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Include Left Circulars & Resources
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Policies On Answering Technical Enquiries
The Institute constantly receives many enquiries on Practice, Legal and
Technical matters and on the application of various professional pronouncements
and laws. In dealing with such queries in an orderly manner, the Council has
endorsed the following policies on handling technical queries on 28 March 2003.
A copy of the policies appear below. The main features of the policies are as
follows:-
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a) |
The Institute’s
staff shall respond to members’ queries on the Institute’s official
pronouncements. |
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b) |
The Institute’s
staff shall not respond to queries on the application and interpretation of
materials not published by MIA (e.g. KLSE Listing Requirements and
Securities Industry Act, 1983), except for the Accounting Standards issued
by MASB, the interpretation of the Companies Act, 1965 and also the Income
Tax Act, 1967. However, responses to the Companies Act, 1965 and the Income
Tax Act, 1967 shall be restricted mainly to areas of common knowledge or of
current relevance. No enquiries on accounting, auditing and other
professional requirements applicable in jurisdictions other than Malaysia
shall be entertained. |
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c) |
The Institute’s
staff shall entertain queries only from MIA members (with limited exceptions
for regulatory bodies and the news media). Guidance for others is provided
as to the alternative sources of information for queries. |
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d) |
Queries shall be
in writing. |
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e) |
Responses to
queries shall also be in writing and shall be appropriately disclaimed in a
number of respects, as highlighted under para. 18 of this document. |
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f) |
Queries and
responses in the form of "frequently asked questions" are posted on the
Institute’s web-site subject to the same conditions under which an original
response is provided. |
The
policies may be modified from time to time as determined by the
Council.
Staff Policies on Handling Technical Queries
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Introduction |
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1) |
The Council is
empowered, in relation to the practice of accountancy, to issue, specify,
adopt or endorse any of the following: -
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a) |
statement of
professional ethics in the form of By-Laws; and /or |
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b) |
standards of
accounting (especially those that were issued by MASB) and auditing
practices. |
The
above are required to be observed, maintained or otherwise applied
by MIA members as provided under the Accountants Act, 1967. |
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2) |
Statements of professional ethics in the form of By-Laws and standards on
accounting and auditing practices (collectively, herein, referred to as
"Professional Pronouncements") together with relevant interpretative and
other guidance approved by the Council of MIA as current and published in
the Institute’s Members’ Handbook in the form of the CD-Rom. |
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3) |
From
time to time, the Institute receives queries in relation to the application
and interpretation of its Professional Pronouncements and also receives
queries in relation to such other matters as the application of laws (for
example, in relation to the Company or Income Tax Act), or the accounting or
other professional requirements applying in jurisdictions other than
Malaysia. |
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4) |
The
Institute’s policies in relation to dealing with members’ technical queries
such that they may be dealt with in an orderly manner are outlined below.
The policies may be modified from time to time as determined by the Council |
Addressing Technical Queries with the Institute
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5) |
The Institute will
receive queries on the application and interpretation of the Institute’s
Professional Pronouncements. |
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6) |
The
Institute’s staff will respond to such queries subject to the
conditions outlined below:
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The query should come from a member of the Institute (with limited
exceptions for regulatory bodies and the media) – guidance for
others as to alternative sources of information for queries is
provided in para. 15 below. |
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- |
The query should be in writing and addressed to the relevant
Institute’s Manager via mail, e-mail or fax. |
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- |
The query should include the member’s name, address, contact
telephone number during normal office hours and membership number. |
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- |
The query should include a written statement of all relevant facts
and assumptions, and refer to available authoritative support and
supporting rationale. Sufficient information on the circumstance to
which the query pertains must be provided, but the query should be
generic in nature and not related to a specific enterprise or
transaction (either actual or contemplated). The query should
preferably provide a suggested conclusion consistent with the
authoritative support and other references cited. |
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Members should include details as to whether or not others have been
consulted in respect of the query and, if so, the facts provided to
that person, and the details of their response. The query to the
Institute should, however, be kept generic and not refer to a
specific enterprise and/or fact situation. |
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7) |
If, in
the Institute’s view, the above conditions have not been met, the
member may be asked to resubmit the query, as appropriately raised,
or the query may not be responded to, at the Institute’s discretion.
