On 21/05/2013,
you requested for the version in force on 21/05/2013
incorporating all amendments published on or before 21/05/2013.
The closest version currently available is that of 06/10/2006.
PART VII
MISCELLANEOUS
55.
—(1) Where —
(a)
(b)
the approval granted to an accounting corporation, accounting firm or accounting LLP under Part IV is revoked under Part VI and its name and particulars removed from the Register of Public Accounting Corporations, the Register of Public Accounting Firms or the Register of Public Accounting Limited Liability Partnerships,
the public accountant, accounting corporation, accounting firm or accounting LLP concerned shall, if his or its appeal to the High Court is allowed, be immediately reinstated to the Register of Public Accountants, the Register of Public Accounting Corporations, the Register of Public Accounting Firms or the Register of Public Accounting Limited Liability Partnerships, as the case may be, without payment of any fee.
(2) The Oversight Committee may, in its discretion, after the expiration of not less than 2 years from the cancellation of the registration of any public accountant or the revocation of the approval granted under Part IV to an accounting corporation, accounting firm or accounting LLP, consider any fresh application for registration or approval by such public accountant, accounting corporation, accounting firm or accounting LLP.
56.
—(1) A person who is not registered as a public accountant under this Act shall not —
(a)
practise as a public accountant;
(b)
hold himself out to be a public accountant; or
(c)
use in connection with his name or otherwise assume, use, or advertise any title or description tending to convey the impression that he is a public accountant registered under this Act, or that he is otherwise authorised to provide public accountancy services in Singapore.
(2) Subject to subsection (3A), a body corporate which is not approved as an accounting corporation under this Act shall not —
(a)
provide public accountancy services in Singapore;
(b)
advertise or hold itself out or describe itself in any way to be an accounting corporation or to be authorised to provide public accountancy services in Singapore; or
(c)
use in connection with its name, or with the name under which it carries on business, the words “Public Accounting Corporation”, or any abbreviation or derivative thereof, or use at the end of such name the acronym “PAC”, or any combination of such acronym, words, abbreviation or derivative.
(3) A partnership or any other unincorporated body which is not approved as an accounting firm under this Act shall not —
(a)
provide public accountancy services in Singapore; or
(b)
advertise or hold itself out or describe itself in any way to be an accounting firm or to be authorised to provide public accountancy services in Singapore.
(3A) A limited liability partnership which is not approved as an accounting LLP under this Act shall not —
(a)
provide public accountancy services in Singapore; or
(b)
advertise or hold itself out or describe itself in any way to be an accounting LLP or to be authorised to provide public accountancy services in Singapore.
(4) The Authority may exempt any person from all or any of the provisions of subsection (1), (2), (3) or (3A).
(5) Any person who contravenes subsection (1), (2), (3) or (3A) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both and, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.
[Accountants 2001 Ed., s. 63]
57.
—(1) Subject to this Act, no person shall be entitled to recover any expenses or remuneration for or in respect of any public accountancy services rendered or provided unless the person rendering or providing such services is —
(a)
a public accountant;
(b)
an accounting corporation;
(c)
an accounting firm; or
(d)
an accounting LLP.
(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to —
(a)
the Auditor-General or any public officer authorised by him; or
(b)
any public officer or any officer of any statutory authority authorised by the Minister in the exercise of their powers or in the performance of their official duties.
(3) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both and, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.
[Accountants 2001 Ed., s. 64]
58. Any person who —
(a)
procures or attempts to procure —
(i)
approval as an accounting corporation, accounting firm or accounting LLP under this Act; or
(ii)
registration or a certificate of registration as a public accountant under this Act,
by knowingly making or producing or causing to be made any false or fraudulent declaration, certificate, application or representation, whether in writing or otherwise;
(b)
wilfully makes or causes to be made any falsification in the Register of Public Accountants, the Register of Public Accounting Corporations , the Register of Public Accounting Firms or the Register of Public Accounting Limited Liability Partnerships;
(c)
forges, alters or counterfeits any certificate of registration as a public accountant issued under this Act;
(d)
uses any forged, altered or counterfeit certificate of registration as a public accountant under this Act knowing the certificate to have been forged, altered or counterfeited; or
(e)
personates or falsely represents himself to be a public accountant or buys, sells or fraudulently obtains a certificate of registration as a public accountant issued under this Act,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.
