Internal Bylaws

 

Training Institute Bylaws

 

 

Article 1: Foundation and name of the institute

The Lebanese Association of Certified Public Accountants (LACPA) shall found an institute for the basic and permanent training, development and qualification to practice the profession of accounting and auditing, bearing the name of: 


LACPA Training Institute

 

Article 2: Tasks of the institute

The institute shall undertake the following:

  1. Execute the curriculum of education and training decided by the LACPA Council.
  2. Prepare and train the intern experts to practice accounting and auditing.
  3. Prepare the interns to submit oral and written exams.
  4. Organize the obligatory and optional professional development and the continuous training for experts registered on the general list of LACPA.

 

Article 3: Membership of the Institute

  1. The membership to the institute shall be obligatory for:
    1. Interns registered before LACPA.
    2. Certified accountants registered on the general LACPA schedule regarding the mandatory training hours.
  2. Membership of the institute shall be optional for :
    1. Certified accountants registered on the general LACPA schedule wishing to pursue continuous education, training, and professional development. 
    2. Foreign certified accountants or auditors which the administration decides to admit, provided that such accountant or auditor is delegated by his/her association. 

 

The registration in the institute shall be within a period determined by the administration of the institute, provided that it does not exceed one month after the date of accepting the membership. 

 

The member must, in order to perform the registration, fill a personal form with a copy of the ID card or an individual extract of civil status which issued before a maximum period of three months and a copy of the membership card and two photo passports.

 

Article 4: Administration of the institute

The institute shall be administrated and supervised, by the following, according to the competence of each of them determined by virtue of the present regulations:

  • The administrative body of the institution
  • The Academic committee
  • The director of the institute

 

 

 

 

  1. The administrative body of the institute
    1. Composition of the administrative body

The administrative body of the institute shall be composed of the following

  • President of LACPA                                                    Chairman
  • Secretary of LACPA council                                        Member
  • Head of the academic research committee                     Member
  • Head of the training committee                          Member
  • A former president of LACPA                          Member

(To be chosen by the LACPA Council upon the proposition of the president)

  • Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business management at the Lebanese University
  • Dean of the School of Law at the Lebanese University

The term of the body shall be linked to the term of the LACPA council and shall be considered dissolved with the end of its term, provided that it pursues its activities until the formation of a new administrative body.

  1. Powers of the administrative body:

The administrative body shall exercise the following powers:

  • Establish the general policy of the institute
  • Set the plans relevant to organizing the affairs of the institute and supervise the execution
  • Propose subjects of teaching and training and adopt the appropriate evaluation methods for members upon consulting the director of the institute and the academic committee.
  • Establish an inclusive annual budget for submittal to the council of LACPA.
  • Propose the approval of revenues and donations.
  • Propose the fees of membership
  • Determine fees and remunerations to be paid for teaching, training or providing any teaching services within the institute.
  • Conclude agreements and contracts of cooperation with similar training and teaching institutes in Lebanon and foreign and Arab countries.
  • Accept membership applications from Lebanon and abroad according to the conditions determined by the body.
  • Refer to the competent committees provided for in the LACPA bylaws.
  • Supervise training sessions, workshops, and field visits for the relevant facilities and institutions.

The administrative bodies shall submit all propositions bearing a financial aspect to the LACPA council who shall be competent to take the adequate decisions in this regard.  

  1. Meetings, decisions and voting
  1. The body shall hold its meetings once per month at least upon the convening of the LACPA president who shall determine the agenda of the meeting.
  2. The sessions shall be chaired by LACPA president who shall delegate, in the event of his absence, the secretary of the LACPA council or the former LACPA president which he/she designated as a member in the body.
  3. The meetings and resolutions of the body shall be valid with the presence of the absolute majority of its members and its resolutions shall be taken with the same majority, and in the event of equal votes the president shall have a casting vote.
  1. The Academic committee of the institute:
    1. Composition of the academic committee:

The academic committee shall be composed of the following:

  • President of LACPA or representative thereof   Chairman
  • Director of the institute                                      Member
  • Head of the academic research committee                     Member
  • Head of the training committee                          Member
  • Three experts having the professional and academic competence to be chosen by the LACPA council, pursuant to the proposition of the administrative body of the institute, from amongst the holders of certificates, as provided for in the article 8 of the law organizing the profession of Certified Accountants in Lebanon no. 364 on the date of 01/08/1994 or amongst academic teachers in the accounting and auditing sciences.
  • Powers and tasks of the academic committee:
    • Propose the general program for professional teaching, training and development and propose any subsequent modifications which the committee would deem useful.
    • Follow-up on the academic status of the applicants, guide and assist them to select the subjects of their researches and their workshops, and set them according to the methodological forms and bases of academic research.
    • Propose the appropriate frameworks to monitor the discipline of the members and their assiduity of the institute programs and their workshops, and the method for evaluating their activity.

