In order to be eligible for a Practising Certificate, a member must have completed two years relevant Approved Post Membership Experience (APME). Additional requirements apply to members who wish to engage in statutory audit work.
1. Approved Post Membership Experience (APME) is defined as experience obtained by a Member after admission to membership of CPA, which is relevant to their intended area of Public Practice, as an employee of an accountant in Public Practice or in commerce or industry. This AMPE can be gained in any environment provided it is relevant to the area(s) in which the Member wishes to publicly practice. The APME must be supervised by a qualified accountant.
The reason for this is to safeguard the public interest by ensuring that Members in Public Practice have sufficient relevant experience in the areas in which they are seeking to publicly practice.
2. The APME included in the application for a Practising Certificate need not be from Public Practice and does not need to have been obtained in an environment specifically approved by the Institute, however the APME must be relevant to and supportive of the areas in which the Member wishes to practice.
3. The APME does not have to have been obtained in Ireland. However, Members wishing to use experience gained elsewhere to support an application for a Practising Certificate should consider whether they require a period of adaptation before they are able to satisfy the fundamental principles of the CPA Code of Ethics. This will be particularly relevant where the Member’s recent experience is in an environment where, for example, legislation and standards differ significantly from the country in which they wish to practice.
4. Members can commence their APME any time after the date of admission into Membership, however Members should note that, whilst the two years APME can be achieved at any time after they become eligible to do so, that the Committee on determining whether to issue a Practising Certificate will place greater emphasis on relevant experience obtained in the four years preceding the application. If the Committee believes that the experience gained is either not relevant or too remote from the date of the application, it may issue the Practising Certificate with restrictions.
5. A Practising Certificate is a general one and not limited to particular areas. The application form does however require Members to identify the particular areas they wish to practice in immediately and to show recent work experience.
6. A Member wishing to obtain a Practising Certificate with audit qualification in order to engage in statutory audit work must be able to demonstrate that they meet certain additional eligibility criteria and competencies. For further details please review the Audit Competency Framework Guidelines.
Reserved Areas of Public Practice are governed by statute and require a specific separate authorisation. The Institute can authorise members to act in the following reserved areas:
- Audit
- Investment Business