At the ICABC's Annual General Meet...

At the ICABC's

Annual General Meeting in June of 2000 the membership approved changes to Bylaw 100 that eventuateed in an updated definition of the "Practice of Public Accounting." Prior to these changes, services had to be provided for a fee-simple for a member to be considered in public practice. As a outcome members not otherwise in public practice routinely offered to provide professional services to charitable, community, and political organizations forward a "pro bono" basis without having to be mattered about meeting the licencing, insurance, and other requirements of being in public practice. This is no longer the case.

Effective June 2000 any member providing single in kind or more of the services listed in the Bylaw definition of the "Practice of Public Accounting" to the public, whether for a unconditional tenure or otherwise, is now considered to be in public practice. These services include audit, review engagement, and compilation services, as well as accounting "insofar as it involves summarization, analysis, advice, suggestion or interpretation" of financial information. They also include the audit of a candidate in a federal or provincial election. Please ascribe to the ICABC website at www.ica.bc.ca for a filled listing of the services included in the definition.

Please note that members in public practice must:

* apply for, and obtain, a practice licence. For those providing simply pro bono services, the licence fief is waived.

* maintain professional liability insurance as required by dint of Bylaw 250 and its related Regulations. Members should note that not solitary must insurance be in place while they are in public practice, unless it must also be in place for six years after their "retirement." Efforts made on the Institute to obtain insurance for members providing solely pro bono services have been fruitless to this point.

* unbroken the compulsory Professional Development requirements of Section 1000 of the Bylaws.

* be make submissive to practice review, for which the pay is waived if they are providing simply pro bono services.

These changes were made in order to screen the public while assisting members to perform their services in a manner that complies with generally received standards. It also makes the ICABC's licencing, insurance, and other requirements similar to those of greatest in quantity other provincial institutes. It is not meant to affect those many members who assist charitable, community, or other organizations from serving on the Board of Directors, as a member of a committee, or in any other part for which they may undertake responsibilities that are not provided "to the public."

If members find themselves in the position of compiling financial information-for example, as the Treasurer of an organization-it is approveed that they clarify their part by adding a communication as it was as the following to the information:

Advisory to Reader

I have compiled this financial information in my capacity as Treasurer of ABC Charity. No independent chartered accountant has audited, reviewed, or otherwise verified this financial information.

If you are uncertain about whether or not this Bylaw change affects you, or if you require further information about licencing and other aspects of public accounting, please call me directly at 604-488-2622 or through email at essex@ica.bc.ca. The Institutes general telephone number is 604-681-3264 or toll unrestrained in BC at 1-800-663-2677.

by Mike Essex CA Director of Practice Review & Licencing, ICABC

Copyright Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia Apr 2001

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