Eligibility and the orders that prevent supervision
Paragraph 6A(2) requires at least five years of public-practice experience and excludes accountants subject to an order prohibiting Audit Principal service, a hot review order, a restriction order or a suspension order. The direction covers hot review orders arising from practice review or disciplinary proceedings and the specific consent route under paragraph 6B(1).
The additional practice-review restriction
The version effective on 1 July 2023 also describes paragraph 6A(2E). Where the committee finds professional-standards compliance partially satisfactory or not satisfactory and gives written notice prohibiting or ending Audit Principal status for a specified period, that notice must also be observed. Obtaining experience alone does not override a written restriction.
Form, evidence and application fee
Use the application for consent to continue as an Audit Principal under paragraph 6B(1). ACRA may seek additional information or supporting documents to assess the request. The direction states there was no application fee at the time, while reserving the ability to review and impose one; this is not an indefinite fee guarantee.
The 30-day deadline and consequences of not applying
Apply within 30 days after the order takes effect. Without a timely application, the accountant ceases to be an Audit Principal 30 days after effectiveness. Experience pupils acquire under that accountant after cessation does not count as Qualifying Audit Experience (QAE). Resuming supervision requires completion of the hot review and compliance with the applicable Audit Principal eligibility requirements, including paragraph 6A(2E) where relevant.
Completion depends on substantive obligations
The accountant must complete the number and type of audit engagements stipulated in the order and communicate compliance to ACRA. The actual completion date can fall before or, subject to approval, after the indicative end date. A calendar end date alone does not establish that the order has been completed.
Refusal, pupil notification and earlier experience
Consent is discretionary and decided individually. If PAOC refuses, the accountant’s Audit Principal status ends upon receipt of the decision and pupils must be told immediately. QAE accumulated before that cessation can still count towards the pupils’ experience requirement. The accountant may resume only after completing the hot review and satisfying the relevant eligibility conditions.
Document dates and legislative references
The PDF cites the Accountants Act provisions for practice-review and disciplinary orders and explains the revised section 38 references applying from 1 July 2023, with a footnote on the earlier wording. It was issued on 21 August 2020 and updated on 1 July 2023. These dates distinguish the document’s operative text from the historical legislative wording reproduced in its footnotes.
Official source
This article independently explains the substantive contents of the official PDF, including the relevant conditions, procedures and annexes. The linked document remains the authoritative source for its original wording, and later changes should be checked separately.
Read the official PDF ↗