Renewal of your firm s investment business certificate (Ireland) for 2015

Transcription

1 Renewal of your firm s investment business certificate (Ireland) for 2015 Your 2015 firm's* investment business certificate (Ireland) renewal must be completed in all circumstances and should be submitted as soon as possible. (* The term "firm" encompasses partnerships, limited liability partnerships and limited companies throughout the documentation.) Please ensure that you read the following documents before submitting your renewal and that you complete the appropriate additional information forms: Conditions for the renewal of a firm s investment business certificate (Ireland) Firm's Investment Business Certificate (Ireland) - Additional information 2015 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for practising members Byelaw 8 The document headed "Conditions for the renewal of a firm s investment business certificate (Ireland) 2015" is an integral part of the renewal. In submitting the renewal your firm will be agreeing to comply with the undertakings contained in this document and to be bound by the Bye-laws and Global Practising and Irish Investment Business Regulations made thereunder (and/or any subsequent regulations replacing or amending, in full or part, these regulations). Electronic submission You may submit your firm s investment business certificate (Ireland) renewal online via myacca, available through our website: You are able to access myacca by entering your firm s ACCA reference number and firm s passcode. If you do not have your firm s passcode you can request it through the website or by contacting Authorisation (tel: 0141 (or ) , authorisation@accaglobal.com). Continued

2 Page 2 The renewal process A firm intending to cease holding an ACCA firm s investment business certificate (Ireland) must still submit a renewal, with the appropriate section detailing the firm's new investment business authorisation arrangements, if any, completed. Firms ceasing to hold authorisation are required to resign all product producer appointments and to advertise, in an appropriate newspaper, the fact that authorisation has not been renewed. ACCA is also obliged to inform product producers that authorisation has ceased. In addition, firms remain liable to a number of continuing obligations under the Chartered Certified Accountants Global Practising Regulations The renewal process has been made as straightforward as is consistent with legislative and regulatory requirements. In addition to providing your confirmation and understanding of the conditions for renewal, you are required to submit details of: any changes to your firm's name; investment business and gross fee income; any change to the firm s category of authorisation; any change to the firm's financial year-end; and any changes to the partners/directors within your firm involved in the provision of investment advice. ** (** You will also be required to submit a separate notification/undertakings form (PIB (Ireland)), which can be found in the Forms for Practitioners section of ACCA s website ( in respect of each new non- ACCA/non-Approved Professional Body partner/director involved in the provision of investment advice.) If your firm is a limited company, you must also supply, under separate cover, a complete list of shareholders, showing the percentage of shares and professional qualifications each holds. Continued

3 Page 3 Insurance mediation A firm wishing to carry on insurance mediation activity in Ireland must hold professional indemnity insurance (PII) in accordance with the requirements of the European Communities (Insurance Mediation) Regulations Currently, firms undertaking insurance mediation work must hold at least 1,250,000 euros in relation to each and every claim within a calendar year and 1,850,000 euros in aggregate. These minimum PII limits are subject to change from time to time and members must ensure that they hold the appropriate level of cover at the time the policy is effected or renewed. Firms are required to indicate on the Firm's Investment Business Certificate (Ireland) - additional information 2015 form whether they undertake insurance mediation work. This form must be completed by all firms and returned along with your renewal form. Minimum competency The minimum competency requirements were introduced in 2007 to establish a minimum standard of knowledge for financial firms providing services to consumers. Firms are required to ensure that individuals who provide advice or who undertake certain specified activities on their behalf acquire the competencies set out in the requirements. The requirements were reviewed and updated during The new Minimum Competency Code 2011 came into effect on 1 December 2011 and is available on the Central Bank of Ireland s (CBI) website at Firms are required to provide, on the Firm's Investment Business Certificate (Ireland) - additional information 2015 form, details of any certified persons and confirm that they comply with the CPD requirements. Firms which only refer clients to another regulated firm or hold an investment business certificate as a protective measure are required to confirm that they know the different types of entities regulated by the CBI and know the different registers maintained by it. The form must be completed by all firms and returned along with your renewal form. Continued

