2. Paragraph 5 of the Third Schedule to the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore Rules is deleted and the following paragraph substituted therefor: | “ADVERTISING, PUBLICITY AND SOLICITATION |
5.—(1) In this paragraph —| “advertising” means the communication to the public of information as to the services or skills provided by a member or firm of members with a view to procuring professional business; |
| “publicity” means the communication to the public of facts about a member or firm of members which is not designed to promote the professional business of the member or the firm of members; |
| “solicitation” means the approaching of a potential client for the purpose of offering professional accountancy services. |
(2) All publicity shall conform to the following principles (referred to in this paragraph as the Basic Principles):| (a) | publicity must be conducted in a manner consistent with the good standing and reputation of the accountancy profession and not contain anything as is likely to bring discredit to the member or to the profession of accountancy; | | (b) | publicity must contain only matters of fact which are true, and the manner of notification must not be misleading or deceptive; | | (c) | publicity must be in good taste and professionally dignified; | | (d) | publicity must avoid belittling, or claiming superiority over, others; | | (e) | publicity must in any announcement —| (i) | avoid presenting the name of the member or that of his firm in a manner that is out of proportion with the nature or size of the announcement; and | | (ii) | avoid undue repetition of the member’s name or that of his firm; and |
| | (f) | publicity must avoid any inference of direct or indirect solicitation. |
|
| (3) No member or his firm may seek professional work by means of advertising. |
(4) Subject to the Basic Principles, a member may publish his name, the designation “Certified Public Accountant” or the initials “CPA” and his address, and the name and address of his firm, in a newspaper, journal or the Gazette for the following purposes:| (a) | an advertisement giving notice that there is a vacancy in the member’s practice or that of his firm; | | (b) | an advertisement on behalf of a client who requires staff or who wishes to acquire or dispose of business or property; | | (c) | an advertisement for the sale of a business, or property, by a member acting in a professional capacity as trustee, liquidator, receiver or in any other professional capacity; | | (d) | a publication of a report, notice, statement or certificate required under the provisions of any written law (including notices of meetings, auditor’s reports on financial statements and notices of appointment of liquidator, under the Companies Act) but the publication must be confined to what is required for the purposes of the written law; and | | (e) | an announcement of a change of address and telecommunication numbers. |
|
| (5) Subject to the Basic Principles, a member and his firm holding a seminar or conference for the public may advertise the seminar or conference if each member of the public attending the seminar or conference is required to pay a reasonable fee for the attendance. |
(6) An announcement of —| (a) | an admission to, or a retirement from, the practice of a partner; | | (b) | a change of name of the practice; | | (c) | a merger of one or more firms of members; and | | (d) | the commencement or resumption of public practice, |
| may be made in newspapers, and in other publications, if the announcement adheres to the Basic Principles and contains a bare statement of the facts. |
|
(7) The announcements referred to in sub-paragraph (6) may also be made by means of a letter or circular, but only to —| (a) | clients of the member and his firm; and | | (b) | persons with whom the member and his firm has business contacts, |
| but the letter or circular must adhere to the Basic Principles and contain only a bare statement of the facts. |
|
| (8) A member must not send greetings or condolences in any form or for any occasion by publication in a newspaper, periodical or other publication. |
(9) A member may send greeting cards on the occasion of any special observance if the cards contain only one or more of the following:| (a) | the message of his greetings; | | (b) | his name or his name in conjunction with those of his partners; or | | (c) | the name and address of the firm in which he practises and the firm’s logo. |
|
(10) In relation to audit, accountancy and taxation work, a member —| (a) | may issue cards, promotional or technical material to a client with whom a professional connection has already been established; | | (b) | must not send an unsolicited letter or a circular, or make an unsolicited personal visit or a telephone call, to a person who is not a client with a view to obtaining professional work from that person; | | (c) | must not give any commission, fee or reward to any person, other than an employee of the member’s firm, another member or an overseas firm or company that is affiliated to the member or his firm, in return for the introduction of a client; | | (d) | must not send promotional or technical material to a non-client, including a former employee, unless specifically requested for by that person; and | | (e) | must not instigate any person to do the acts referred to in sub-paragraph (a), (b), (c) or (d) on his behalf. |
|
| (11) Any form of event organised for non-clients, including former employees, with a view to giving publicity to the member, or to the range of services or technical materials of his firm, is prohibited. |
| (12) A member must not use to his or his firm’s professional advantage his appointment to public office, his involvement in any matter of public importance or the award of any distinction to himself or his firm. |
