Practice units
Under section 2 of the Professional Accountants Ordinance ("PAO"), "Practice Unit" (執業單位) means –
- a certified public accountant (practising) practising accountancy on his own account (i.e. a practising certificate ("PC") holder practising in his own name)
- a firm of certified public accountants (practising) (i.e. a CPA firm)
- a corporate practice
Under the PAO, only certified public accountants ("CPA", i.e. HKICPA members) holding a valid PC issued by the Institute are eligible to perform statutory audits, issue audit reports and register a CPA firm and/or a corporate practice in Hong Kong.
Pursuant to the Financial Reporting Council Ordinance, practice units wishing to perform audit engagements of public interest entities (PIE) are required to register with the Institute as registered PIE auditors.