4 Page 4 The fee for a firm s investment business certificate (Ireland) for 2015 is Stg 487 per firm. If you do not wish to provide payment when submitting your renewal ACCA can send you an invoice for the fee. You may settle this invoice by sterling cheque/draft or by providing credit/debit card details. However, should you choose not to provide payment when submitting your renewal you should note that your firm s investment business certificate (Ireland) for 2015 will not be despatched (and your authorisation will not be valid) until the invoice has been settled. Therefore, to ensure your firm remains eligible to undertake investment business services in Ireland on 1 January 2015, you should submit your renewal and payment as soon as possible. You are reminded that all authorised firms are obliged to make contributions to the appropriate fund of the Investor Compensation Company Limited. A firm which fails to submit a renewal, or pay an invoice raised in respect of a renewal, by 31 December 2014 will be subject to a late submission penalty fee of Stg 65 (per firm) in addition to the standard renewal fee and may become liable to disciplinary action. Please also note your firm s investment business certificate (Ireland) cannot be issued until all the firm's ACCA partners/directors have submitted their individual practising certificate renewals. Renewals for individual partners'/directors' 2015 practising certificates can be submitted online via myacca. Renewals for 2015 ACCA firm s auditing certificates may, where appropriate, be submitted online by nominated contact partners/directors for auditing certificate matters by logging into myacca using the firm s ACCA reference number and firm s passcode. Please do not hesitate to contact Authorisation on (fax , authorisation@accaglobal.com) if you require any further information or assistance regarding the renewal of your firm's investment business certificate (Ireland).

5 Conditions for the renewal of a firm's investment business certificate (Ireland) 2015 If you have been subject to matters within the terms of bye-law 8 and Governance Professional Conduct at ACCA is aware of this, you may sign and submit the renewal form. If you are concerned that you may be subject to matters under bye-law 8 of which Governance Professional Conduct is not already aware, please notify ACCA in writing to professionalconduct@accaglobal.com or 29 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3EE. Following this notification you may sign and submit the renewal form. In signing the 2015 firm's investment business certificate (Ireland) renewal form I confirm that my firm will abide by the provisions of the Chartered Certified Accountants' Global Practising Regulations (GPRs) 2003 and Irish Investment Business Regulations 1999, as amended from time to time, and that in particular: Eligibility my firm remains eligible for a firm's investment business certificate (Ireland) in accordance with Chartered Certified Accountants' Irish Investment Business Regulations 1999 (IIBRs) 3(1), 3(2) and 3(3), as applicable, as it is: a sole proprietorship and I hold an ACCA practising certificate valid for Ireland; or a partnership or incorporated firm with at least one partner or director who is a member of ACCA and who holds an ACCA practising certificate valid for Ireland; and all of the other partners or directors are not ineligible to practise accountancy and are either members of another Approved Professional Body (APB)* or are regulated by other professional bodies; and the majority of partners or directors are members of ACCA or other APBs; (*Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland.) Undertakings each partner/director/controller who is not a member of ACCA will give the undertakings to Admissions and Licensing Committee in either (a) or (b) below in accordance with IIBR 3(2)(iii) and 3(3) (iii), as applicable: a member of another APB I confirm that I am a member of another APB and undertake and agree to be bound by: i the Chartered Certified Accountants Global Practising Regulations 2003, Authorisation Regulations 1998 and Irish Investment Business Regulations 1999 (as amended from time to time) as if I was a member of ACCA; ii all bye-laws and regulations of ACCA (and regulations made pursuant to the bye-laws) concerning or relating to the provisions of investment business services or investment advice as if I was a member of ACCA; iii the regulations concerning liability of ACCA in damages for its acts and omissions; and iv the disciplinary procedures of ACCA and penalties which may be imposed under such provisions insofar as such penalties could be applicable to a person who is not a member of ACCA. b other individual not ineligible to practise accountancy, regulated by another professional body and who, in the opinion of Admissions and Licensing Committee, holds an adequate qualification I confirm that I am not ineligible to practise accountancy and undertake and agree to be bound by: i the Chartered Certified Accountants Global Practising Regulations 2003, Authorisation Regulations 1998 and Irish Investment Business Regulations 1999 (as amended from time to time) as if I was a member of ACCA; ii the Charter, all bye-laws and regulations of ACCA (and regulations made pursuant to the bye-laws) as if I was a member of ACCA insofar as the same are appropriate and applicable, other than those relating to members rights to attend and vote at meetings of ACCA and obligations to pay subscriptions; iii the regulations concerning liability of ACCA in damages for its acts and omissions; and iv the disciplinary procedures of ACCA and penalties which may be imposed under such provisions insofar as such penalties could be applicable to a person who is not a member of ACCA. (Any new partner/director/controller who is not a member of ACCA or another APB must provide additional information in a form specified by, and to the satisfaction of, Admissions and Licensing Committee. The appropriate form will be sent upon notification of the new non-acca/non-apb partner/director/controller which must be returned to ACCA signed by the partner/director/controller and expressly giving the required undertakings