In the latter case, the member will be informed of the decision. |
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8) |
The Institute’s staff will generally respond to queries on the
application and interpretation of material not published by the
Institute, including matters of laws and regulation (for example,
company law, taxation law, Stock Exchange Listing Rules, etc.), but
these responses shall be restricted mainly to areas of common
knowledge or of current relevance. No enquiries on accounting,
auditing and other professional requirements applying in
jurisdictions other than Malaysia shall be entertained. |
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9) |
As a
matter of policy, the Institute’s staff should not respond to the
following requests:
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Provide advice on enterprise-specific and/or detailed fact-specific
questions. |
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Suggest the appropriate audit opinion to be given. |
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Act as an arbitrator regarding any issue or dispute. |
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Assist in research for student assignments. |
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10) |
The
Institute’s staff will provide only written responses to queries on
the following basis:
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- |
Views expressed are
intended to assist members solely on an ad hoc basis in resolving members’
enquiries. |
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- |
Staff response is based on the facts and assumptions provided and
may not apply if there is a change or discrepancy in those facts or
assumptions. |
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- |
Reliance on the staff response is entirely at the enquirer’s own
risk. |
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Advice given is
provided gratuitously and without liability. |
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Reference to the query and response, if any, may not be made – and
shall not be permissible as evidence – in case of any complaint
furnished to the Institute. |
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11) |
Because
of the Institute’s limited resources to deal with member’s queries,
it is generally not possible for Institute’s staff to attend to all
queries necessarily in a timely manner. Staff will strive to answer
85% of queries, which contain all the information specified in this
policy, within 10 working days of receipt. |
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Limitation |
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Institute’s Professional Pronouncements |
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12) |
Note
should be taken that the staff response is provided on the generic
basis and should not be considered necessarily relevant to a
specific enterprise or transaction. A query provides typically only
a selected summary of the scenario about which advice is being
sought and it is inevitable that the staff will be less
well-informed, and consequently less able to provide appropriate
advice, than the advisor who has become familiar with all the
relevant facts regarding the matter in question. |
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13) |
The
Institute’s staff are able to assist members by providing
information that guides them to the most appropriate source of
information (such as relevant Professional Pronouncements). To
enable meaningful discussions, members are expected to consult and
understand the relevant Professional Pronouncements themselves first
before further questions are raised. |
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14) |
As a last
port of call for members’ queries on a Professional Pronouncements,
the Institute encourages both members and non-members to use other
sources of information available, which may include:
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For financial statement preparers
-> your external auditor. |
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For professional accountants
-> colleagues, fellow members,
Institute’s web-site including the discussion forum on the Internet. |
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For students -> library, lecturers, textbooks and Institute’s
web-site where you will find electronic copies of the Institute’s
standards and details of other professional literature published by
the Institute. |
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For enterprise-specific queries
-> the enterprise concerned. |
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Legal interpretations and Professional Pronouncements applying in
other jurisdictions |
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15) |
The
Institute’s staff are generally not in the position to respond to
most enquiries on the application and interpretation of the laws or
professional pronouncements not issued or specified by the
Institute. In the case of queries relating to legal matters, members
are advised to seek independent legal advice. |
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Enterprise-specific queries |
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16) |
It is the
Institute’s policy not to comment on the specific facts pertaining
to a company or its financial statements. Enterprise-specific
queries should be raised with the enterprise concerned. |
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17) |
On
occasions, queries in respect of a specific enterprise may be, or
become, part of a matter of complaint to the Institute about the
conduct of the member. Queries connected with an actual complaint
should be directed to the Registrar of the Institute. |
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Disclaimer |
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18) |
As a
matter of policy, the Institute disclaims responsibility for any
comment or statement by any of its staff. The views expressed are
based solely on the limited information given to MIA and are
intended to assist members solely on an ad hoc basis in resolving
members’ enquiries. The views expressed are not the official opinion
of MIA, its Council or any of its Committees. Advice given is
provided gratuitously and without liability. Neither the MIA, its
Council or any of its Committees nor its staff shall be responsible
or liable for any claims, losses, damages, costs or expenses arising
in any way out of or in connection with any persons relying upon the
advice given. |
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Institute’s Official Response |
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19) |
Where
members consider that there are deficiencies in certain Professional
Pronouncements that give rise to the ambiguities or difficulties in
the application of Professional Pronouncements, suggestions are most
welcome. |
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20) |
Any such
suggestions should be directed to the Registrar of the Institute,
which will be then referred to the relevant Committees for
consideration, and the relevant Professional Pronouncements will be
amended, where appropriate. |
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21) |
Owing to
the limited resources, the Institute does not give individual
responses to such suggestions. |
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Publication of Queries and Responses |
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22) |
To
further assist members, the Institute may, where appropriate,
publish, or post on its web-site, frequently asked technical
questions and answers. |
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23) |
These
will be published in generic terms without disclosing the identity
of the enquirer. |
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