Professional Accountants Ordinance

(1)
There is hereby established the Council of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified
                Public Accountants.
(2)
The Council shall, subject to subsection (4), consist of the following
members—
(Amended
23 of 2004 s. 10
)
(a)
the Financial Secretary, or a person appointed by him as his
                    representative;
(b)
the Director of Accounting Services, or a person appointed by him as his representative;
(Amended
L.N. 16 of
                            1977
)
(c)
14 certified public accountants (not being persons entitled to be registered
                    as a professional accountant by virtue of the repealed
section 24(2)
immediately before the relevant day)
                    who
                    become elected members under
section 13
, each of whom must on the day
                    of the relevant election AGM be ordinarily resident in Hong
                    Kong and of whom at the time of
election—
(Amended
85 of 1995 s. 4
;
23 of 2004 ss. 10
&
54
;
9 of 2022 s. 7
)
(i)
not less than 6 shall be certified public accountants in full time
                        practice as certified public accountants (practising);
(Replaced
23 of 2004 s. 10
)
(ii)
not less than 6 shall be certified public accountants otherwise than in
                        full time practice as certified public accountants (practising);
(Replaced
23 of 2004 s. 10
)
(d)
a
                    person who is the immediate past President, but is not an elected member; and
(Replaced
9 of 2022 s. 7
)
(e)
4 lay persons appointed by the Chief Executive.
(Added
23 of 2004 s. 10
)
(2A)
For the purpose of subsection
(2
)(
c)
, a certified public
accountant—
(Amended
23 of 2004 s. 54
)
(a)
shall be regarded as being in full time practice as a certified public
                    accountant (practising) if
he—
(Amended
23 of 2004 s. 10
)
(i)
holds a practising certificate;
(ii)
is free to devote substantially the whole of his time during normal
                        office hours to provide his services as a certified public accountant
                        (practising); and
(iii)
has not entered into and there is not subsisting a contract of
                        employment between him and an employer (other than an employer who is a
                        certified public accountant (practising) or a firm of certified public
                        accountants (practising) or a corporate practice) under which he is bound to
                        devote the whole or substantially the whole of his time during normal office
                        hours to his employment; and
(b)
holding a practising certificate shall not be treated as not being in full
                    time practice as a certified public accountant (practising) by reason only of
                    the fact that he is in the employment of a certified public accountant
                    (practising) or a firm of certified public accountants (practising) or a
                    corporate practice,
and normal office hours shall mean those hours at which banks are generally
                open for business in Hong Kong.
(Added
96 of 1994 s. 4
)
(2B)
A person who becomes a member of the Council pursuant to
subsection
                    (2
)(
d)
is to hold office as a member of the Council from the time when the
                person so becomes a member of the Council until the conclusion of the next annual
                general meeting of the Institute.
(Added
9 of 2022 s. 7
)
(3)
An appointed member shall not be appointed for a term exceeding 2 years but
                shall be eligible for reappointment for a further term or terms of not exceeding 2
                years each.
(Replaced
23 of 2004 s. 10
)
(4)
In addition to the members specified in subsection (2), the Council may, at the
                first meeting of the Council held after an annual general meeting, or as soon
                thereafter as is practicable, co-opt not more than 2 certified public accountants,
                each of whom should then be ordinarily resident in Hong Kong, as members of the Council.
(Added
96 of 1994 s. 4
. Amended
85 of 1995 s. 4
;
23 of 2004 s. 54
)
(5)
For the purposes of subsections
(2
)(
c)
and (4), a person is regarded
                as ordinarily resident in Hong Kong if the person has been present in Hong Kong for
                not less than 180 days in the preceding 12 months.
(Replaced
41 of 2021 s. 112
)
(6)
In
subsection (2
)(
d)
—
immediate past President
(
去屆會長
)
                means a person who ceases to be President at the conclusion of the last annual
                general meeting of the Institute in accordance with
section 4(2)
.
(Added
9 of 2022 s. 7
)