and confirmations); Main business the main business of my firm is the practice of accountancy and gross income which is derived from investment business services or investment advice (which is provided in an incidental manner and which is charged for separately from the firm's other work) is less than 20% of its total turnover in accordance with IIBR 3(1) (c), 3(2)(d) and 3(3)(d); Trading name of firm the name of the firm specified on the renewal form is the name under which investment business services or investment advice is conducted and that any change to the name of the firm will be notified 28 days in advance of the implementation of any change and accompanied by an application for a firm's investment business certificate (Ireland) (with the appropriate fee) from the stated date of the change as required under GPR 12(1)(a)(i) and GPR 12(1)(b); (This name will appear on the Central Bank of Ireland's Register and on the firm's investment business certificate (Ireland). If a firm has more than one office a single authorisation will still be appropriate, providing the name and constitution under which these additional offices carry out investment business is identical across the firm. Where offices carry out business under names or constitutions which differ from the applicant firm, separate authorisation applications must be submitted.) Overseas branches or offices my firm has no branches or offices outside of the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, as required by IIBR 3(7)(a);

6 Other authorisations my firm does not hold any other authorisation under the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995 (IIA), as required by IIBR 3(7)(b); Approval and withdrawal of authorisation, misconduct my firm accepts that its application for authorisation will be dealt with in accordance with the provisions laid down in the Authorisation Regulations 1998 ( ARs ) and ARs 3, 4, 5 and 6 in particular, and that its authorisation may be subject to conditions, suspension or withdrawal as determined by ACCA in accordance with the IIBRs. It further accepts that breaches of the IIBRs and undertakings given thereunder by partners/directors, or other persons connected with the firm may be treated as misconduct for the purposes of disciplinary proceedings against the firm and/or any of its partners/directors; Excluded activities my firm will not engage in the excluded activities detailed in IIBR 4(4); Tied agents my firm neither holds nor will it accept an appointment as another person's tied agent in accordance with IIBR 5(3); Capital adequacy my firm confirms that it is solvent and additionally, if applying for Category A authorisation, will hold, on an ongoing basis, net business assets of 10,000; Notification, monitoring and enforcement my firm acknowledges its duty to notify ACCA in writing of all matters specified under GPR 12 and that such notification must, in certain circumstances, be given 28 days in advance. My firm undertakes to notify ACCA immediately in the event of any information previously supplied to it in support of an application ceasing to be true, accurate or complete or in the event of any change in circumstances, or any event that may call into doubt the validity of any application, or the continuation of any application granted. My firm will provide such information as necessary for ACCA to carry out its duties as an Approved Professional Body under the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995 ( the Act ) and will co-operate with ACCA in its monitoring and enforcement of its regulations as required by GPR 14 and by regulation 18 of the Irish Annex to the GPRs; Liability my firm acknowledges that in the course of issuing a firm's investment business certificate (Ireland), neither ACCA nor any of its officers or servants or agents nor any members of any committee of Council shall be liable in damages or otherwise for anything done or omitted to be done in the discharge or purported discharge of any function under the Act set out below unless the act or omission is shown to have been in bad faith. The functions referred to above are the functions of ACCA so far as relating to or matters arising out of: a the bye-laws, regulations and arrangements of ACCA so far as they relate to or are applied in respect of the carrying on of investment business under the Act or any matters concerning the Act and/or to which the requirements in the Act requires ACCA to comply; b any guidance issued by ACCA in respect of any matter dealt with by such rules as are mentioned in (a) above; c the obligations, powers and duties to which ACCA is subject by virtue of the Act; d any orders or directions given by the Central Bank of Ireland; Compensation scheme my firm accepts its obligation to join, and make contributions to, the appropriate fund of the Investor Compensation Company Limited. Professional indemnity insurance my firm accepts its obligation to hold professional indemnity insurance cover of the equivalent of 1,500,000 in the aggregate and 1,000,000 on each and every claim in order to undertake insurance mediation work. Anti-money laundering my firm will comply with the requirements of relevant anti-money laundering legislation and regulation, including specifically that: my practice has a nominated officer to take responsibility for compliance there are procedures in place to gather and retain evidence of the identification of all clients principals and staff in my practice receive appropriate training ongoing compliance monitoring is carried out suspicions of money laundering are reported as required by law. Minimum competency certified persons in my firm will comply with the Minimum Competency Code 2011 and my firm will comply with Part 2 of the Code. (Where reference is made to the