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Licensing & Requirements

Application Requirements

Application As Approved Company Auditors effective from 1 April 2023

  1. Applicant has passed the Final Examination of Part I of the First Schedule of the Accountants Act, 1967; OR admitted as a member of any of the recognized bodies specified in Part II of the First Schedule of the Accountants Act, 1967;
  2. Applicant must be a member of the MIA and registered as a “Chartered Accountant”;
  3. Applicant must hold a Malaysian citizenship or fulfil the residency requirements in Malaysia;
  4. Applicant is not a bankrupt who has not obtained release either in Malaysia or abroad;
  5. In the 5 years preceding the application, the applicant has not been convicted of any offence within or outside of Malaysia which involves fraud or dishonesty, which can lead to imprisonment for 3 months or more;
  6. Applicant has never been denied membership or suspended from any recognise accountancy body;
  7. There is no pending enforcement or legislative action that has not been resolved against the applicant under Companies Commission of Malaysian Act, 2001 (“CCM Act 2001”) or any provisions or legislation in the First Schedule under the said Act;
  8. Applicant must hold a valid practising certificate issued by MIA. Please take note that the practising certificate is only valid for 6 months. Therefore, it is advisable to submit the audit licence application immediately after you have obtained the practising certificate;
  9. First time applicant is required to attend the Public Practice Programme organized by MIA. The certificate of attendance must be valid during the submission of application;
  10. Applicant must have six (6) years of accumulative working experience, on full time basis, which can be either Pre- & Post- MIA membership, but:
    10.1 At least three (3) years upon being a MIA member or minimum 2 years upon being a MIA member for candidates who work in foreign jurisdictions for at least a (1) year;
    10.2 At least five (5) years audit experience where the latest 2 years audit experience must be in Malaysia environment;
    10.3 Have carried out at least 7,500 audit hours and 40 engagements of audit of financial statements within five (5) years preceding to the application; and
    10.4 Applicant has served at least 1,800 audit hours as an Audit Supervisor. (Audit Supervisor means to have a managerial role in supervising, managing and controlling the involvement in audit of financial statements including audit planning and preparation of auditors reports).
  11. Applicant must submit a sponsor letter that meets the following requirements:
    11.1 The sponsor shall be an approved company’s auditor and possess a valid approval as a company auditor;
    11.2 The sponsor must be a person who has previously worked with the applicant and able to verify the applicant’s audit experience (including audit hours, supervisory hours and level of audit engagement) and his job role as well as being able to assess whether the applicant is a suitable and qualified person (fit and proper);
    11.3 The sponsor letter shall be submitted in the prescribed format as provided;
    i. Sponsor Letter Format (Malay)
    ii. Sponsor Letter Format (English)
    11.4 If the current sponsor’s confirmation is unable to meet the minimum hours of audit experience, additional letters from other sponsors that can confirm the applicant’s audit experience should be included; and
    11.5 To include any relevant supporting documents that can verify the details in the sponsor letter.

Application As Approved Company Auditors effective until 31 March 2023

  1. Applicant has passed the Final Examination of Part I of the First Schedule of the Accountants Act, 1967; OR
    admitted as a member of any of the recognized bodies specified in Part II of the First Schedule of the Accountants Act, 1967;
  2. Applicant must be a member of the MIA and registered as a “Chartered Accountant”;
  3. Applicant must hold valid practising certificate issued by MIA. Please take note that the practising certificate only valid for 6 months. Therefore, it is advisable to submit the audit licence application immediately after you obtain the practising certificate;
  4. Applicant must has five (5) years of accumulative working experience, on full time basis, which can be either Pre- & Post- MIA membership, but:
    4.1 at least one (1) year upon being a MIA member;
    4.2 at least three (3) years out of the five (5) years’ experience must be in audit practice; and
    4.3 one (1) year practice (out of the above three (3) years) in audit supervisory role. Audit supervisory means overseeing, managing and controlling audits consulting engagements including preparing financial reports and audit planning.
  5. First time applicant is required to attend the Public Practice Programme organized by MIA. The certificate of attendance must valid during the application;
  6. Applicant who possess the relevant auditing experience but are no longer in an audit practice, is still eligible to apply at the point of submission, if he/she had:
    6.1 left the Audit Practice within three (3) years from the date of application; or
    6.2 left the Audit Practice for more than three (3) years but has at least one (1) year recent working experiences in audit practice within the Malaysian environment prior to the submission for new application.
  7. Applicant having experiences in audit firm in other countries can also be considered provided he/she has at least one (1) year recent working experiences in audit practice within the Malaysian environment, on a full time basis.

Application Procedures

  1. Applicant must do the following:-
    1. register as an individual in Business Licensing Electronic Support System (BLESS) through http://www.bless.gov.my/bless;
    2. proceed to submit the application for audit approval through BLESS;
    3. submit Certified True Copy of all the relevant certificates as well as valid Practising Certificate;
    4. attach a sponsor letter from an accountant holding a valid audit licence which is still in force; and
    5. pay RM500/- using the e-payment module upon pass the interview session.
  2. Processing of auditors approval takes about one to two (1-2) months. The Accountant General’s Department of Malaysia will inform applicants two (2) weeks prior to the interview.
  3. The approval letter will be issued to successful applicant within fourteen (14) working days from the date of the interview.

Contact

Unit Kawal Selia Juruaudit dan Penyelesai Syarikat
Bahagian Pembangunan Perakaunan dan Pengurusan
Jabatan Akauntan Negara Malaysia
Aras 6 & 7, Kompleks Kementerian Kewangan
No.1, Persiaran Perdana
Presint 2, 62594 Putrajaya

Public Practice
Registration Requirements & Guidelines
Setting Up Practice in Malaysia
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