Pursuant to the provisions of the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council Ordinance (Cap. 588) regarding the issue of practising certificate (PC) by the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (AFRC), an applicant is required to complete the PC Examinations set by the Council of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA) for fulfilment of the local experience and knowledge of local law and practice that the HKICPA Council considers necessary.

2. The candidate

The following persons are eligible to sit the PC Examinations:

2.1

Member category

2.1.1

Current members of the Institute (please refer to note 3 for exemption details)

2.1.2

Graduates of the HKSA/ACCA Joint Examination Scheme (“the Joint Scheme”) under Hong Kong law variant (please refer to note 3.7 for exemption details).

2.2

Non-member category

2.2.1

Full members of an accepted accountancy institute as listed below who joined the institute by sitting and passing its professional examination for membership and not by virtue of any reciprocal/mutual recognition arrangement between that institute and another body:

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants ("ACCA")
Chartered Accountants Ireland
Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants ("CIMA")
Chartered Professional Accountants Canada ("CPA Canada")
Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants ("CICPA")
CPA Australia
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe
South African Institute of Chartered Accountants

2.2.2

Graduates of the Joint Scheme under non-Hong Kong law variant (please refer to note 3.7 for exemption details).

2.2.3

The Institute registered students of the QP

3. Exemption

3.1

Current members who have successfully completed the Institute's Qualification Programme ("QP") in full, are exempted from taking the PC Examinations. However, they are required to sit and pass the Aptitude Test on Hong Kong Law for PC issuance purposes if they fit the following categories:

3.1.1

With effect from 1 January 2008, QP graduates with overseas accountancy degree who wish to apply for a PC are required to sit and pass the Aptitude Test on Hong Kong Law if they have not taken Hong Kong law subject(s) at an accredited university degree programme or in an accredited Conversion Programme of the Institute. This requirement is applicable to those who register as QP students on or after 1 January 2008.

3.1.2

With effect from the 2008/2009 academic year, the following QP graduates who wish to apply for a PC are required to sit and pass the Aptitude Test on Hong Kong Law in order to fulfill the competency requirement in local law:

Students of accredited accountancy degree programmes of the Institute who have studied the law subject(s) in exchange programmes at non-Hong Kong tertiary institutions; or
Non-Hong Kong degree holders who are exempted from the local law subject(s) in the accredited Conversion Programmes of the Institute.

The above students who have sat and passed Module 10 (Business and Company Law) of the Institute's QP are considered in lieu of the Aptitude Test in Hong Kong Law for PC issuance purpose.

3.2

Persons admitted as a certified public accountant of the Institute by virtue of their membership with the following accountancy institutes and who have sat and passed the audit papers in the professional examinations of their parent institute are exempted from the PC-Business Assurance paper and are required to sit and pass the PC-Law and PC-Taxation papers for PC issuance purposes:

(a)

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (“ACCA”)

Admitted to ACCA before 1 January 2002.
Admitted to ACCA on or after 1 January 2002; and completed ACCA examination at or before its June 2001 diet.
Admitted to ACCA on or after 1 January 2002; and have sat and passed Paper 3.1 – Audit and Assurance Services under the ACCA Syllabus offered during December 2001 and June 2007 diet.
Admitted to ACCA on or after 1 January 2002; and have sat and passed Paper P7 – Advanced Audit and Assurance under the new ACCA Syllabus effective from the December 2007 diet.

(b)

Association of International Accountants ("AIA")

Completed AIA examinations in June 1991 or thereafter; and
Have sat and passed or been exempted from Paper 5 – Auditing and Taxation; and
Have sat and passed or been exempted from Paper 7 – Auditing; and
Have sat and passed Paper 15 – Professional Practice in AIA examinations.

(c)

Chartered Professional Accountants Canada ("CPA Canada")

Completed the CPA Professional Education Program ("CPA PEP") and have sat and passed the Assurance elective paper of CPA PEP.
Completed the legacy Canadian Chartered Accountants (CA) program and have sat and passed the Assurance paper of the CA Program.

