To encourage entrepreneurs of Accounting Firms to conduct the work with quality and reliability, the Department of Business Development determines to issue a Certificate of quality to an Accounting Firm which passes the evaluation on compliance with Requirements for Quality Assurance for Accounting Firms, and sets rules and conditions for quality assurance for the Accounting Firms as follows:

Clause 1. In this Notification, the following terms have the meanings attributed below:

“Accounting Firm” means a firm which provides accounting services, whether it was set up in the form of a juristic person, a group of persons, or a natural person.

“Bookkeeper” means a bookkeeper under the Accounting Act, B.E. 2543, who is an employee of an Accounting Firm.

“Assistant of Bookkeeper” means an assistant of bookkeeper who is an employee of an Accounting Firm.

“Requirements for the Quality Assurance for Accounting Firms” means “Requirements for the Quality Assurance for Accounting Firms” attached in the appendix of this Notification and their amendments.

“Department” means the Department of Business Development, the Ministry of Commerce.

“Director-General” means the Director-General of the Department of Business Development

Clause 2. An Accounting Firm that intends to apply for a Certificate shall have the qualifications and shall not have the prohibited characteristics below.

(1) Providing accounting services for not less than 30 clients being persons having the duty to keep accounts under Clause 8 Paragraph 1 of the Accounting Act, B.E. 2543;
(2) The head of the Accounting Firm shall hold a bachelor degree in accounting at a minimum, work full-time at the accounting firm, have an experience of providing accounting services for not less than 5 years, and have already submitted the bookkeeper request form to the Department;
(3) Having at least 1 assistant of bookkeeper who holds a bachelor degree in accounting and works full-time at the firm;
(4) Having a taxpayer identification number;
(5) Running the Accounting Firm for not less than 1 year;
(6) Its Certificate shall never be withdrawn, except that it had been withdrawn for not less than 2 years;
(7) Not breaching the conditions set out in Clause 8 (6) and 8 (7), except that the act of breach had been done for not less than 1 year;
(8) The head of the Accounting Firm shall not be a bankrupt; and

Clause 3. To apply for the Certificate, the Accounting Firm shall use Form R.SB.1, which is attached in the appendix of this Notification, as well as documents required in

Form R.SB.1, and shall submit such form to the Bureau of Business Supervision, the Department of Business Development, the Ministry of Commerce.

Clause 4. In the case that the Accounting Firm has numerous branches, each of which locates in different places, it is required that any branch of the Accounting Firm intending to obtain the Certificate submit Form R.SB.1 for its own branch provided that the submitting branch must have the qualifications and must not have the prohibited characteristics mentioned in Clause 2 (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), and (8).

Clause 5. The Accounting Firm that submitted Form R.SB.1 shall receive the quality assurance assessment from any of the following entities required by the Department
(1) Management System Certification Institute (Thailand) (“MASCI”); or
(2) Other institutes or entities which are approved of by the Director-General.
The Accounting Firm is responsible for all expenses relating to the quality assurance assessment at a rate charged by the approved institute or entity rendering the assessment.

Clause 6. The Accounting Firm that qualifies for the quality assurance assessment shall receive the Certificate. And, the Department will publicize its name and address.

Clause 7. The Certificate shall be expired in 3 years from the date of its issuance.
The Accounting Firm that intends to renew the Certificate shall have the qualifications and shall not have the prohibited characteristics mentioned in Clause 2 (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), and (8).

To renew the Certificate, the Accounting Firm shall use Form R.SB.2, which is attached in the appendix of this Notification, as well as supporting documents required in Form R.SB.2, and shall submit such form to the Bureau of Business Supervision, the Department of Business Development, the Ministry of Commerce within 90 days prior to the expiry date of the Certificate.

