Accountants Act · 2023 Revised Edition · Part · Accounting Corporations, Accounting Firms and Accounting Limited Liability Partnerships
20. Approval of accounting corporations
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
A public accountant who wishes to have a company or proposed company approved as an accounting corporation may apply to the Authority for approval of —
public accountant
“public accountant” means a person who is registered in accordance with this Act as a public accountant;
the company as an accounting corporation; and
the name or proposed name of the accounting corporation.
An application under subsection (1) shall be made in accordance with the prescribed requirements and shall be accompanied by the prescribed fee.
Subject to subsection (4) and to any other provisions of this Act, the Authority may, on receiving an application made under this section, approve the company or proposed company concerned as an accounting corporation if —
Authority
“Authority” means such person as is appointed by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan under section 3(1) to be the Authority for the purposes of this Act;
one of the primary objects of the company or proposed company is to provide public accountancy services;
the share capital of the company or proposed company that is paid up or to be paid up is not less than $20,000 or such other sum as may be prescribed;
the articles of association of the company or proposed company provide that —
not less than two-thirds, or such other proportion as may be prescribed, of the directors (including the chairman) shall be public accountants, but —
if the company or proposed company has only one director, that director shall be a public accountant;
if the company or proposed company has only two directors, one of those directors shall be a public accountant;
Accountants
not less than two-thirds, or such other proportion as may be prescribed, of the voting shares of the company or proposed company shall be owned by corporate practitioners; and
only individuals may own any shares of the company or proposed company;
the business of the company or proposed company, so far as it relates to the provision of public accountancy services in
Brunei Darussalam, will be under the control and management of one or more directors of the company who are public accountants; and
the company or proposed company is or will be covered by professional indemnity insurance in accordance with section 33 and the prescribed requirements.
If the Authority grants its approval for a proposed company to be an accounting corporation, the approval shall not take effect until the company has been registered under the Companies Act (Chapter 39).
Terms defined in s 2
accounting corporation
Defined · s 2“accounting corporation” means a company approved as an accounting corporation under section 20;
Authority
Defined · s 2“Authority” means such person as is appointed by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan under section 3(1) to be the Authority for the purposes of this Act;
professional indemnity insurance
Defined · s 2“professional indemnity insurance” includes insurance indemnifying a public accountant, an accounting corporation, an accounting firm or an accounting Limited Liability Partnership against liability to compensate a third party who has sustained financial loss or any other damage or injury due to a breach of professional duty or to any professional negligence on the part of such public accountant, accounting corporation, accounting firm or accounting Limited Liability Partnership, as the case may be (including any such negligence by any director of such accounting corporation or any partner of such accounting Limited Liability Partnership), or fraud or dishonesty;
public accountancy services
Defined · s 2“public accountancy services” means the audit and reporting on financial statements and the doing of such other acts that are required by any written law to be done by a public accountant;
public accountant
Defined · s 2“public accountant” means a person who is registered in accordance with this Act as a public accountant;
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