNATURAL
PERSONS FOR THE PURPOSE OFSUPPLYING ACCOUNTANCY SERVICES
34. Istheentry andstayofprofessionals subject tolabour market testsoranyother restrictions?
Please specify.
35. Isthere anyprocedure facilitating thetemporary entry andstayofprofessionals tosupply
accountancy services? Please explain.
36. Arethere anyrestrictions onhiring oflocalprofessionals byforeign firms andprofessionals?
Please explain.
VIII NATIONALITY/RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS
37. Isacondition ofnationality/citizenship imposed topractice certain activities, tostartan
education, toobtain alicence, tobecome member ofaprofessional body, etc.? Please specify.
38. Isaconditionofestablishment,priorresidencyorresidencyimposedtopracticecertainactivities,
toobtain alicence, tobecome member ofaprofessional body, etc.? Please specify the
conditions andthedefinition ofestablishment, residency, etc.when relevant. Isitpossible
tohaveaprofessional establishment inmore thanonecountry?S/WPPS/W/7
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Overview ofthedataalready available
Thetableprovides anoverview ofthequestions inthequestionnaire which havealready beenasked,
evenpartially, byanyofthethree surveys carried outthusfarbytheOECD, ISAR andIFAC.
Question OECD1survey ISAR2survey IFAC3survey Notcovered
yet
1 X X X
2 X X X
3 X
4 X X
5 X X
6 X X
7 X X
8 X X
9 X X
10 X X
11 X
12 X
13 X
14 X
15 X
16 X
17 X X
18 X X
19 X X X
20 X
21 X
22 X
23 X
24 X
25 X X XS/WPPS/W/7
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Question OECD1survey ISAR2survey IFAC3survey Notcovered
yet
26 X
27 X X X
28 X X X
29 X X
30 X X
31 X X
32 X X
33 X X
34 X X
35 X X
36 X
37 X X
38 X X
Total 22 14 27 5
________________
1Seedocuments S/WPPS/W/4 (Communication fromtheOECD -Work intheareaof
professional services ),S/WPPS/W/4/Add.1 (Communication fromtheOECD -Work inthearea
ofprofessional services -Addendum )andS/WPPS/W/4/Add.2 (Communication fromtheOECD
-Work intheareaofprofessional services -Addendum ).
2Theresponses tothese questions -based onsurveys carried outbyUNCTAD in1990,
1992 and1995 -willbeprovided bytheUNCTAD Secretariat. Theresults ofoneofthese
surveys werepublished in1993andarecontained inadocument entitled International accounting
andreporting issues -1993 review .
3SeeIFAC questionnaire onissues related tointernational tradeinaccountancy services:
summary ofresponses -1July1995.S/WPPS/W/7
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Countries which have participated inprevious surveys
OECD
-Asia/Pacific Australia, Japan, NewZealand
-Europe Austria,Belgium,Denmark,EuropeanCommunity,European
Union, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland,
Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom
-North America Canada, Mexico, United States ofAmerica
ISAR
-Africa Algeria,Angola,Benin,Botswana,BurkinaFaso,Cameroon,
Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire,
Gabon, Guinea, Ghana, Republic ofGuinea, Lesotho,
Madagascar,Malawi,Mali,Mauritania,Mauritius,Morocco,
Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra
Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, United
Republic ofTanzania, Zaire, Zambia
-Asia/Pacific Bangladesh, China, Cyprus, India, Israel, Jordan, Pakistan,
Tonga
-Countries intransition Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Russian Federation,
Ukraine, Uzbekistan
-Latin America Chile, Panama, Peru
IFAC
-Africa Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe
-Asia/Pacific Australia, Chinese Taipei, Egypt, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea,
Malaysia, NewZealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand
-Countries intransition Hungary, Poland
-Europe Austria,Belgium,Denmark,France,Germany,Ireland,Italy,
Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, United Kingdom
-Latin America Brazil, Dominican Republic, Uruguay
-North America Canada, Mexico, United States ofAmerica