(d)

CPA Australia

(e)

Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand

(f)

Chartered Accountants Ireland

(g)

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales

(h)

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland

(i)

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe

(j)

South African Institute of Chartered Accountants

(k)

U.S. CPA (Designation granted by relevant U.S. State Board of Accountancy)

3.3

Full members of CIMA who have sat and passed the following parts of the Institute’s QP under the MEPE Agreement between the Institute and CIMA that expired on 30 June 2011 are exempted from the PC-Business Assurance paper and are required to sit and pass the PC-Law and PC-Taxation papers for PC issuance purposes:

(i)

both the workshop and examination of Module C (Business Assurance); and

(ii)

the examination of Module A (Financial Reporting); and

(iii)

the Final Examination.

3.4

Full members of CIMA who have sat and passed the following parts of the Institute's QP under the 2013 or 2019 MEPE agreement between the Institute and CIMA are exempted from the PC-Business Assurance and PC-Taxation papers and are required to sit and pass the PC-Law paper for PC issuance purposes:

(i)

both the workshop and examination of Module C (Business Assurance) and Module D (Taxation) up to the December 2020 session/ Module 13 (Business Assurance) and Module 14 (Taxation) with effect from the June 2021 session of the Institute's QP; and

(ii)

the Final Examination up to the June 2021 session/ Capstone with effect from the December 2021 session of the Institute's QP.

3.5

CICPA members who qualified as a certified public accountant of the Institute under the MEPE Agreement for Mainland and Hong Kong Accountants and fulfilled the following criteria are exempted from the PC-Business Assurance and PC-Taxation papers and are required to sit and pass the PC-Law paper for PC issuance purposes:

(i)

have sat and passed both the workshop and examination of Module D (Taxation) up to the December 2020 session/ Module 14 (Taxation) with effect from the June 2021 session of the Institute's QP; and

(ii)

the Final Examination up to the June 2021 session/ Capstone with effect from the December 2021 session of the Institute's QP; and

(iii)

have sat and passed the auditing paper in the PRC CPA Uniform Examination of CICPA.

3.6

CICPA members who qualified as a certified public accountant of the Institute under the MEPE Agreement for Mainland and Hong Kong Accountants and fulfilled the following criteria are exempted from PC-Taxation paper and are required to sit and pass the PC-Business Assurance and PC-Law papers for PC issuance purposes:

(i)

have sat and passed the workshop and examination of Module D (Taxation) up to the December 2020 session/ Module 14 (Taxation) with effect from the June 2021 session of the Institute's QP; and

(ii)

the Final Examination up to the June 2021 session/ Capstone with effect from the December 2021 session of the Institute's QP; and

(iii)

have NOT sat and passed the auditing paper in the PRC CPA Uniform Examination of CICPA.

3.7

Graduates or former students of the Joint Scheme may transfer their results obtained in the examination paper(s) specified in Appendix I.

3.8

From June 2011 session onwards, those who have sat and passed Module C/ Module 13 (Business Assurance) and/ or Module D/ Module 14 (Taxation) of the Institute's QP are exempted from the PC-Business Assurance/ PC-Taxation papers respectively for PC issuance purposes.

3.9

From June 2021 session onwards, those who have sat and passed Module 10 (Business and Company Law) of the Institute's QP are exempted from the PC-Law paper for PC issuance purposes.

4. The examination

4.1

Acceptance of an entry to the PC Examinations from an applicant does not imply that the applicant is qualified for the HKICPA membership and/or issuance of a PC, where applicable. HKICPA membership applicants/ PC applicants must satisfy the examination and other admission/ issuance requirements prevailing at the time of HKICPA Registration and Practising Committee’s/ AFRC's consideration of their relevant applications. Please visit the homepages of HKICPA and AFRC for the latest membership and PC issuance requirements respectively.

4.2

Candidates who are required to sit more than one paper may choose to sit all papers OR just one paper at each session. The Council rules that paper-by-paper passes are allowed and that there is no time limit restricting the validity of such passes.

4.3

Syllabuses for the respective PC papers are as follows:

PC papers	Syllabus
PC-Law	Syllabus adopts that of Module 10 (Business and Company Law) of the Institute's QP
PC-Business Assurance	Syllabus adopts that of Module 13 (Business Assurance) of the Institute's QP
PC-Taxation	Syllabus adopts that of Module 14 (Taxation) of the Institute's QP

4.4

The examination for each PC paper lasts for 3 hours in an open-book format. The examinations will comprise written questions, which are compulsory. All answers must be presented in English.

