I am a managing partner in the regional (or national) office of my firm, which limits the time spent on assurance engagements. Will I be able to renew my licence?
The Public Accounting Licensing Board (PALB) has discretion to recognize time spent in respect of public accounting engagements by members in senior leadership positions with firms. The hours spent in supervision, management or oversight of the leadership of the engagment team(s) qualify as chargeable hours even if these hours are not billed to clients, provided that the responsibilities carried out were significantly more than strictly administrative in nature and included such functions as reviewing assurance files of major clients or high-risk clients, interpretation or application of GAAP and GAAS or professional standards, or advice given to assurance clients on matters related to assurance engagements. The hours should be reported in Part A of the experience certification report. You will need to track the hours and complete the declaration each year. Members who are in head or national offices of firms that are registered with CPAB as participating audit firms will meet the prac