 

The propositions and recommendations of the academic committee shall referred to the administrative body of the institute to discuss and approve them, and the proposed general program for education and teaching shall be referred to the LACPA council for approval.

 

  1. Meetings, decisions and voting
  1. The body shall hold its periodical meetings upon the convening of the LACPA.
  2. The meetings of the body shall be valid with the presence of the absolute majority of its members and its resolutions shall be taken with the same majority, and in the event of equal votes the president shall have a casting vote.

 

  1. Director of the institute:

The director of the institute shall be designated by virtue of a resolution issued by the LACPA council, and he/she must be a certified public accountant, and hold at least the high diplomas provided for in article 8 the law organizing the profession of Certified Accountants in Lebanon and having an academic experience.

 

The director of the institution shall be charged of the following tasks and powers:

  • Follow up on the daily affairs of the institutions.
  • Execute the decisions of the administrative body and the academic committee of the institute.
  • Submit the necessary suggestions to the administrative body and/or the academic committee of the institute, especially concerning the curriculum and the workshops, as well as the professional and academic activities.
  • Represent the institute before any academic party or body pursuant to a mandate issued by the administrative body.
  • Submit reports to the administrative body and the academic committee of the institute regarding the well-functioning and studies within the institute.
  • Perform any other tasks charged by the administrative body of the institute.
  • Charge lecturers to teach within the institute according to the conditions provided for within the present, and coordinate the work between them, upon consulting the academic committee.
  • Perform a daily detailed supervision and follow-up for the normal functioning of the courses, workshops, seminars and other executional activities and coordinate between them, as per the quantity and timing.
  • Confirm the participation, presence, and follow-up of the interns, certified accountants and members in the activities, sessions, and workshops according to the general framework established by the administrative body of the institute.
  • Notify the LACPA president of any sustainable defect which is susceptible of hampering or impairing the normal functioning of the work within the institute.    

 

Article 5: Conflict of powers

Any conflict which may occur between any of the three bodies mentioned in the above article 4 as per the conferred powers and/or conflict of resolution issued by it shall be definitely decided by the LACPA council.

 

Article 6: Duration of study

  1. The subjects of study shall be partitioned on the three years of internship.
  2. The administration of the institute shall determine the distribution of subjects as per each of the three years, and shall declare such on the billboard of the institute and LACPA and on the online journal.
  3. The courses shall be distributed in each of the three years on theoretical lectures and practical workshops.

The administration of the institute shall determine, upon agreement with the director of the institute, the number of theoretical lectures and the workshops in each year.

  1. The administration of the institute may, upon agreement with the director of the institute, distribute members into small groups which shall be declared on the billboard of the institute and LACPA and on the LACPA website.

 

Article 7: The teaching body at the institute

The Teaching body within the institute shall be formed as follows:

  • Certified accountants who have been registered for ten years in the general list of LACPA.
  • Certified accountants Holders of PhD in accounting and auditing, regardless of the duration of their registration in general list of LACPA.
  • Holders of postgraduate diplomas stated in article eight of the law organizing the profession of Certified Accountants in Lebanon.
  • Former magistrates or magistrates who have been in office for ten years at least.
  • Specialized academic law teachers.
  • Academic law teachers of economics and accounting.
  • Civil servants including auditors from the Council of Audit, controllers of the Ministry of Finance, and staff members from the Social Security, provided that they are of the third class at least, and had spent ten years at least in office.

 

Article 8: Obligatory presence

  1. Interns must attend all workshops and the two thirds of the lectures at least.
  2. The absence of the intern from lectures or any workshop shall delay its internship, unless such absence is justified and provided that such absence is compensated in a subsequent session.
  3. The absence of the practicing or non-practicing accountants hours from the obligatory training hours subjects them to the stipulations of the bylaws, especially article 12 thereof.

The administration of the institute shall have the discretion accept or reject the reason of absence.

 

Article 9: Attestation

The institute shall issue an attestation to the interns on the accomplishment of the specialized workshops and internship lectures, allowing them to take part in the exam. 

 

Article 10: Enforcing and amending the bylaws

The present bylaws shall be enforced starting the day it is posted on the billboard and website of LACPA, and the bylaws shall be amended by a decision issued by the LACPA council.