4.5

In an open-book examination, candidates are permitted to take into the examination centre your own notes, reference books and stationery (including but not limited to noiseless and cordless programmable calculators). Computers and electronic dictionaries of any size or models are not allowed. All permitted items must not be equipped with communication function.

4.6

The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority ("HKEAA") will issue the Examination Attendance Docket containing details of the examination centre and other examination regulations and guidelines to candidates by ordinary post about two weeks prior to the examination. Candidates are required to produce the Docket for admission to the examination centre. Candidates should notify the Institute by phone to (852)2287-7081 immediately if they have not received the Docket one week prior to the examination. Last minute request for the Docket will not be processed.

4.7

Candidates should carefully read the Examination Regulations in the Examination Attendance Docket prior to sitting the examinations. Failure to follow any of these regulations may result in marks penalty or even disqualification from the entire examination. All violations of the examination regulations will be duly considered by the Qualification and Examinations Board. Effective from December 2014, for candidates who have violated any minor and straightforward examination regulation for the first time, their script booklets will be marked and processed as normal. However, a letter will be sent to warn the offenders that the incident will be recorded in their candidate files and any repeated offences in future would attract penal actions including marks penalty. For candidates who have violated the same examination regulation for the second time, two marks will be deducted from the candidates' results of the relevant paper. For candidates who have violated the same examination regulation for the third time or more, a stricter penalty of five marks deduction will apply.

4.8

NO overseas examination centre is provided. Candidates are required to take the PC Examinations in Hong Kong. Candidates should refer to the Examination Attendance Docket issued by the HKEAA for the assigned examination venue.

4.9

If weather conditions are doubtful (such as the possible hoisting of Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or the issue of the Red / Black Rainstorm Signal), candidates should pay attention to the radio / television broadcast, or view the HKEAA / the Institute website for the examination schedules before they leave for the examination centre. For more details on the bad weather arrangements, please refer to the information leaflet which will be posted to candidates together with their Dockets.

4.10

Candidates are allowed to apply for withdrawal from an enrolled examination with an administration fee charged before the designated deadline set on 6 weeks from the examination date. After the designated withdrawal deadline, the paid examination enrolment fees are not refundable, transferable and deferrable. However, considered that occasionally difficult circumstances may arise before the examination dates which prevent a candidate from attending an examination, special consideration for absence from exam due to serious extenuating circumstances may be approved with proper and valid supporting evidence such as:

serious medical conditions required hospitalisation which prevent the candidate from attending the examination;
unforeseen treatment or operation of the candidate led by serious illness;
death/bereavement of the candidate’s direct family member;
attendance for jury service or other civic responsibility; or
other forms of significant hardship under exceptional circumstances.

The applications must be supported by proper and valid documentation such as doctor's certificate, hospitalization certificates, death certificate, etc. Medical documentation simply stated the candidates suffered from Covid-19, influenza, headache, gastroenteritis etc, are normally not considered as sufficient evidence for serious extenuating circumstances. Applications on workload-related and/ or business trip-related grounds will not be considered.

Candidates must submit their application to Professional Programme (Examination) Team in written format via email within 10 working days after the examination. If the application was approved, the examination enrolment fee could be deferred to the next examination session after charging a cost-recovering administration fee.

5. Examination assistance materials

5.1

Candidates taking PC-Business Assurance and PC-Taxation papers may make reference to the relevant Learning Pack (“LP”) produced for Module 13 (Business Assurance) and Module 14 (Taxation) of the Institute's QP, respectively, to prepare for the examinations. The latest edition of the LP can be downloaded from the PC Examinations Online Resources Centre ("ORC") or may be purchased from the Institute’s service counter.

5.2

Candidates taking PC-Law paper may make reference from the LP produced for Module 10 (Business and Company Law) of the Institute's QP from the Institute to prepare for the examination. The latest version can only be downloaded from the ORC.

5.3

Past examination papers of the PC examinations are available for sale at the Institute’s service counter. Upon acceptance of examination enrolment by the Institute, around four weeks after enrolment deadline, candidates can access the ORC to download past examination papers and/or to view webcasted examination support videos/audio archives for each examination.

