Highlights of the CPABC
Bylaws and Bylaw Regulations
From the Regulatory Affairs Team
I
n the last issue of CPABC in Focus, we provided an overview of the CPABC Act. We are
now pleased to present a summary of two more components of our regulatory
framework: the bylaws and bylaw regulations.
The bylaws
The bylaws represent the high-level powers of CPABC
and enable the board to make regulations relating to
the implementation of that authority. These bylaws
were approved by the legacy boards, submitted to the
government of BC, and then approved by the CPABC
board, as authorized under the CPABC Act.
Any future changes to the bylaws can only be made
with the approval of the membership, and can only
come into force after submission to the government,
which has up to 45 days to disallow them.
Key areas covered:
Membership and CPD
The bylaws require that members must now use the
CPA designation, together with their legacy designation—for example: James Joyce, CPA, CA.
A change for members is that they are now permitted
to display foreign accounting designations, provided
that: a) the foreign designation is displayed after the
tagged Canadian CPA designation and b) the jurisdiction of the foreign designation (the country or US
state) is noted—for example: Jane Doe, CPA, CGA
(NZ) and John Doe, CPA, CMA, CPA (Illinois).
In addition, the bylaws confirm the requirement for
compliance with a continuing professional development
(CPD) program, and give CPABC the authority to
suspend or cancel non-compliant members.
Public practice
It is now required that individuals engaged in public
practice be licensed and firms be registered. This
represents a change for all legacy members, as none
of the legacy bodies required that both individuals
and firms be registered.
Note that the definition of “public practice” is included
in the definitions section of the bylaws and includes
“public accounting” and “other regulated services”
(such as tax and forensic accounting). The bylaws
establish different licence categories that correspond
to the services being offered to the public. This too
represents a change for some legacy practitioners.
Investigation and discipline
This part of the bylaws details the process that must take
place when complaints arise concerning the conduct of
a member/former member, student, professional
accounting corporation/former professional accounting
corporation, or registered firm/former registered
firm. It ensures that a rigorous and fair process is
undertaken—one that respects the rights of the individual whose conduct is in question while also ensuring
the protection of the public. These processes represent some level of change for members of all three
legacy bodies.
General
The general section of the bylaws covers matters such as:
the incorporation of the rules of professional conduct
into the bylaws; the authority to suspend and cancel
membership or licensure for non-payment of fees; and
the authority to disclose information to the public
about a member’s membership status, public practice
licence, and business contact information.
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