Regulations

The Regulation sets out the duties and powers of the Managing Council, which directs the work of IKM in the period between two meetings of the General Assembly and reports to it on its activity. Its duties include protecting the profession and ensuring respect for professional ethics, preparing and implementing the budget, organising Initial Professional Development training and Continuing Professional Development, decision-making in investigation and disciplinary proceedings, compliance with the IFAC Statements of Membership Obligations (SMOs), and administering the “Forensic Accountant” certification. The Regulation also provides for the composition of the Council, with seven members and a four-year term of office, the conduct of meetings and decision-making, the handling of conflicts of interest, and the duties of the President, the Vice President and the members.

The Executive Structure, under the direction of the Executive Director, ensures the economic and financial administration and the general executive activity of IKM. The Regulation describes the duties of the Executive Director, the secretary-cashier and the bookkeeper, the payment authorisation limits, and the rules for documenting cash and bank transactions. It also provides for the administrative support that the Executive Structure offers to IKM’s committees, the keeping of the registers of members and of fees, and the obligations regarding confidentiality, personal data protection and the retention of documentation.

IKM’s branches and sections are set up in the districts with the approval of the Managing Council, depending on the number of members in the area concerned. The Regulation sets out their governing bodies (the general meeting of members and the board), the composition, election and term of office of the boards, and the procedures for replacing board members. It also describes the duties of the boards, such as new memberships, keeping the register of members, organising Initial Professional Development training and Continuing Professional Development in the branch or section, collecting fees and keeping the Managing Council regularly informed.

The Regulation sets out the procedures for membership of IKM for Certified Accountants, Accounting Firms and candidates for Certified Accountant, the documentation required, and how the Master Register and the Public Register are kept and updated. It governs the licensing process, the two licence categories (A and AP), the annual renewal of the licence and the membership card, and the cases of licence revocation and removal from membership. The Regulation also provides for the composition and working methods of the Registration and Licensing Committee, which approves registrations with IKM and prepares the list of members to be granted a licence.

The Regulation, approved by the General Assembly, sets out the system of Quality Management Review for services performed by Certified Accountants and Accounting Firms, in accordance with International Standard on Quality Management 1 (ISQM 1) and IFAC’s SMO 1. The review is mandatory for all members and assesses whether each member’s system of quality management is designed, implemented and operating properly, with requirements scaled to the nature and circumstances of the member’s activity. Each member is reviewed within three years of registration and thereafter once every five years, or every three years where the member prepares financial statements for public interest entities. The Regulation also provides for the organisation of the Quality Management Committee, the selection of Review Experts, the assessment grades and the right of appeal, as well as the annual publication of a summary report on the results of the reviews.

The Regulation covers the qualification of candidates for Certified Accountant and the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of members, in accordance with the International Education Standards (IES) and IFAC’s SMO 2. It governs Initial Professional Development training, with the mandatory National Accounting Standards (SKK) and IFRS modules and the final assessment organised by IKM, as well as the CPD requirement of 40 hours per year or 120 hours per three-year cycle, the annual programme, the testing of members and the recognition of training organised by third parties. The Regulation also provides for the composition and duties of the Education and Professional Qualification Committee, and for the Competence Map, which shows where each competence area of the Certified Accountant is covered.

The Regulation sets out how complaints and information about possible breaches committed by Certified Accountants and Accounting Firms are examined, as well as the organisation of the Investigation Committee, in accordance with the rules of the Public Oversight Board and IFAC’s SMO 6. It provides for members’ obligation to have an internal procedure for client complaints, how a complaint is submitted to IKM, the rights of the subject under investigation and the time limits of the process. The role of the Investigation Committee is investigative and recommendatory: at the end, it proposes to the Managing Council either closing the case or referring it to the Disciplinary Committee, while, where the case is closed without disciplinary proceedings, the complainant may request a review of the decision by an independent person.

The Regulation sets out the procedures for taking disciplinary measures against Certified Accountants and Accounting Firms, as well as the organisation of the Disciplinary Committee, which examines the cases referred to it by the Managing Council after investigation and proposes to the Council the disciplinary measure or the dismissal of the proceedings. It lists the disciplinary measures, from advice and reprimand to a fine, temporary suspension of membership and permanent removal from the register, as well as the principles for setting the measure in proportion to the seriousness of the breach and to aggravating and mitigating circumstances. The Regulation guarantees the subject’s right to be heard and to be represented, and provides for the possibility of conciliation for less serious breaches, the right of appeal, and the annual publication of a summary report on the results of investigation and discipline.