[Accountants 2001 Ed., s. 68]
59.
—(1) No public accountant shall in connection with his practice as such, and no accounting corporation, accounting firm or accounting LLP shall in connection with its business of providing public accountancy services, without the consent of the Oversight Committee, employ or remunerate any person who to his or its knowledge —
(a)
is an undischarged bankrupt;
(c)
has been convicted of an offence by a court of law and sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than 12 months or to a fine of not less than $5,000.
(2) On application made by any person, the Oversight Committee may make an order directing that, as from the date to be specified in the order, no public accountant shall in connection with his practice as such, or no accounting corporation, accounting firm or accounting LLP shall in connection with its provision of public accountancy services, as the case may be, employ or remunerate any person, the subject of the application, who —
(a)
has been a party to any act or default of a public accountant in respect of which a complaint has been or might properly have been made against that public accountant under the provisions of this Act; or
(b)
has so conducted himself while employed by a public accountant that, had he himself been a public accountant, his conduct might have formed the subject of a complaint under the provisions of this Act against him.
(3) Every application under subsection (2) shall be served upon the person in respect of whom it is made and upon his employer or previous employer if his employer or previous employer is a public accountant, an accounting corporation , an accounting firm or an accounting LLP, not less than 10 days before the application is to be heard.
(4) Every order made under subsection (2) shall be filed in a file kept for this purpose by the Registrar and such file may be inspected by any public accountant, accounting corporation, accounting firm or accounting LLP without fee.
(5) Disciplinary proceedings may be taken against any public accountant, accounting corporation, accounting firm or accounting LLP who or which contravenes subsection (1) or fails to comply with an order made under subsection (2).
[Accountants 2001 Ed., s. 70]
60.
—(1) Where an offence under this Act which has been committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, a director, partner, manager, secretary or any similar officer of the body corporate, or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (1) shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate.
(3) Proceedings for an offence under this Act alleged to have been committed by a partnership shall be brought in the name of the partnership and not in that of the partners; but without prejudice to any liability of the partners under subsection (5).
(4) A fine imposed on a partnership on its conviction in such proceedings shall be paid out of the partnership assets.
(5) Where a partnership is guilty of an offence under this Act, every partner, other than a partner who is proved to have been ignorant of or to have attempted to prevent the commission of the offence, shall also be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
[Accountants 2001 Ed., s. 67]
61. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68), a District Court shall have jurisdiction to try any offence under this Act and shall have power to impose the full penalty or punishment in respect of the offence.
62.
—(1) The Oversight Committee or any officer of the Authority who is authorised by the Oversight Committee in that behalf may, in its or his discretion, compound any offence under this Act which is prescribed as a compoundable offence by collecting from a person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum of money not exceeding $1,000.
(2) On payment of such sum of money, no further proceedings shall be taken against such person in respect of the offence.
[Accountants 2001 Ed., s. 72]
63. No suit or other legal proceedings shall lie personally against any person who is a member of a Complaints Committee or a Disciplinary Committee for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in the execution or purported execution of this Act.
64.
—(1) The Authority may, with the approval of the Minister, make rules to give effect to this Act.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Authority may, with the approval of the Minister, make rules —
(a)
to provide for the manner in which applications for registration or approval may be made under this Act;
(b)
to prescribe the fees payable for the purposes of this Act;
(c)
to prescribe the qualifications and other requirements for the registration of public accountants under this Act;
(d)
to provide for the classification of public accountants;
(e)
to prescribe the standards, methods, procedures and other requirements to be applied by public accountants when providing public accountancy services;
(f)
to prescribe the code of professional conduct and ethics of public accountants, accounting corporations, accounting firms and accounting LLPs;
(g)
to provide for matters relating to the discipline of public accountants;
(h)
to impose restrictions on persons or classes of persons who may become officers of an accounting corporation, accounting firm or accounting LLP;
(i)
(j)
to prescribe anything which may be prescribed or is required to be prescribed under this Act.
(3) In making rules for the purpose of subsection (2)(e) and (f), the Authority may adopt any standard, method, procedure or code of professional conduct or ethics issued or applied by any professional accountancy body or organisation, whether in Singapore or elsewhere.