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PART 6.-ACCOUNTANTS.

ORDINANCE No. 3 (PRIVATE), 1904.

To Provide for the Registration of Accountants in the Transvaal.

Whereas it is expedient to provide for the registration of persons publicly practising or entitled to practise publicly ast accountants in the Transvaal, so as to distinguish qualified from unqualified persons; and whereas it is necessary to provide a qualification for admission to the Register of Accountants.

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor of the Transvaal, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows: :

1. After the passing of this Ordinance no person shall describe himself or hold himself out as an accountant, or as a public accountant, or as an auditor, or use any name, title, addition or description, or letters indicating that he is an accountant by profession, or a public accountant, or an auditor, whether by advertisement, by description in or at his place of business or residence, by any document or otherwise, unless he is registered as a public accountant in pursuance of this Ordinance; provided always that this section shall not prevent any person employed exclusively at a salary on accounts, and not carrying on business on his own account, from describing himself as an accountant" in respect of or in relation to his occupation.

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2. Any person not registered as a public accountant in pursuance of this Ordinance, and describing himself or holding himself out as an accountant, or as a public accountant, or as an auditor, so as to contravene any of the provisions of § 1 hereof, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £100 for each offence, and, in default of payment, to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months.

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3. The persons registered as hereinafter provided are hereby constituted and incorporated into one body corporate, by name of The Transvaal Society of Accountants," with perpetual succession, and the right to use a common seal, and to sue and be sued in its corporate capacity, and the said body shall be capable in law of taking and holding any real or personal property for the benefit and purposes of the Society, with power to dispose thereof, but so that the Society shall apply its profits or other income in promoting the objects of the Society, and shall not at any time. pay any dividend to its members.

4. Upon the passing of this Ordinance there shall come into existence a Provisional Council, consisting of the following persons, namely:-Alexander Aiken, Robert Baikie, James Alexander Boyd, John Gordon Carter, John Dougall, Frederick Richard Lynch, John Hastings Muir, Howard Pim, Frank Raleigh, Charles Stuart, Samuel Thomson, Thomas Watson-who shall be the first members of the Transvaal Society of Accountants, and shall forthwith cause their names to be entered upon the register thereof. The Provisional Council shall, subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, exercise all the powers of the Society until the Council hereinafter mentioned shall come into office, and shall fill any casual vacancies in their number, subject to the approval of the LieutenantGovernor.

5. Upon a day to be fixed by the Lieutenant-Governor, but not later than one month from the passing of this Ordinance, the Provisional Council shall meet at Johannesburg, and shall at such meeting elect a Chairman.

In the absence of the Chairman at any meeting, the members of the Provisional Council present shall elect one of their number to preside.

At any meeting of the Provisional Council five members personally present shall constitute a quorum, and a majority of the members present shall decide every question to be decided by such meeting, except admission to the register, which shall require a majority of the whole Council, and twenty-one days' notice shall be given of all meetings at which the admission of members is to be dealt with.

Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, the Provisional Council are hereby empowered to regulate the proceedings at their meetings, and the mode of carrying on the business of the Society, and shall remain in office until six months from the date of passing of this Ordinance.

The Provisional Council shall have power to appoint a clerk or registrar, and such other officers as they may deem necessary for the purposes of this Society.

6. The Provisional Council shall open a register in which every person shall be entitled to be registered as a public accountant in pursuance of this Ordinance who proves to the satisfaction of the Provisional Council, within six months next after the passing he was resident in the Transvaal, and (a) was a member of the of this Ordinance, that at the date of the passing of this Ordinance Transvaal Branch of the Society of Accountants and Auditors of England, or the Society of Accountants in Edinburgh (incorporated by Royal Charter, 1854), or the Institute of Accountants and Actuaries in Glasgow (incorporated by Royal Charter, 1855), or the Society of Accountants in Aberdeen (incorporated by Royal Charter, 1867), or the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (incorporated by Royal Charter, 1880), or the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (incorporated by Royal Charter, 1888), or the Society of Accountants and Auditors, England (incorporated 1885); or (b) was publicly and bona fide practising as a public accountant in the Transvaal at the date of the passing of this Ordinance; or (c) shall make written application to be placed on the register, and shall be considered by a majority of the Provisional Council a fit person to be admitted to the register, by virtue of his position and past experience.

