Thailand

TFAC is a statutory body established in accordance with The Accounting Professions Acts B.E. 2547 (2004) (“Act”), which was enacted on 23rd October 2004. TFAC is the center for accounting professions in Thailand. There are four types of membership of the TFAC namely:

1. Ordinary Member;
2. Extraordinary Member;
3. Associate Member; and
4. Honorable Member.

Ordinary Member

An Ordinary Member shall have the following qualifications and characteristics:

1. Being not younger than 20 years old
2. Having Thai nationality;
3. Having at least a bachelor’s degree in accountancy or holding a certificate in accountancy or other degrees equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in accountancy accredited by TFAC, or other degrees as prescribed by TFAC;
4. Not being a person of delinquent morals posing discredit to accounting professions as prescribed in the regulations of TFAC;
5. Never having been imprisoned by a final court judgment for an offence on delinquent morals posing discredit to accounting professions as prescribed in the regulations of TFAC; and
6. Not being incompetent or quasi-incompetent or having any disease as prescribed in the regulations of TFAC.

As an Ordinary Member, the member shall have the following rights and duties:

1. Presenting opinions in a general meeting;
2. Casting a vote in a general meeting;
3. Electing, being elected or being appointed as the committee member or to other positions relating to the activities of TFAC in accordance with this Act;
4. Paying membership dues and fees as prescribed in the regulations of TFAC;
5. Preserving the integrity of the accounting professions and complying with the provisions of this Act; and
6. Other rights and duties as prescribed by TFAC.

Ordinary members may request for an extraordinary meeting to be convened in accordance with the criteria and procedures prescribed in the regulations of TFAC. In such case, the Federation’s President shall summon an extraordinary meeting within thirty days after receiving a written request. There shall be not less than two hundred ordinary members to constitute a quorum at a general meeting.

Extraordinary Member and Associate Member

An extraordinary member and an associate member shall be a Thai national, have the qualifications and shall have no prohibited characteristics as prescribed in the regulations of TFAC.

The above provision shall not be applied to a person who is not a Thai national but who has a nationality of a country which permits Thai nationals to practice auditing, and who intends to apply for an extraordinary membership. Nevertheless such person shall have the qualifications and shall not have the prohibited characteristics as prescribed for Ordinary Member.

Extraordinary Members are those with at least a Bachelor’s Degree in other area e.g.

Business Administration, Commerce, Economics, or other degrees as prescribed by TFAC.

Associate Member is someone with education lower than a Bachelor’s Degree but higher than certificate in high-level vocational schooling (in accountancy) or diploma in accountancy or studying in undergraduate level in accountancy or related fields.

Honorary Member

An honorary member is a learned person invited to be a member by a resolution of the Committee of TFAC.

An extraordinary member, an associate member and an honorable member shall have the rights and duties in accordance with items (1), (4), (5) and (6) of the rights and duties of an ordinary member as stated above. As of December 2018, there were approximately total 82,650 individual registered as a member of TFAC and approximately 4,432 registered accounting and audit firms.

To become a Bookkeeper, a person must first apply to be a member of TFAC or register with TFAC. After becoming a TFAC member or registering with TFAC, the person can register with the DBD to be a bookkeeper. The DBD will verify whether or not the person has met the minimum requirements such as education.

In order to be a qualified public accountant in Thailand, the individual must be a member of TFAC and complete the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination as governed and conducted by the TFAC. The basic requirements are:

1. Having professional education (e.g. shall be university/higher education degree, post-graduate education etc). A member of TFAC must have related degree in accountancy (normally 4 years of study).
2. Passing 6 subjects within 4 years. Each subject passed remains valid for only 4 years if a CPA applicant has not yet passed the whole examinations;
3. Completing 3,000 hours of practical experience continually by 3 years and no later than 5 years as pre-qualifications before becoming the CPA.

The examinations are in Thai language.

For an individual to apply for a license of a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), the following qualifications and criteria have to be met:

1. Being an ordinary member or an extraordinary member of TFAC. In the case of an extraordinary member is a foreigner, the person shall be proficient in Thai (to be able to audit and to prepare a report in Thai) and shall have domicile in Thailand. After obtaining a license, the person shall obtain a work permit in accordance with the law on aliens’ work.
2. Having passed an examination, training, or apprentice or having practiced in accounting professions as prescribed by the regulations of TFAC;
3. Never having been imprisoned by a court’s judgment for offences under Section 269 and Section 3233, or offences related to property except offences on loss of property and trespassing under Criminal Code, offences under accounting law, auditing law, or corporate liability law as limited to offences relating to fault or untrue certification of financial statements, accounts or reports, or offences under Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 of the Act unless the individual has been released for not less than five years;
4. Not being a bankrupt; and
5. Minimum age of 20 years old.