GPRs, applicants applying to renew a firm's investment business certificate (Ireland) should note that they must also comply with the Irish Annex to the GPRs.) This document is an integral part of the 2015 renewal form. A false or misleading statement on any part of the renewal form may constitute grounds for disciplinary action being taken against you and/or your firm. For the purposes of these notes 'firm' means a sole proprietorship, partnership or limited company. Guidance notes on completing Section FS3 of the renewal form In respect of each of the three years, enter the following information: Box 1(a) Enter any initial commission/fees received from investment business services or investment advice. Box 1(b) Enter any renewal commission received from investment business services or investment advice. Box 1(c) Enter any override or other commission received. Do not enter in any of the boxes any commission received for arranging investments for yourself, your partners and members of your immediate family, unless this has been done by way of business. IRISH FIBNOTE

7 Firm's Investment Business Certificate (Ireland) Additional information 2015 This form must be completed by all firms. Please return your completed form to Authorisation, ACCA, 2 Central Quay, 89 Hydepark Street, Glasgow G3 8BW ( authorisation@accaglobal.com) IB1 FIRM'S DETAILS Name of firm Firm's ACCA reference number IB2 INSURANCE MEDIATION Insurance mediation is a separate authorisation which is obtained directly from the Central Bank of Ireland. Most accounting practices do not have insurance mediation authorisation. You can check that your authorisations are correctly recorded on the Central Bank of Ireland's register at Does your firm undertake insurance mediation activities? YES NO If yes, please answer the following three questions. 1 In order to undertake insurance mediation a firm is required to hold professional indemnity insurance (PII) cover of the equivalent of 1,850,000 in the aggregate and 1,250,000 on each and every claim. Please confirm if you already have in place the appropriate level of PII cover YES NO If no, please tick to confirm that you will take out the appropriate PII cover before undertaking any insurance mediation work. YES 2 Does anyone within either the management structure of your firm or the staff directly involved in insurance mediation* have a criminal conviction for any serious offences relating to financial activities or crimes against property? YES NO 3 Is anyone within either the management structure of your firm or the staff directly involved in insurance mediation* an undischarged bankrupt? YES NO Please provide details on a separate sheet. * Staff means sub-contractors and consultants as well as employees. IB3 minimum competency requirements The minimum competency requirements were introduced in 2007 to establish a minimum standard of knowledge for financial firms providing services to consumers. Firms are required to ensure that individuals who provide advice or who undertake certain specified activities on their behalf acquire the competencies set out in the requirements. The requirements were reviewed and updated during The new Minimum Competency Code 2011 came into effect on 1 December 2011 and is available on the CBI website at Please answer the following questions: 1 Does your firm have any individuals who provide advice to consumers on retail financial products or arrange, or offer to arrange, retail financial products for consumers? YES NO If No, please go to question 3. If Yes, please provide the following information for each individual who provides advice to consumers on retail financial products or arranges, or offers to arrange, retail financial products for consumers Name ACCA membership number Recognised qualification held (eg QFA) or grandfathered* (if applicable) Continue on a separate sheet if necessary * please attach a copy of the qualification. Continued overleaf

8 Firm's Investment Business Certificate (Ireland) Additional Information 2015 for completion IB3 minimum competency requirements (continued) 2 Has each person above complied with the CPD requirements? YES NO Individuals are required to achieve at least 15 formal hours of CPD each year relevant to the functions in respect of which they are a qualified or grandfathered person. Further details are contained in the code on the CBI website at 3 Is your firm s only activity referring or introducing clients to another regulated firm? YES NO Does your firm hold investment business authorisation as a protective measure only? YES NO If you have answered Yes to either of the above questions, do the individuals in your firm who are responsible for investment business services and investment advice: Know the different types of entities regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland? YES NO Know the different registers maintained by the Central Bank of Ireland? YES NO Firms that hold investment business authorisation only to refer or introduce clients to another regulated firm, or for protective purposes only, and do not conduct investment business, do not need to meet the minimum competency requirements or grandfathering referred to above. Such firms do, however, need to be familiar with the different types of entities regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and know the different registers maintained by the Central Bank of Ireland. IB4 confirmation On behalf of my firm I confirm that the information given in this form is true, accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief after making all reasonable enquiries. I understand that a false declaration on this form may lead to disciplinary action being taken against me and/or my firm. I further confirm that neither I nor the firm nor any of its partners/directors/responsible individuals have been subject to any criminal, disciplinary, regulatory or any other matters within the terms of bye-law 8 (liability to disciplinary action) that may call into doubt my firm s eligibility to hold a firm's investment business certificate (Ireland), which have not already been brought to the attention of Governance Professional Conduct at ACCA. I understand that the UK Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 does not apply to the accountancy profession, and that I am therefore required to disclose spent convictions. I am aware of, and will abide by, my continuing obligation to draw any such matters to ACCA s attention. Contact partner s/director's signature Date For office use only Processed by Date irish fib INFO

