- A CTA (practising or non-practising) is required, during a year, to attend recognised activities (such as seminars and workshops etc.) in person to obtain a total of 15 CPD hours, of which at least 8 CPD hours should be on tax related topics. Seminars which are not tax related must be in respect of topics on accounting, finance, marketing, business, law or professional development.
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Starting from 2022, members who are not CTAs are also required to fulfill the CPD requirement (i.e. to obtain a total of 10 CPD Hours during 1 December 2020 to 30 November 2021, of which 3 hours are tax related). If a member have NOT ATTENDED recognised activities for 10 hours, of which at least 3 hours are tax related, who should understand he needs to meet this requirement, and shall submit the 2020/21 CPD declaration again on or before 31 May 2022.Please refer to https://www.tihk.org.hk/member-student-forms/ to download the declaration form.
CTA or CTA (Non-practising) Non-CTA Members Required CPD Hours related to tax: 8 3 Other CPD Hours: 7 7 Total CPD Hours required for a year: 15 10 - A year is meant to be from 1 December of a calendar year to 30 November of the next calendar year.
- Whether a seminar is accepted as a recognised activity will be at the sole discretion of the Council of the Institute. The Council accepts, as a recognised activity, an accredited or recognised seminar organised by the Institute and accredited bodies. The accredited bodies include Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (“HKICPA”), Hong Kong Institute of Chartered Secretaries (“HKICS”), the Hong Kong Branch of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (“ACCA”), Hong Kong Bar Association, Law Society of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Branch of CPA (Australia), The Society of Chinese Accountants and Auditors (“SCAA”), the Hong Kong Branch of Association of International Accountants (“AIA”) and such other professional bodies accredited by the Institute from time to time. In-house training is also acceptable provided that the CTA is able to provide objective verification by an independent source. For more details, please refer to the FAQ of CPD requirements at here.
- Reading journals, newspapers or other materials will not be accepted as attending recognised activities to obtain CPD hours, and no CPD hour will be recognised by taking such activities for the purpose of renewal of a CTA certificate.
- CPD hours obtained by attending activities in a year will not be acceptable for the purpose of renewal of a CTA certificate in future years. In simple words, there is no carry forward of CPD hours.
- A CTA should keep records of completion of the recognised activities which were organised by accredited bodies as those records may be required to be produced by the CTA for the purpose of verification of the recognised activities attended and CPD hours obtained. The period of retention of these records by the CTA should be three (3) years from the date of the recognised activities.
- Any CTA who fails to submit the declaration form, or fails to obtain the required number of CPD hours in person by attending recognised activities in a year, or fails to produce upon request by the Institute records for verification purpose prior to, or for the purpose of, renewal of a CTA certificate, will not be issued a new CTA certificate. Any CTA certificate issued upon receipt of and/or resulting from misleading, incorrect or false information will be cancelled upon resolution of the Disciplinary Bodies of the Institute; and any fee paid in respect of such CTA certificate will not be refunded. Any CTA, who without reasonable excuse has submitted misleading, incorrect or false information for the purpose of renewal of a CTA certificate, will be subject to disciplinary action(s) upon resolution of the Disciplinary Bodies of the Institute.
- A CTA is requested to submit the CPD declaration form online or in hard copy on or before 31 May 2022.
- Starting from 1 January 2020, all CTAs who are in public practice are required to be covered by Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII), unless they are exempt because their liabilities have already been covered by PII obtained in their other professional capacity such as accountant, solicitor or barrister etc. Employees should be covered by that of their firm. The minimum coverage of insurance should be one million Hong Kong dollars (HK$1,000,000). CTAs who have yet to be covered by PII should take care of this matter during the transition period (Year 2019). Non-practising CTAs shall not have this PII requirement.
1. If I decide to attend a seminar organised by another professional body, shall I apply for pre-approval by the Institute?
Ans:
The Institute does not have a pre-approval mechanism. The Council accepts, as a recognised activity, an accredited or recognised seminar organised by the Institute and accredited bodies. Please refer to Regulation 3 of the CPD Regulations for the list of accredited bodies.