Clause 8. The Accounting Firm that receives the Certificate shall abide by all of the following conditions.
(1) Complying with, over the effective period of the Certificate, the Requirements of Quality Assurance, including any amendment or adjustment of the current requirements, for Accounting Firms;
(2) Being assessed, on an annual basis, for quality assurance, which may be either the full assessment or partial assessment, whichever is deemed appropriate;
(3) Not using the Certificate in a way that causes damage to the Department or using it as a reference to a third person in a way that leads to a misunderstanding to that third person;
(4) Cooperating with the assessor every time and allow other entity that the Department approves of to observe the quality assurance assessment; and shall deliver updated documents relating to the quality assurance at the request of the Department or the assessor;
(5) In the case that the Accounting Firm intends to terminate the Certificate or to liquidate the business of accounting services, informing in writing to the Department not less than 90 days in advance by using Form R.SB.3, which is attached in the appendix of this Notification, as well as supporting documents required in Form R.SB.3;
(6) In the case that the Certificate is withdrawn by the Department, or that the Accounting Firm intends to terminate the Certificate or to liquidate the business of accounting services, returning the Certificate to the Department within 15 days from the date at which the Accounting Firm acknowledges the Department’s order or the date of termination or the date of liquidation;
(7) In the case that the Certificate is suspended or withdrawn or that the Accounting Firm informs to the Department the termination of the Certificate or the liquidation of business of accounting services, putting a stop to publication and advertisement which has made a reference to the fact of obtaining quality assurance by the Accounting Firm; and

(8) Preparing and keeping the record of complaints about the Requirements for Quality
Assurance for Accounting Firms, including the results of processing all the complaints, and submitting those documents to the Department or the assessor at the request of the Department or the assessor.

Clause 9. When there is a relocation of the office of the Accounting Firm or there is a material change in the Accounting Firm such as a transfer of the business of the Accounting Firm or a change in top management, the Accounting Firm that has already received the Certificate shall inform such transfer or change to the Department within 30 days from the date of such transfer or the date of such change by using Form R.SB.3, which is attached at the end of this Notification, together with supporting documents required in Form R.SB.3. Accordingly, the Accounting Firm shall be assessed for quality assurance, which could be the full assessment or the partial assessment, whichever is deemed appropriate. The Department will issue the new Certificate of which the effective period will be exactly the same as that of the Certificate issued before the relocation or the material change takes place.

Clause 10. The Department may require an additional assessment or the full assessment without prior notice to the Accounting Firm when any of the following situations happens:
(1) There is a reliable cause that the quality of the Accounting Firm reduces, making it unable to comply with the Requirements for the Quality Assurance for Accounting Firms;
(2) There is a material change in the Accounting Firm, which affects the operation of the qualified Accounting Firm; or
(3) There is a complaint that the Accounting Firm which has received the Certificate does not abide by the Requirements for the Quality Assurance for Accounting Firms, and the Department considers the complaint reliable.

Clause 11. The Department may have an order to suspend or withdraw the Certificate in the following cases.
(1) The head of the Accounting Firm, the partner, or the director, whichever applicable, becomes an insolvent or insolvents, is banned from conducting the work as an accounting profession, or withdrawn from the membership of the Federation of Accounting Professions;

(2) The Accounting Firm fails to comply with or incorrectly complies with the requirements in Clause 8 (1), (2), (3), (4), and (8);

(3) In any other case that the Department consider the Accounting Firm may in a position that can cause damage to or have a negative impact on the quality assurance of the Accounting Firm.

Clause 12. The suspension of the Certificate will be in effect for not less than 90 days but not greater than 180 days

Clause 13. If the Accounting Firm receiving the Certificate has been suspended and there exists the cause that the Department may suspend or withdraw the Certificate as described in Clause 11 within the period of 3 years from the date of previous suspension of the Certificate, the Department may withdraw the Certificate.

Clause 14. In the case that the Certificate is damaged or lost, or that there is a change in the name of the Accounting Firm, the Accounting Firm may request the Department to issue the replacement of the Certificate

Announced as of 17th December B.E.2550 (2007)

(signed) Kanissorn Navanugraha

(Mr. Kanissorn Navanugraha)

Director-General of the Department of Business Development

(Appendix to the Notification of the Department of Business Development: