Legal corner: Rights and duties of chartered accountants Thursday, 28 July 2011 01:19

By Abdelaal A Khalil

We pointed out in the previous article the conditions for practising the profession of the auditor in Qatar and we will write today about the rights of chartered accountants and their duties. There is no doubt that the rights and duties guaranteed by law to chartered accountant aim at their independence in the performance of their work because of the importance of the role played by them in the economy and the credibility enjoyed by the reports issued by the offices of chartered accountants on the financial situation of companies, on which the market depends in evaluating the companies. These reports play a prominent role in the rise and fall of shares of the companies in the stock market and they play a pivotal role in directing capital to buy shares of that company or sell the same in the pursuit of profit. Here lies the importance of the role of the chartered accountant as his reports are characterized with credibility to achieve the required transparency in the economy.

Therefore, the auditor’s law No. (30/2004) points out that the chartered accountant who is registered in the Register of chartered accountants can practise the profession through a private office or through one of offices licensed in the state within six months from the date of registration in the register of chartered accountants.

The accountant must be engaged in the profession for five consecutive years at least after being registered in the register of operating chartered accountants so he could audit the accounts of public bodies and institutions in the state or joint stock companies or insurance companies or banks.

The chartered accountant shall work in the following areas. First: He shall review and audit the financial accounts and express his opinion on it according to the principles of the profession. Second: He shall provide the expertise, advice and studies in the areas of finance, economy, administration and tax and finally the activities of liquidation.

The chartered accountant, while practising his profession, has the right to access the books, records, vouchers and other documents. He has the right to ask for the data and explanations which he sees necessary to obtain or he deems necessary for the performance of his duties completely and correctly. No person can prevent or obscure any documents or data or information that he deems necessary to carry out his tasks.

The law gives the chartered accountant the rights to issue the inventory at the time he deems appropriate to the cabinets and stores of the authority that are subjected to the audit. He has the right to be sure of the assets of the company or institution and their obligations. He has the right to visit their factories, workshops, warehouses, offices and work sites and projects and ask the clarification from the experts about the aspects that he needs to perform his task in the optimal way.

The law also decided to give the auditor some legal guarantees that support him in order to carry out his work to the fullest and protect him from the dismissal from the work so he is not subject to the authority of the company, which he audits and feels the freedom to perform his work away from any pressure from the company whereas the law pointed out that it is not permissible for any company or institution to dismiss the auditor during the fiscal year in which he performs his tasks only if he is found violating the provisions of this law. In return of these powers and guarantees the law obligated the auditors to abide by the conduct, etiquette and traditions of the profession, recognized accounting and auditing standards and technical regulations in this field.

The auditor’s law no (30/2004) also prevented the chartered accountant to engage in trade or any work that is contrary to the professional behaviour or violates the dignity of the profession. The auditor is not allowed to audit the accounts of the company in which he worked as an employee until two years at least after leaving the work.

The chartered accountant cannot audit the accounts of the company he participated in the foundation or if he was a partner or a member of the board of directors or an agent of one of the founders and partners of the company. The chartered accountant cannot audit the accounts of companies or institutions in which he has a personal interest directly or indirectly.

The chartered accountant must use his own name as a key element in the title of his office. If it is a company the title must include the name of one or more partners with the addition of an indication of a company. The chartered accountant must match his name with its registration number in the register in all offices, certificates, budgets and reports signed by him.

The chartered accountant, if he stopped from practising the profession for any reason, temporarily or permanently, is committed to notify the management of the commercial affairs in the Ministry of Economy about the same within thirty days from the date of stop. The chartered accountant must preserve the registers, files and data related to his customers for a period of not less than ten years from the end of the last fiscal year in which he undertook their accounts.

Finally, we must also mention the responsibility of the chartered accountant towards the company under investigation and towards the other parties, which depend on his annual report of the companies.