2. If I attend a seminar organised by a professional organisation (such as SCAA), will it be recognised as a CPD seminar?
Ans:
Yes. According to Regulation 3 of the CPD Regulations, a seminar will be accepted as a recognised seminar if it is an accredited or a recognised seminar organised by accredited bodies (please refer to Regulation 3 for the list of accredited bodies). Therefore, a seminar organised by a professional organisation (such as SCAA) will be accepted by the Institute.
3. Will an electronic seminar be recognised?
Ans:
A relevant electronic seminar is recognised if the seminar is organised or recognised by the Institute and accredited bodies. Please refer to Regulation 3 of the CPD Regulations for the list of accredited bodies.
4. I take up the post as a workshop facilitator/speaker of a seminar, can I claim CPD hours?
Ans:
Yes, facilitators, speakers, or moderators of recognised CPD seminars will earn the same number of CPD hours as those members attending the seminars.
5. My firm/company will organise an in-house training course or seminar for the staff members. Can it be recognised as a CPD seminar?
Ans:
In-house training course or seminar is also acceptable provided that it is a relevant CPD activity and you are able to provide objective verification by an independent source.
6. I am studying in a university for a Master’s Degree/MBA programme. Can this be counted as recognised CPD hours?
Ans:
You can claim a maximum of 3 CPD hours per year for studying a relevant degree or programme in a recognised Tertiary Education Institution and their extended arms. The Continuing Professional Development Committee will consider the degree or programme case by case. If you have doubt about your programme or degree, please consult the Institute’s Secretariat by email to [email protected].
7. I obtained 20 recognised CPD hours for the year 2017-18 during 1 December 2017 to 30 November 2018. Can I carry forward 5 CPD hours to 2018-19?
Ans:
No, the 5 CPD hours obtained in 2017-18 cannot be carried forward to 2018-19. Recognised CPD hours obtained in a year will not be accepted for the purpose of renewal of a CTA certificate in future years.
8. I obtained 5 recognised CPD hours for the year 2017-18 during 1 December 2017 to 30 November 2018. I obtained another 10 recognised CPD hours during the extended period 1 December 2018 to 31 May 2019, and therefore had fulfilled the CPD requirements for 2017-18. Can the 10 recognised CPD hours obtained during the extended period be counted as recognised CPD hours for 2018-19?
Ans:
No, recognised CPD hours accepted in any one year (2017-18 in this case) will not be accepted again for the purpose of renewal of a CTA certificate in another year (2018-19 in this case).
9. Is there any annual audit exercise on a CTA’s annual CPD declaration? Who will be selected for this audit exercise?
Ans:
The Institute is committed to ensuring that the highest professional and ethical standards are continually adhered to, safe guarding both the Institute’s reputation and yours. Every year the Continuing Professional Development Committee of the Institute conducts a CPD audit exercise on a certain percentage of the CTAs’ annual CPD declarations. A random sample is generated by computer. CTAs selected for audit are required to submit to the Institute their CPD records of the relevant reporting year with documentation to support attendance or completion of the CPD activities as stated in their CPD records.
10. Am I required, in submitting the CPD declaration form, to submit evidence of seminar attendance as mentioned in Regulation 7, and how long do I need to keep these records?
Ans:
No, you are only required to provide evidence of seminar attendance if you are selected for the CPD audit. You are required to maintain records and documentary evidence of your recognised CPD hours for three years from the date of the recognised activities.
11. Will there be any exemption for CPD requirements, such as serious illness, career break or retirement?
Ans:
There will not be any exemption under normal circumstances. Members should apply to the Council of the Institute for a review under exceptional circumstances.
12. What is the consequence if I cannot fulfill the CPD requirements?
Ans:
If a CTA cannot obtain the required recognised CPD hours during the year (which runs from 1 December of a calendar year to 30 November of the next calendar year), he will be granted a further period to 31 May of the next calendar year to obtain the required hours. Failure to fulfill the CPD requirements constitutes a breach of the CPD Regulations which will be transferred to the Investigation Group of the Institute’s Disciplinary Bodies for consideration, and the CTA may be removed from the CTA Register. Please also see Regulation 7 of the CPD Regulations.