Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA)

SOCPA plays an important and prominent role in the permanent and ongoing organization of the accounting and auditing profession and sets standards to judge its performance. It also develops professional standards and adopts accounting and auditing standards in order to comply with recognized international standards in the accounting and auditing profession. It plays an important role in training and qualifying accountants and auditors, sets tests for them to measure practical performance, and gives them a certificate to practice the profession. If you want to learn more about this body, follow the lines of this article with us.

SOCPA: Electronic Services

SOCPA provides many electronic services in order to facilitate the provision of services for accountants and auditors. We mention these services as follows:

Service for reviewing approved updates in accounting and auditing standards

• This service allows all accountants registered with the authority to periodically view all updates that have been approved, whether to local or international accounting standards.
• According to the agreement concluded between SOCPA and accredited international bodies, accountants are not entitled to see updates unless they reside within Saudi territory.
• There are no fees to pay to benefit from the service, and you can directly access the official SOCPA website by clicking on this link and reading the updates regarding accounting and auditing standards.

Electronic verification service for the validity of the certificate

• You can verify any certificate issued by the authority in this service with easy and convenient procedures.
• This service is provided without fees and requires writing the certificate holder’s ID number and the fellowship number, or the last six digits of the professional certificate.
• Go to the authority’s official website and choose the certificate you want to verify, then click on “View Results” and wait until verification is completed.

The service of obtaining a basic, non-practicing membership

• SOCPA grants basic non-practicing membership to those who have passed the fellowship exams of the Saudi General Organization of Accountants and Auditors and applied for a basic non-practicing membership.
• The costs of this service are one thousand Saudi riyals, and the service requirements are to obtain a professional fellowship in accounting and auditing and hold a certificate from the authority proving this.
• The application is made to obtain the service from the website, the certificate document is uploaded through the attachments, and finally, the fees are paid and waiting for the service representatives to review the application and issue a basic non-practicing membership.

The service of obtaining a basic practitioner membership

• You can obtain a basic practicing membership after the accountant requests registration and a license to practice the profession. Thus, the member is promoted from a basic non-practicing member to a basic practicing member.
• The requirements for obtaining this service are that the member obtain a fellowship from SOCPA, obtain a license to practice the profession, and pay a prescribed fee of ten thousand Saudi riyals.
• He is required to have Saudi nationality, to have obtained a university degree in the field of accounting and auditing, to have full capacity, not to have been sentenced to enforceable imprisonment or to have served a previous imprisonment sentence, and to have a certificate of good behavior.
• After completing all procedures, the period for converting a member from a non-practicing basic member to a practicing basic member is within a maximum period of fifteen days. If this is delayed, please make an escalation request through the authority’s email, which is Members@socpa.org.sa.

Get professional service.

• An accountant can obtain these services to provide professional services such as zakat and tax accounting.
• An accountant who wishes to obtain a professional license is required to pay fees estimated at seven thousand Saudi riyals annually. Fees are calculated from the beginning of the fiscal year, regardless of the beginning of subscription payment or the beginning of registration.
• To apply for the service, go to the authority’s official website, fill out the data form, pay the fees, and wait until the application is reviewed and we respond to you as soon as possible.

A service that displays a comprehensive statement of all accounting and auditing offices and the names of those licensed to practice the profession

• This service allows anyone who wishes to obtain a statement of accounting offices and the names of accountants and auditors permitted to practice the activity to do so.
• This service is useful in verifying whether the office or accountant you are dealing with has obtained a license to practice the profession or not.
• You can obtain the service directly without paying any fees or through the official website of SOCPA.

SOCPA: Membership Directory

After displaying the electronic services available on the official SOCPA website, we now discuss the nature of memberships, the features and conditions of each membership, and some other details, as follows:

Basic membership

First: a basic practicing member

• SOCPA offers great benefits to basic membership holders of practitioners, as they receive a 20% discount on all training courses held by the Authority and obtain the Authority’s magazine for free and all periodical books and electronic bulletins. Those who paid the subscriptions on time have the right to attend the General Assembly meetings, the right to run in the elections held by the Authority, and the right the right to join the Authority’s Board of Directors.
• The Authority has contracted with many companies that sell goods, and the member receives discounts from those companies on purchase vouchers. There is also what is called the Mazaya Program, which is a program dedicated to members obtaining discounts and exclusive offers.

Second: A non-practicing core member

• He is required to have a professional fellowship from the Saudi Organization for Accountants, has paid subscriptions on time, and has the same benefits as a basic practicing member in obtaining a 20% discount by attending all training provided by the Authority, obtaining printed books and periodicals, and participating in the Mazaya program.
• It is required to adhere to the professional work charter and the profession’s controls, which are summarized in adherence to controls and standards, not tampering with accounts, complete confidentiality, not divulging clients’ secrets, and complete adherence to the duties and regulations governing the profession.

Affiliate membership (professional registration)

• Anyone who wants to apply for associate membership is accepted if he holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting or an intermediate diploma in accounting, with no less than two academic years, or colleges of administrative sciences, provided that he has obtained a number of accredited hours in the field of accounting, with no less than 15 hours of training. 
• Associate membership accepts non-Saudis on the condition of submitting the original of a valid passport, submitting the original of the academic certificate obtained, and paying the subscriptions.
• The associate membership does not have the right to participate in the authority’s Board of Directors elections, but it obtains the rest of the benefits of basic practicing and non-practicing memberships.
• The associate member pays an annual subscription fee estimated at five hundred Saudi riyals. He also pays five hundred Saudi riyals as a fee for verifying the academic certificates obtained by the associate member.

Student membership

• SOCPA offers free membership to students, and the student must have Saudi citizenship, be in the education stages, either in the College of Commerce, Accounting Division, or an intermediate diploma, specializing in accounting, and be in colleges and institutes that give certificates recognized within the Commission.
• A copy of proof of the student’s enrollment in the school or university and the academic record, which is the student’s transcript, are submitted along with a recent colored personal photo.
• Student membership enjoys many advantages, the most important of which is that the student receives a 50% discount on all training courses, a 50% discount on the preparation course for professional and academic fellowship exams, a 50% discount on the value-added tax training program, and he has the right to attend all seminars and professional meetings.

SOCPA Professional Standards

SOCPA provides access to all professional standards for accounting and auditing, which we mention below:

• View the accreditation document for applying international accounting standards within the Kingdom.
• Access to international accounting standards adopted in global systems.
• Updates based on accounting standards, electronic applications, and programs used.
• All opinions and local technical standards.
• All technical updates and accounting methods in non-profit facilities.
• Archiving all local and international standards, their development, and standards that are no longer compatible with global accounting systems.
• International quality standards and a document accrediting international standards and their application within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Local and international auditing standards and the latest updates to auditing standards and internal auditing methods using electronic programs and applications.
• A comprehensive guide to the review items for small and medium enterprises, with the updates made to those items.
• The standards guide on the official SOCPA website also presents standards for inquiries under study and the most important developments in professional standards in the field of accounting and auditing.

Conclusion

Through the above, we learned about the most important electronic services provided by SOCPA within the Kingdom. A detailed presentation of the membership guide, its terms and requirements, and finally, the professional standards provided by the Authority related to accounting, auditing, and developments were presented. We hope that we have succeeded in presenting this.

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