Candidate membership

Under the law, the qualification course in accounting and financial reporting standards is attended at the professional organisation of certified accountants that the candidate intends to join. For this reason, the procedure at IKM begins with membership as a candidate for Certified Accountant — a membership category provided for in the IKM Statute, which opens the way for the candidate to the Initial Professional Development (IPD) training, the preparatory courses and the support of the Institute up to registration as a Certified Accountant.

Who can become a candidate member

Under Article 16, point 1, letters “a”, “b” and “ç”, of Law No. 10091, referred to by the IKM Statute for candidate members, a candidate who wishes to join IKM must meet the following conditions:

a) has full capacity to act;

b) has not been criminally convicted or sentenced to a supplementary penalty of a nature that casts doubt on his or her honesty;

c) has completed at least second-cycle university studies at “Master” level, or holds a university diploma equated with this level, in one of the fields of study in economic sciences, such as accounting, finance, business administration, economics or fields equivalent to them;

d) has at least three years of professional experience in accounting, finance, financial control and related fields (Article 49, letter “b”, of Law No. 10091). → Professional experience

Documents

1. a copy of the identity document (passport or identity card);
2. a copy of the Second-Level Diploma or its equivalent (DIND);
3. a criminal record certificate and a certificate of judicial status from the court and the prosecution office, no more than three months old;
4. proof of professional experience of at least three years (a copy of the employment record book or a certificate from social insurance);
5. Curriculum Vitae (CV) in Albanian;
6. a photograph, in 4 × 5 cm format.

The documents are uploaded to the online form in PDF format; the photograph is uploaded as an image. Where a document is missing or unclear, the IKM Secretariat contacts the candidate to complete it, without the need for a new application.

How the application is reviewed

The application is part of the online form and contains the candidate’s declaration that he or she is familiar with the IKM Statute (PDF, in Albanian) and undertakes to comply with it. The Registration and Licensing Committee meets at least once a month when there are new applications, reviews the documentation and notifies the candidate of its decision through the Secretariat within ten working days. Where the documentation is incomplete, the candidate is given ten days to complete it. Membership is accompanied by payment of the fixed annual membership fee, the amount and method of payment of which are communicated to the candidate by the Secretariat.

After approval

Once the application is approved, the candidate:

• is entered in the IKM register of candidates, the “candidates” section of the register of members provided for in Article 51 of the law;
• becomes entitled to register for the Initial Professional Development (IPD) training and for the preparatory courses for the exams;
• is regularly informed by email about training sessions, the opening of the exam season and registration deadlines.

Rights and obligations of candidate members

Candidate members for Certified Accountant have the right:

• to be informed about the activities of IKM and its administration;
• to receive professional protection and support from IKM.

At the same time, candidate members have the following obligations:

• to comply with the requirements of laws, secondary legislation and the Statute, as well as with IKM regulations;
• to apply professional standards and the IFAC Code of Ethics, as well as the IKM Code of Ethics;
• to pay membership fees within the set deadlines;
• to implement the decisions of the General Assembly and the Managing Council.

Candidates are members without voting rights and do not elect or stand for election to the governing bodies of IKM.

Duration of candidate status

Candidate status is annual and is renewed by paying the membership fee for each calendar year. It ends with the candidate’s registration as a Certified Accountant, at his or her request to withdraw, or in the cases provided for in the Statute. Candidates who interrupt their status and wish to resume it later submit a new application, updating any documents that are no longer valid.

Candidate registration form (in Albanian) →

For questions about candidate membership, IKM staff are available to help at ikm.alb@gmail.com or through the Contact page.