(13) Notwithstanding sub-paragraph (12), where a member receives an appointment to public office, engages in an activity that has national or local importance or receives an award of any distinction, he may, in connection with that appointment, activity or award, give —| (a) | his name and address; | | (b) | the designation “Certified Public Accountant” or the initials “CPA”; | | (c) | his postgraduate accountancy degrees and non-accountancy qualifications; | | (d) | the name of his firm; and | | (e) | his position in the firm. |
|
(14) Where a member or his firm contributes to good causes (including registered charities and other causes concerned with the promotion of education, sports or the arts), whether by way of donation, sponsorship or subscription, the member or his firm may allow the recipient to acknowledge the contribution publicly if the reference to the member in the acknowledgment —| (a) | is limited to the name of the member and his firm, the designation “Certified Public Accountant” or the initials “CPA”, and the member’s position in the firm; and | | (b) | does not bring the member or the accounting profession into disrepute. |
|
(15) A member may —| (a) | endow any educational institution with prizes and scholarships; | | (b) | be identified in the name of the prizes and scholarships as the endower; and | | (c) | use his or the firm’s logo and the designation “Certified Public Accountant” or the initials “CPA” in connection with the prizes and scholarships. |
|
(16) A member in public practice must use stationery of good form which must conform with the requirements of the Institute as to the use and presentation on the stationery of —| (a) | the names of partners and others who participate in the practice; | | (b) | designations and designatory letters; | | (c) | addresses; | | (d) | telecommunication numbers; | | (e) | the names of cities or countries where the practice is represented; and | | (f) | logo types. |
|
(17) A member may use business cards but —| (a) | the distribution by him of his business cards must be discreet and be confined to the occasions on which it is proper for him to establish his professional identity; | | (b) | he must not allow any person to distribute his business cards on his behalf; and | | (c) | the business card may contain only —| (i) | his name; | | (ii) | his position in his firm; | | (iii) | the designation “Certified Public Accountant” or the initials “CPA”; | | (iv) | the name of his firm; and | | (v) | his firm’s address, logo and telecommunication numbers. |
|
|
| (18) A member or his firm must not claim that he, any member of the firm, or his firm as a whole, specialises or has expertise in any particular aspect of public practice. |
| (19) A member may exhibit a non-luminous name-plate outside the premises at which he practises, but it must be modest in size and be in good taste. |
(20) A member may write or publish professional literature, in which he may specify the services he provides, but such literature may only be provided free to —| (a) | existing clients; | | (b) | other persons with whom he has contact in the ordinary course of business including solicitors and bank managers; and | | (c) | those who request for the literature. |
|
| (21) The professional literature referred to in sub-paragraph (20) must not be sent unsolicited to a non-client, including a former employee of the member or his firm. |
(22) A member may submit articles, letters or other contributions to the press in his professional or private capacity but —| (a) | the articles, letters or other contributions must not be in relation to any matter or be given with such frequency; and | | (b) | he must not in such articles, letters or other contributions write anything, |
| as will reasonably give rise to the impression that an attempt is being made by him to bring himself, his practice or the practice of his firm to the notice of the general public. |
|
(23) In writing or publishing professional literature and in submitting articles, letters and other contributions to the press, a member must not give any information on himself except —| (a) | his name; | | (b) | the fact that he is a public accountant; | | (c) | the name of his firm; | | (d) | his position in the firm; | | (e) | his personal particulars; and | | (f) | a photograph or illustration of himself. |
|
(24) A member may, at the request of a person working for the press, radio or television, consent to be interviewed, whether in his professional or private capacity, but —| (a) | the interview must not be in relation to any matter or be given with such frequency; and | | (b) | he must not at such interview say or do anything or cause anything to be done, |
| as will reasonably give rise to the impression that an attempt is being made by him to bring himself, his practice or the practice of his firm to the notice of the general public. |
|
(25) A member must not publicise or allow to be publicised, information on himself except —| (a) | his name; | | (b) | the fact that he is a public accountant; | | (c) | the name of his firm; | | (d) | his position in the firm; | | (e) | his personal particulars; and | | (f) | a photograph or illustration of himself. |
|
(26) A member may, in accordance with guidelines issued by the Institute from time to time, give public lectures or participate in public seminars, conferences, training courses and forums, of a professional or business nature but —| (a) | the lectures or participation must not be in relation to any matter or be given with such frequency; and | | (b) | he must not at such public lectures, seminars, conferences, training courses and forums say or do anything or cause anything to be done, |
| as will reasonably give rise to the impression that an attempt is being made to bring himself, his practice or the practice of his firm to the notice of the general public. |
|
(27) Any document issued by a member in connection with the events referred to in sub-paragraph (26) must not contain any information other than —| (a) | his name; | | (b) | the fact that he is a member; | | (c) | the name of his firm; | | (d) | his position in the firm; | | (e) | his personal particulars; and | | (f) | a photograph or illustration of himself. |
|
