Practising certificates (PC)

Before engaging in public practice members of Chartered Accountants Ireland need to hold a Practising Certificate (PC) and comply with the Public Practice Regulations & Guidance.

A member engages in public practice when he or she personally and directly provides or holds himself or herself out to provide either personally or through a firm accounting and related services to persons other than his or her employer.

It is important that members apply for and are granted a Practising Certificate before they engage in public practice.

Practising Certificates are renewable annually from 1 January in each calendar year.
This is generally done as a principal in an accountancy firm but there are other circumstances, for example, when acting as an employee audit responsible individual or insolvency licence holder when a PC is required.

All members who hold a PC are required to:

• Have Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII)
• To demonstrate compliance with the CPD requirements
• Be monitored by the Quality Assurance Team

Do I need a practising certificate (PC)?

To establish whether you need a PC you should refer to the Public Practice Regulations - Schedule C1 of the Guidance on Public Practice Regulations.

To access all current regulations and bye-laws, click here.
To access all the current guidance documents, click here.