9 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for practising members ACCA requires all members*, regardless of their role, to obtain CPD in areas relevant to their work; to maintain competence in professional ethics; and to keep their business and finance knowledge up to date. It is essential that practising members maintain competence in their areas of technical specialism, and obtain an appropriate proportion of CPD in those areas. Members holding an ACCA practising certificate and audit qualification must ensure they maintain their competence in audit even if no audit work is currently being undertaken. Members in Ireland who provide advice to consumers on retail financial products or arrange, or offer to arrange, retail financial products for consumers are required to achieve at least 15 formal hours of CPD each year relevant to the functions in respect of which they are a qualified or grandfathered person. Further details are contained in the code on the CBI website at Members in South Africa undertaking tax work, and those who intend to do so in future, should register on the South African Revenue Service (SARS) e-filing system. Registered members must ensure that they comply with SARS CPD requirements. SARS states that registered tax practitioners must undertake at least 15 hours of tax related CPD each year, of which at least nine hours must be verifiable. Members in spare-time practice who have other occupations outside of public practice must ensure that, in addition to maintaining their competence in the areas of their practice, they also undertake an appropriate proportion of CPD in relation to their other role or roles. This guidance sheet has been designed to support practising members with planning, completing, and documenting their CPD activity in accordance with ACCA s CPD policy. A set of common misconceptions about CPD is also included. Relevant CPD It is important that you undertake sufficient and relevant CPD. In order to ensure that CPD is effective, it is recommended that you reflect on your learning needs, act on these and subsequently assess the effectiveness of the CPD undertaken. You must not only obtain relevant CPD, but also keep documentation which clearly sets out the relevance to your current or future role. PLAn, DO, REVIEW Approaching your CPD methodically will ensure that the CPD you undertake is relevant to your professional circumstances, and derives the most value for you. The chart below will help you gain maximum value from your CPD, offering practical advice to help you think about maintaining and developing your knowledge and skills. keeping evidence of your CPD All members are required to keep evidence of their participation in the appropriate CPD route for three years as it may be required as part of ACCA s CPD review process. If you follow the unit route, you are required to maintain comprehensive evidence of your verifiable CPD units as well as a record of the non-verifiable CPD you have undertaken. You need to maintain evidence to show that your verifiable CPD was relevant and meaningful to your specific development needs. You should keep a record which shows why you chose the activity, how you will apply the learning and evidence of the learning outcome. To help you, ACCA has developed an online evidence record which you can access by logging in to myacca. Alternatively, you may wish to keep records in your own format. Plan Do Review What are the areas you could develop to help you support your clients more effectively, or make a positive impact on your business? What are the technical and business skills you will need? What knowledge and skills will you need to maintain or develop in the next 6 12 months? Will the activities you ve identified meet your and your clients needs? Have you thought about a range of different learning activities (e-learning, coaching, networking?) Can you make an impact by developing skills to support others? (your employer or business, junior staff or ACCA trainees, the community?) Did your activity meet your needs? Can you apply your learning in the workplace, for example by satisfying your clients needs? Has there been a positive impact on your business? Do you need to undertake additional activity or was the CPD you undertook sufficient and effective? Would you do anything differently next time? Are there additional needs you ve identified which you should act upon? * Firms holding an ACCA auditing certificate and/or firms which are regulated by ACCA to carry on exempt regulated activities in the UK or holding an ACCA investment business certificate (Ireland) must require the individuals who are partners or directors or agents of the firm who are not members but who are responsible for the firm s audit work or carry on exempt regulated activities in the UK or investment business in Ireland (including providing advice to consumers on retail financial products or arranging, or offering to arrange, retail products for consumers, on behalf of the firm) to comply with ACCA s CPD policy.

