Change of status and deregistration

The way a Certified Accountant practises the profession changes over the course of a career: from employed to self-employed, from sole practitioner to Accounting Firm, from active to inactive for a period and back to active. Each such change is reflected in the Master Register and in the Public Register by decision of the Registration and Licensing Committee, so that the register, the licence and the fee always correspond to the actual situation.

Change of category

The Registration and Licensing Committee approves and orders the following moves to be reflected in the register:

• from the section of sole practitioners or of active firms to the inactive section, and vice versa;
• from the candidates section to that of active or inactive members, after certification as a Certified Accountant;
• from sole practitioner to Accounting Firm, and vice versa.

The request is submitted by email to the IKM Secretariat, accompanied by the documents proving the change: the QKB extract for registration or deregistration as a sole practitioner, the employment contract or the employer’s certificate for the new employment, and the company documents for the move to an Accounting Firm. The Committee considers the request at its next meeting and the decision is notified to the member through the Secretariat within ten working days. With the change of category, the licence category and the annual fee also change where applicable.

Moving to inactive status and returning

A Certified Accountant who stops practising the profession — for employment in the public sector, for functions not related to accounting services or for personal reasons — requests a move to inactive status. They remain a member of the Institute and part of the Public Register with the corresponding status, without a licence, and continue to fulfil the Continuing Professional Development obligation and to pay the fee for their category. Return to active status is made on request, once the member has fulfilled the Continuing Professional Development requirements for the past period; where they have missed Continuing Professional Development sessions, they are tested on the relevant knowledge before being included in the register again as active.

Deregistration at the member’s request

A member who wishes to leave the Institute submits a request for deregistration. The request is accepted when the member has fulfilled all obligations arising from the Statute and the regulations, including the fee for the year in proportion to the month of leaving, and when no quality review or investigation procedure is in progress against them. On deregistration, the licence is revoked and the membership card becomes invalid and is returned to the Institute. The member’s register number remains unchanged and is not given to any other person; the date of leaving is recorded in the register.

An Accounting Firm is deregistered at the request of its administrator, on expiry of the term of activity provided for in its own statute, or on withdrawal of the right to carry out the activity.

Termination of membership by the Institute

Apart from a request by the member, membership is terminated when the member no longer meets the conditions of the law, the Statute or the regulations; when the member acts contrary to the Code of Ethics, the Statute or the law; as a result of disciplinary measures; or on revocation of the licence. Where membership is terminated for a breach, the Managing Council may propose to the Public Oversight Board that measures be taken under the legislation in force.

Returning to the Institute

A former member who wishes to resume practising the profession submits a new application for registration, in the relevant category, updating any documents that are no longer valid. Experience and the title are not lost on deregistration; the Continuing Professional Development conditions for the period of absence are assessed by the Registration and Licensing Committee before re-entry in the Public Register.

For questions about change of status or deregistration, IKM staff are available to help at ikm.alb@gmail.com or through the Contact page.