Authorized Employer Scheme
The Authorized Employer Scheme involves the Institute accrediting employers on a corporate level so that they have a clear understanding of their obligations in ensuring that prospective members attain the appropriate type and level of practical experience for membership admission.
Please click to view the List of Authorized Employers currently registered with the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs.
Application
CPA practices and organizations are eligible to apply for registration as an Authorized Employer by appointing a Member-In-Charge to take overall responsibility of the Authorized Employer registration and nominating Counselors to be responsible for training of the prospective members. The Member-In-Charge must be a HKICPA member and hold a senior management position in his/ her organization. Members of the Institute or one of the following recognized professional accountancy institutes, with at least three years of membership, may be eligible to register as Counselors:
| - Association of Chartered Certified Accountants | - CPA Australia |
| - Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand | - Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales |
| - Chartered Accountants Ireland | - Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland |
| - Chartered Institute of Management Accountants | - Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe |
| - Chartered Professional Accountants Canada | - South African Institute of Chartered Accountants |
| - Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants | - U.S. CPA granted by relevant U.S. State Board of Accountancy # |
# Eligible up till 31 December 2022.
For all other application requirements, please refer to Form AEMP and self-assessment form Note.
An Authorized Employer may apply for group registration under the Authorized Employer Scheme. For more details, you may refer to note 5.3 of the Form AEMP - Application for registration as an Authorized Employer and the sample of application letter for group registration under the Authorized Employer Scheme.
Note:
Transitional arrangement of the revised Practical Experience Framework
The Practical Experience Framework has been revised and will be launched in December 2022. The revision enhances the quality assurance of the Authorized Employer system by introducing a strengthened and elaborated set of Practical Experience Codes and Guidelines and a better-defined process of authorization.
(Please refer to the Position Paper on changes to the Practical Experience Framework for more details.)
To facilitate the transition, the following arrangements have been adopted:
- The Institute will endeavor to process all applications received on or before 30 September 2022 which form the last batch of applications to be processed under the current framework. Please be reminded that the application must be submitted together with a self-assessment on compliance with the Codes and Guidelines.
- Please contact the Practical Experience Team for details on the application process under the revised framework if an organization or individual would like to apply after 30 September.
Recognition
An Authorized Employer is welcome to mention its status as "an Authorized Employer of the Hong Kong Institute of CPAs" in its recruitment advertisements and materials to attract budding accountants to join the organization. There are restrictions on publicity for any other purposes. You may refer to note 6 of the Form AEMP - Application for registration as an Authorized Employer for more details on the recognition and benefit.
Term of registration
The term of registration as an Authorized Employer is five years. The registration of an Authorized Employer will be subject to review on a case-by-case basis, which may result in termination by the Institute in certain circumstances as prescribed in note 7 of the Form AEMP - Application for registration as an Authorized Employer.
Authorized Employer enhancement programme
In 2008, the Institute has launched the Authorized Employer enhancement programme which is aimed at improving the Institute's communications with the Authorized Employers, understanding their difficulties in training the Institute's registered students to obtain practical experience, and providing relevant guidance to the Authorized Employers.
Update on Authorized Employer Scheme
The Institute has updated the approach in reviewing the Authorized Employer registration and renewal. The purpose of the update is to maintain the quality of the Authorized Employer Scheme.
- Notes of the information sessions