7. Upon the expiration of six months from the date of the passing of this Ordinance no person shall be entitled to be registered as a public accountant, unless he shall prove to the satisfaction of the Council hereinafter mentioned that at the date upon which his application for registration is made he is resident in the Transvaal, and (a) is a member of any Society or Institute of Accountants, whose membership is declared to be sufficient by the bye-laws of the Society for the time being in force, or (b) shall have produced a certificate from the Council that he has passed the examinations from time to time prescribed by the bye-laws, and shall have satisfied the Council that he has had such practical experience in the business of a public accountant as under the bye-laws of the Society renders him admissible for registration.

8. On such day during the currency of the sixth month next after the date of the passing of this Ordinance as the Provisional Council shall appoint, the Provisional Council shall convene a meeting in Johannesburg of all persons whose names appear upon the register, at the date on which the notices convening such meeting are issued, and at such meeting the persons present shall proceed

to elect, in manner to be provided by the Provisional Council, a Council of twelve members, which shall come into office upon the expiration of six months from the date of the passing of this Ordinance, and thereupon the Provisional Council shall cease to exist. This Council shall hold office until the date of the annual general meeting following, upon which date the members of the Council shall retire from office, but shall be eligible for re-election.

9. No person shall be placed upon the register until he has paid such registration fees as shall be fixed by the Provisional Council or Council as the case may be.

10. The following act and practices, whether of commission or omission upon the part of any public accountant or auditor, shall be offences under the provisions of this Ordinance, and if found guilty by the Supreme Court of having committed or engaged in any one or more of such acts or practices, the said public accountant or auditor shall be liable to be suspended from practice for any period that may be decided on by the said Court, or to have his name removed from the register as hereinafter provided:

(a) allowing any person, not being a member of the Society, or in partnership with himself as a public accountant, to practise in his name as a public accountant;

(b) directly or indirectly allowing a solicitor, broker, auctioneer, or other principal or agent, not being his partner, to participate in the profits of his profession, or directly or indirectly accepting any share of the profits from the professional work of a solicitor, broker, auctioneer, or other principal or agent, not being his partner, or any commission or bonus thereon; provided that nothing in this Ordinance shall be construed to prevent a registered public accountant from carrying on any other business in addition to that of accountancy;

(c) signing accounts, statements, reports or other documents, purporting to represent any accountancy work performed by himself, which work shall not have been carried on under his personal supervision or direction;

(d) directly or indirectly paying any person a commission for bringing him work, giving any person monetary or other consideration as a remuneration for bringing him work, or inducing other persons to give him work;

(e) improperly obtaining or attempting to obtain work;
(f) performing any accountancy work in connection with

any matter which is the subject of dispute or litiga-
tion, upon condition that only in the event of the said
dispute or litigation ending favourably for the party
for whom the work is performed shall payment be
made for such work;

(g) conducting himself dishonourably in connection with any work performed by him as a public accountant or auditor;

(h) wilfully refusing or neglecting to carry out and perform any bye-law or order, lawfully adopted and established by the Society, regarding any point of professional practice;

(i) engaging in any practices or performing any acts similar to those practices and acts prohibited in the aforegoing sub-sections.

11. For the purpose of enquiring into and exercising control over the conduct and behaviour of the members of the Society, the Council in meeting assembled shall be empowered to summon members of the Society and others as witnesses to appear before it; to hear and take evidence, and to order the production of any books, documents and papers in the possession of such members. All evidence so taken shall be recorded in writing, and the chairman of the meeting aforesaid shall be empowered to administer oaths to the witnesses called to give evidence before the Council at such proceedings. Any member of the Society whose conduct is being enquired into shall be cited to appear before the Council to answer to any charge made, or to defend himself against any proceedings taken against him, and shall be entitled to produce evidence and call witnesses on his behalf.

12. In the event of any member of the Society being in the opinion of the Council guilty of any act of omission prohibited by this Ordinance or offending against any bye-law or regulation framed thereunder, the Council may call upon such member to show cause to the Supreme Court of this Colony why he should not be prohibited from practising as a public accountant, and why his name should not be removed from the register. All such proceedings shall be taken in the name of the Council of the Society. Upon the hearing of any such matter the Court may suspend such member from practice, either permanently or temporarily, and

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