10 If you are following the unit route part-time/semi-retired you must firstly ensure that you meet ACCA s guidelines for parttime/semi-retired status. Practising members may only take this route if they are not responsible for audit or other regulated report work, and can show that they have technical support in carrying out their duties. In addition, any member taking this route cannot be involved in the preparation or presentation of accounts investors may rely on; it is also closed to nonexecutive directors of listed companies. Members following this route will need to keep a summary of non-verifiable CPD and evidence of the verifiable CPD undertaken with an explanation as to why it is a relevant and appropriate amount. ACCA will expect members to provide evidence of the number of hours worked, and confirmation that they are not working in a role that doesn t fall under the policy guidelines. To help you, ACCA has developed a CPD evidence checklist that you may wish to use to demonstrate why the activities you undertook were sufficient for your needs. If you follow the ACCA Approved Employer professional development route, you should keep evidence of your employment and evidence of your participation with your employer s development and appraisal processes. ACCA reserves the right to confirm with your employer that you followed their learning and development programme. If you follow the other IFAC body route, you should keep evidence of your membership of your other accountancy body and evidence of participation with their CPD requirements. If the other professional body has successfully reviewed your CPD evidence records, you should also keep a copy of the outcome letter. ACCA may ask for a copy of the outcome letter or alternatively a full set of evidence you have kept for your other professional body. What to expect if you are selected for a cpd review Promoting public confidence in professional accountants is vital. ACCA safeguards its reputation and that of its members by requiring that the highest professional and ethical standards are adhered to. In order to ensure that members maintain their knowledge and skills, ACCA conducts reviews of members CPD evidence, selecting a proportion of members annually. It is therefore possible that ACCA will contact you to confirm that you are undertaking CPD activity, irrespective of the CPD route that you follow. ACCA will provide feedback to you on your CPD activities and, where necessary, will give you guidance and support to enable you to meet the requirement. In cases where members do not cooperate with the review process (for example, by failing to respond to communications or submit CPD evidence), they may be removed from the register of members. CoMMon MisConCePtions I don t really need to plan my CPD If ACCA hosts a CPD event, it will definitely count as CPD Planning your CPD will help you to ensure you identify relevant learning. Some members do not plan their CPD and then find themselves having to complete all their activity at the end of the year. Others find that events which are most relevant are already fully booked. Planning will also help you to think about learning mediums other than courses and events while face-toface may be best for some types of learning, e-learning, research, or learning on-the-job may be far more effective for others. It is important that you take personal responsibility for your own learning needs. While ACCA hosts a wide range of CPD events, it is up to you to discern whether the event is relevant and sufficient to meet the needs of your role, business and clients. If an event is not relevant to your role, it will not count towards your CPD. If only some sessions at a conference are relevant to you, you should only include these sessions as verifiable CPD. It doesn t matter too much if the event didn t meet my personal needs I have got the units now If I have a certificate, I don t need to do anything else in terms of evidence I have to attend face-toface events in order to gain verifiable CPD units If an event is not relevant to you, it will not count as CPD. If an event is relevant, but did not meet your learning needs, it is important that you consider further learning interventions. The purpose of CPD is to reassure the public that your professional knowledge and skills are up to date if this may not be the case, consider what further CPD you need. In order for a learning activity to count as verifiable CPD, you must be able to answer the following three questions: 1 How was the learning activity relevant to your role? 2 Can you explain how you will apply the learning in the workplace? 3 Can you provide evidence that the learning took place? The certificate only addresses the third question. You must also be able to answer the first two and keep a record of this information. If you attend an ACCA event, these questions will be on your attendance certificate so you can record your answers easily. Alternatively you can keep evidence in other formats. Any learning activity can count as CPD, on the condition that you are able to answer the first question set out above being able to also answer the second and third question means that it is verifiable CPD. You are not restricted to face-to-face learning, but can take advantage of a wide range of different methods. Example: Lindsay has recently taken on a client who required support in an area Lindsay needed to research. Lindsay undertakes four hours of research and then prepares and delivers the work to the client. The four hours of research become four units of verifiable CPD. The work undertaken for the client is evidence of her learning activity. If this is highly sensitive, she could also ask a partner or colleagues to confirm her learning activity; notes from the client meeting and subsequent invoice would also corroborate her learning. For more information, including full information on verifiable CPD, evidence examples, and a wide range of learning opportunities, go to