| (28) A member must ensure that any advertisement for his public lecture, or for his participation or the participation of his firm in the events referred to in sub-paragraph (26), adheres to the Basic Principles, whether the events were organised by the member or otherwise. |
| (29) A member or his firm must not participate in any trade exhibition or other type of exhibition. |
(30) A member and his firm may have entries in the following directories in any of the 4 official languages in Singapore but the entries must not be capable of being construed as advertisements:| (a) | the Telephone Directory; | | (b) | the Yellow Pages; | | (c) | the Buku Merah; and | | (d) | any directory of a business association. |
|
(31) The information to be provided in the directories referred to in sub-paragraph (30) is to be restricted to —| (a) | the name of the firm; | | (b) | the address of the firm; | | (c) | telecommunication numbers; and | | (d) | such other information as is necessary to enable the user of the directory to make contact with the member, his firm or the desired department of the firm. |
|
(32) A member must not respond to —| (a) | any advertisement, circular or invitation to tender or quote for professional work; or | | (b) | any inquiry for a quotation of fees in circumstances where he knows or reasonably ought to know that the same inquiry has been addressed to one or more members other than himself. |
|
(33) Notwithstanding sub-paragraph (32), a member may, if requested by any person, submit a proposal for the carrying out of —| (a) | management, advisory or data processing services; and | | (b) | non-recurring professional work or specialist services, |
| unless the request was, whether directly or indirectly, the result of the member’s solicitation. |
|
| (34) The member may give the person requesting a proposal for the carrying out of professional services under sub-paragraph (33) information on the personnel who will be involved in the services, the basis upon which fees are to be calculated and the range of estimated fees involved in the carrying out of the services. |
(35) A member may —| (a) | inform an interested party that he is seeking a partnership or salaried employment of an accountancy nature; | | (b) | write or make a direct approach to another member in public practice when seeking employment or professional work; and | | (c) | give his name, qualifications, experience, designatory letters and other necessary personal information in his curriculum vitae. |
|
(36) A member who wishes to sub-contract work to, or obtain sub-contract work from, another member may publicise that fact only if —| (a) | the publicity is done in a manner that cannot be interpreted as seeking to procure professional business from the public; and | | (b) | the publicity is contained in the Institute’s journal. |
|
(37) Where a member in public practice is retained by an organisation that offers advice to its members, clients or customers on accounting matters, the member —| (a) | may, in relation to the matters referred to him by that organisation, deal only with the organisation itself and not directly with any of its members; and | | (b) | is responsible for ensuring that any literature issued by the organisation, in which his name or his firm’s name is mentioned, conforms with sub-paragraphs (20), (21) and (22). |
|
| (38) Subject to sub-paragraphs (39) and (40), a member or his firm must not allow his name or the name of his firm to be published in any publication of a client. |
| (39) In any document in which the name of the member or that of his firm is required by law (including a financial prospectus or annual report made under the Companies Act [Cap. 50]), no information relating to the public accountant or his firm is to be included except for the name and designation of the member and the name of his firm. |
| (40) A member who in his private capacity is associated with, or holds office in, an organisation may permit that organisation to use his name and designation on the stationery and other documents of the organisation, but the member must ensure that he is not referred to in the stationery or documents in a manner as might lead the public to believe that there is a connection between him and the organisation in an independent professional capacity. |
(41) A member is responsible for —| (a) | the form and content of any advertisement, whether placed by the member personally, by his firm or any other person on the member’s or his firm’s behalf; and | | (b) | any publicity which the member or his firm expressly or impliedly authorises. |
|
| (42) Where a member is aware of any impropriety in any advertisement or publicity relating to him or to his firm, he must use his best endeavours to procure the rectification or withdrawal of the advertisement or publicity. |
| (43) An accounting firm is responsible for any infringement of this paragraph by a firm or company affiliated to that firm practising under the same or similar name unless the members of that firm prove that they have taken all reasonable steps to ensure compliance with this paragraph and that the infringement was beyond their control. |
(44) Consulting services other than the functions of accounting, audit and taxation are not affected by sub-paragraph (43), but —| (a) | care must be taken by the member, his firm and any person or entity affiliated to the member’s accounting firm to ensure that an advertisement for such services does not mislead the public through false claims or exaggeration of the firm’s capability; | | (b) | the wording of the advertisement for such services must be confined to the product or service which is being promoted; and | | (c) | under no circumstances must the advertisement for such services be used as a medium to promote the member or his firm. |
|
(45) Sub-paragraphs (43) and (44) apply to any overseas firm or company that —| (a) | is affiliated to the accounting firm; and | | (b) | advertises or publicises in Singapore.”. |
|
[R 2.] [G.N. No.] [S 32/92”.] |
|
|