Category	Fees
Member Past examination paper	HK$45 / paper
Non-member Past examination paper	HK$90 / paper

5.4

Access right to the ORC is valid until the examination date of the subscribed examination session.

6. Examination support

6.1

Candidates taking the PC-Business Assurance and PC-Taxation papers can access the Module Preparation Seminars and Examination Techniques Seminars video on Module 13 (Business Assurance) and Module 14 (Taxation) of the Institute’s QP for the preparation of the examinations.

6.2

Candidates taking the PC-Law paper can also access the Module Preparation Seminars video of Module 10 (Business and Company Law) of the Institute's QP for the preparation of the examination.

7. Examination results and post-examination service

7.1

Candidates will be graded as "Pass", "Fail" or "Absent".

7.2

A candidate will be graded as "ABSENT" if he / she does not show up at the specified time, date and place for the enrolled examination. A candidate will be graded "PASS" if his / her aggregated marks is equal or higher than the minimum passing mark, otherwise the candidate will be graded "FAIL". The minimum passing mark reflects the difficulty of the examinations and the demonstrated competence of candidates under a series of systematic processes. It ensures fair treatment of all candidates while reflecting the knowledge and skills needed. It also takes care of the consistency over time and continuity in results while allowing flexibility in diverse and rapidly evolving circumstance. The Qualification and Examinations Board will approve the overall results after considering all available information relevant to these factors.

7.3

Examination results will generally be sent by ordinary post on the date mentioned above. Current members or graduates of the Institute can check their examination results on-line by accessing the Members’ area in the Institute’s homepage on the examination result release date.

7.4

Candidates who fail PC examinations may apply for the performance analysis report. It will provide performance statistics for each question and its corresponding learning outcome to help candidates identifying their weak areas. Candidates can submit the application form within 10 working days after the examination results release date. An application fee of HK$200 will be charged for each examination. The performance analysis report will be provided to applicants by email within 10 working days after the application deadline.

7.5

Candidates who fail PC Examinations may apply for an appeal on the examination result within five working days from the date of examination results release. The appeal fee of each examination is HK$3,450 (for Member) and $6,650 (for non-Member). Please contact the Professional Programme Team (Examination) for the application details. The appeal outcome will be announced within 30 working days after the appeal application deadline. An email notification will be sent to candidates after the appeal status is confirmed.

8. Fees

8.1

Enrolment fees will be charged according to the status of the candidate as at the closing date of application:

Category

Fees (2024)

Member

Registration Fee (for 1st time applicants only)

Paper Entry Fee

HK$900
HK$2,500 / paper

Non-member

Registration Fee (for 1st time applicants only)

Paper Entry Fee

HK$3,700
HK$4,800 / paper

8.2

For candidates who have previously paid the initial registration fee and are making further attempts, they are only required to pay the paper entry fee for the paper to be attempted.

8.3

Fee(s) paid are non-refundable, non-transferable, and cannot be deferred

9. Submission of application

9.1

Please complete your application through our online application portal before the enrolment deadline. If required, submit any supporting documents as specified in the application instructions.

9.2

The enrolment deadline will be strictly adhered to and late application is PROHIBITED.

10. Change of correspondence address

10.1

Your contact details as provided through the online application process for the PC Examinations will be used solely for examination-related purposes (confirmation of enrolment and release of examination results). Please note that the contact details submitted during the application process will NOT be updated to your membership or student records. If you wish to update your membership or student records, please contact the Membership and Admission Department or Education and Training Department separately.

10.2

Any change in contact details or correspondence address for the purpose of the PC Examinations after submission of the online application should be notified to the Institute in WRITING by email: atpce@hkicpa.org.hk.

11. Retention of examination-related materials

11.1

Examination answer scripts and materials used for the purposes of examination marking and results processing will be retained for six months after examination results release and destroyed thereafter, subject to circumstances which may necessitate longer retention period.

12. Enquiries

12.1

For enquiries, please contact the Education and Training Department via email: atpce@hkicpa.org.hk or telephone: (852)2287-7228.

Disclaimer:
The Institute shall not be responsible for any non-performance of duties caused by adverse weather, an act of God, labour strike, natural disaster, governmental action or intervention, riot, or any other cause not reasonably foreseeable or beyond the reasonable control of the Institute.

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