Close Corporations Act, 1984 (Act No. 69 of 1984) > Part VII : Accounting and Disclosure > 60. Qualifications of accounting officers

(1)	No person shall be appointed as or hold the office of an accounting officer of a corporation, unless he is a member of a recognised profession which—

(a)	as a condition for membership, requires its members to have passed examinations in accounting and related fields of study which in the opinion of the Minister would qualify such members to perform the duties of an accounting officer under this Act;

(b)	has the power to exclude from membership those persons found guilty of negligence in the performance of their duties or of conduct which is discreditable to their profession; and

(c)	has been named in a notice referred to in subsection (2).

(2)	The Minister may from time to time publish by notice in the Gazette the names of those professions whose members are qualified to perform the duties of an accounting officer in terms of this Act.

(3)	A member or employee of a corporation, and a firm whose partner or employee is a member or employee of a corporation, shall not qualify for appointment as an accounting officer of such corporation unless all the members consent in writing to such appointment.

(4)

(a)	A corporation may appoint as its accounting officer—

(i)	any person who is a member of a recognised profession listed in a notice referred to in subsection (2);

(ii)	a firm as defined in section 1 of the Public Accountants’ and Auditors’ Act, 1991 (Act No. 80 of 1991);

(iii)

any other firm, if each partner in the firm is qualified to be so appointed; or

(iv)	any other corporation, if each member of such corporation is qualified to be so appointed.

(b)

The liability of a partner in respect of debts and liabilities incurred by a firm contemplated in paragraph (a)(iii) during the partner’s period as a partner and the liability of a member in respect of debts and liabilities incurred by a corporation contemplated in paragraph (a)(iv) during the member’s period as a member may not be excluded by operation of law or in any other way.

(c)	For the purposes of paragraph (b), "debts and liabilities incurred" means debts and liabilities incurred by the firm or corporation, as the case may be, in connection with the performance by the firm or corporation, as the case may be, of its duties in terms of section 62.