Chartered Accountants are trusted professionals recognised for high levels of technical competence, ethics and integrity. To maintain trust in the profession, all members are required to meet a range of membership obligations that support the public interest and uphold the reputation of the profession.

If you have any questions about your membership obligations, please contact the Professional Standards team or NZ Regulation team for guidance.

All Members

Meet your compliance obligations

All members are required to comply with the CA ANZ By-Laws, CA ANZ Regulations, NZICA Rules (for New Zealand resident members), the relevant Code of Ethics and applicable professional standards in all professional activities.

This includes the self- disclosure obligations. All members are required to notify the Professional Conduct Committee within seven days of becoming aware that they have experienced a Disclosure Event or Notification Event (refer to CR 1 paragraph 1.42 and By-Law 40.8 or NZICA Rule 13.8). This obligation supports accountability within the profession. Details of disclosure requirements and procedures can be found here.

NZ members are subject to an additional ethical obligation under the NZICA code of ethics to report the unethical behaviour of other members where they encounter or become aware of a matter which provides reasonable grounds for suspecting defalcation, fraud, dishonesty or other unethical behaviour immediately to the most senior executive of NZICA. This extends to their own behaviour.  

Failure to meet your obligations may result in disciplinary action, and in the most serious cases this could result in suspension or termination of membership. These measures are in place to protect the public and uphold the integrity of the profession.

Keep your member record up to date

All members are required to notify CA ANZ of a change in employment or contact details within 30 days (refer to CA ANZ Regulation CR 1 paragraphs 1.39 and 1.40).  The easiest way to do this is to log in to My CA.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

To maintain professional competence, all full CA and Affiliate members and Non-Member Principals must complete CPD by:

• Undertaking a minimum of 120 hours of CPD (at least 90 verifiable hours, including 6 hours focused on ethics, and up to 30 non-verifiable hours) relevant to your role and responsibilities over each triennium (three-year period). The minimum requirement is subject to your entitlement to a pro rata exemption – for example, if not working or in full time employment.
• Keeping a record of the CPD you have completed - you may find using the CPD log provided in My CA helpful for this.
• Providing evidence of completion of CPD, if selected for CPD monitoring.

ACA and AT members are subject to reduced requirements and these can be found here. More details of CPD requirements, including exemptions, can be found here or by referring to CA ANZ Regulation CR 7.

Responding to requests for information

All members are required to respond to correspondence and information requests from CA ANZ and NZICA. This includes requests for information during conduct investigations, quality and practice reviews, and in relation to our monitoring activities (including in respect of continuing professional development, professional indemnity insurance, client monies or certificates of public practice) or other regulatory processes. Responding promptly and courteously demonstrates respect for the profession’s regulatory framework, assists our team be more efficient and helps maintain public confidence. Importantly, all members are reminded that a refusal or failure to respond to a request for information made pursuant to the By-Laws, Regulations or NZICA Rules (as applicable) may be treated as a disciplinary matter.

Principals in Public Practice

Certificate of Public Practice (CPP) Holders

Members who are public accountants, i.e. who are principals in a practice that provides public accounting services are required under CA ANZ Regulation CR 2 Certificate of Public Practice  and NZICA Rules (as applicable) to hold a current Certificate of Public Practice (CPP). In New Zealand, principals who work with these members must be approved Non-Member Principals.  In Australia, principals who are not members may qualify for Affiliate membership. 

CPP holders, Affiliates and Non-Member Principals are required to:

• Ensure their practice complies with CA ANZ’s public practice requirements as set out in CR 3 Public Practice Regulations or NZICA Rules (as applicable).
• Participate in quality or practice reviews to assess compliance with professional standards.
• Maintain appropriate systems, policies, and procedures to ensure compliance with professional and ethical standards, manage risk and deliver quality services.

Quality and Practice Review Participation

Members in public practice may be selected to participate in a CA ANZ Quality Review or NZICA Practice review. To ensure the review is undertaken in an effective and timely manner, members selected for review are obliged to be professional and co-operative, respond to correspondence from CA ANZ or NZICA (as applicable) and the designated reviewer, comply with information requests and complete any remedial actions required. If your practice is selected for review, you will be given links to resources to assist with preparation for the review. Our reviewers are all chartered accountants who understand public practice and standards. The program helps ensure that members are meeting professional standards and provides an opportunity for continuous improvement.