11 Bye-law 8: Liability to Disciplinary Action 8 a A member, relevant firm or registered student shall, subject to bye-law 11, be liable to disciplinary action if: i he or it, whether in the course of carrying out his or its professional duties or otherwise, has been guilty of misconduct; ii iii iv v vi in connection with his or its professional duties, he or it has performed his or its work, or conducted himself or itself, or conducted his or its practice, erroneously, inadequately, inefficiently or incompetently; he or it has committed any breach of these bye-laws or of any regulations made under them in respect of which he or it is bound; in the case of a relevant firm, any person has in the course of the business of that firm committed any breach of these bye-laws or of any regulations made under them in respect of which that person is bound; he is a specified person in relation to a relevant firm against which a disciplinary order has been made and which has become effective or which has been disciplined by another professional body; he or it has been disciplined by another professional body; vii he or it has made an assignment for the benefit of creditors, or has made an arrangement for the payment of a composition to creditors, or has had an interim order made by the court in respect of him, or is a specified person in relation to a relevant firm which has made such an assignment or composition or been wound up as an unregistered company, or entered into a voluntary arrangement, administration or liquidation, in each case where applicable under the Insolvency Act 1986, or other similar or analogous event has occurred in relation to him or it under applicable legislation; viii he or it has failed to satisfy a judgment debt without reasonable excuse for a period of two months (the burden resting on him or it to prove such a reasonable excuse on the balance of probabilities) whether or not the debt remains outstanding at the time of the bringing of the disciplinary proceedings hereunder; ix x before a court of competent jurisdiction in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, he or it has pleaded guilty to, been found guilty of, or has accepted a caution in relation to, any offence discreditable to the Association or to the accountancy profession; or before a court of competent jurisdiction in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, in any civil proceedings in which he or it has been a party or witness, he or it has been found to have acted fraudulently or dishonestly. b c d e f g Each of the paragraphs in bye-law 8(a) shall be without prejudice to the generality of any of the other paragraphs therein. For the purposes of bye-law 8(a), misconduct includes (but is not confined to) any act or omission which brings, or is likely to bring, discredit to the individual or relevant firm or to the Association or to the accountancy profession. For the purposes of bye-law 8(a), in considering the conduct alleged (which may consist of one or more acts or omissions), regard may be had to the following: i whether an act or omission, which of itself may not amount to misconduct, has taken place on more than one occasion, such that together the acts or omissions may amount to misconduct; ii iii whether the acts or omissions have amounted to or involved dishonesty on the part of the individual or relevant firm in question; the nature, extent or degree of a breach of any code of practice, ethical or technical, adopted by the Council, and to any regulation affecting members, relevant firms or registered students laid down or approved by Council. For the purposes of bye-law 8(a)(ix), a copy of the certificate or memorandum of conviction or caution, and of any final judgment, ruling or determination given in the criminal proceedings, shall be conclusive proof of the conviction or caution, and of any facts and matters found, as the case may be. For the purposes of bye-law 8(a)(x): i where the person in question was a party to the proceedings, a copy of a certified judgment of the civil proceedings shall be conclusive proof of the facts and matters found; ii where the person in question was a witness in the proceedings, a copy of a certified judgment of the civil proceedings shall be prima facie evidence of the facts and matters found. Subject to bye-law 8(f) above, any other finding of fact in any civil proceedings before a court of competent jurisdiction in the United Kingdom or elsewhere shall be admissible as prima facie evidence in any disciplinary proceedings.