The TFAC shall issue a license to the applicant not later than ninety days from the date of submission of the application (if the applicant is qualified). TFAC has the powers and duties to register and issue licenses to auditors, to suspend or revoke auditors’ licenses, to prescribe rules and procedures relating to the administration of auditor licenses, and to consult with the universities or other institutions relating to the curriculum for auditing profession. It is empowered to form sub-committees to do any business or any investigation within its powers.

The application, approval, and issuance of a license of a certified public accountant shall be in accordance with forms and criteria as prescribed in the regulations of the TFAC.

Both bookkeepers and auditors (both practicing and non-practicing) are required to obtain 12 hours per for bookkeepers and 40 hours per annum for auditors.

Individual

An individual is authorised to sign the audit report and providing audit opinion only if the individual is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or if has been authorised by the competent authority to do so.

Foreigners

There are several positions that foreigners cannot legally occupy when seeking employment in Thailand whether to work or be employed as Accountants. Foreigners are not permitted to practice accounting Thailand but can manage or act as heads of firms. Foreigners need to obtain a work permit in order to work at any company in Thailand and obtaining that work permit is subject to approval by the Labor Department of Thailand.

To form a Public Accountant firm

An accounting or auditing firm has to be registered with TFAC in accordance with Section 11 of the Act. The registration fee is 2,000 Baht per annum

The firm is allowed to use foreign firms names however approval from the DBD under the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999) is required.

All practitioners need to have their principal or place of residence in Thailand in order to practise in the country.

Currently, services provided by accountancy professionals are regulated by law relating to bookkeeping under the Accounting Act. B.E. 2543 (2000).

In Thailand, under the law, accountants are described as bookkeepers. A “Bookkeeper” is defined as “a person responsible for the bookkeeping of the person having the duty to keep accounts, whether it is undertaken in the capacity of an employee of the person having the duty to keep accounts.” Bookkeepers are regulated by Department of Business Development (DBD), Ministry of Commerce.

Accounting profession which includes profession in bookkeeping, auditing, managerial accounting, accounting system, tax accounting, accounting education and technology, or other accounting services prescribed by the ministerial regulations are regulated by the Accounting Professions Act B.E. 2547 (2004) (“Act”) and professionally self-regulated by the Federation of Accounting Professions (TFAC). Under the law, only a certified public accountant is allowed to apply for an auditor’s license from the TFAC.

However, under this Act, the Professional Accounting Supervisory Commission, authority, has been set up to supervise all activities of the TFAC according to the Act.

The Act stipulates the authority, role and objectives in the following areas:

1. The Federation of Accounting Professions;
2. Members of the Federation of Accounting Professions;
3. The Committee of the Federation of Accounting Professions;
4. The Committee on Accounting Standard-setting;
5. The Supervision of Auditing Professions;
6. The Supervision of Bookkeeping Professions;
7. The Code of Accounting Profession Ethics;
8. Oversight on accounting professions; and
9. Penalties.

Auditors involved in auditing certain organisations need specific clearance from those regulatory bodies as below:

1. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permits only CPA who passes its approval process to audit listed companies (under Securities and Exchange Act B.E.2535);
2. Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) monitors CPA works performed in the audit of insurance companies;
3. DBD supervises the filing of financial statements of juristic persons (under Accounting Act B.E. 2543);
4. Department of Cooperative Auditing, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives monitors CPA works performed in the audit of cooperatives (under Cooperative Societies Act of BE 2511 (1968))
5. Department of Revenue allows the auditing of financial statements of small entities performed by tax auditors; however CPA can perform those works as tax auditors (under the revenue Code); an
6. Bank of Thailand  supervises  financial  statements  of  the  financial  sector  (under Commercial Banking Act B.E. 2505).

Under the law, the bookkeeper must enter particulars in the accounts in the Thai language, or in a foreign language accompanied by the Thai language, or in accounting code provided the translation thereof in the Thai language.

1. 1. Mr. Winid Silamongkol (Chairman)
   2. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sillapaporn Srijunpetch (Member)
      
   3. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kriengkrai Boonlert-u-thai (Member)
   4. Miss Chutamanee Yodsaeng (Member)
   5. Mr. Anant Sirisaengtaksin (Member and Secretary)
      

The current contact person: Miss Sujitra Keeree
133 TFAC Building, Sukhumvit 21 Road (Asok),
Klong Toei Nua, Watthana, Bangkok 10110 Thailand
Tel: (66) 285-2500
Fax: (66) 285-2501
e-mail: foreign-affairs@TFAC.or.th