Aptitude Test

Enrolment period  

Examination dates

Hong Kong Law

5 Jun 2024 (Wed)

(9:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.)

Hong Kong Taxation

5 Jun 2024 (Wed)

(2:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.)

27 Aug 2024

Under section 24(1) of the Professional Accountants Ordinance, a person shall be qualified to be registered as a certified public accountant if he/she proves to the satisfaction of the Council of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants ("the Institute") that he/she has passed such examinations in accountancy and other subjects as may be prescribed by the Council.

2.    The candidate

2.1

The following persons are eligible to sit the AT:

2.1.1

Students or graduates (who have completed the professional examinations) of an accepted accountancy institute as listed below:

• CPA Australia ("CPAA") 
  [CPAA members who are applying for HKICPA membership under the New Mutual Recognition Agreement and sit the Capstone of the new QP are required to sit and pass the AT on Hong Kong Taxation.]#
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe

2.1.2

Full members in good standing of the following institutes who have completed the professional examinations organized by their parent institutes and are required to satisfy the HKICPA AT requirement for membership admission purpose:

• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants ("CIMA")
  [CIMA members who are applying for HKICPA membership under the MEPE Agreement between HKICPA and CIMA are required to sit and pass the AT on Hong Kong Law.]#
• CPA Australia
  [CPAA members who are applying for HKICPA membership under the New Mutual Recognition Agreement and sit the Capstone of the new QP are required to sit and pass the AT on Hong Kong Taxation.]#
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe 

• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
• CPA Australia

Applicants are required to submit the preliminary assessment result email issued by the Membership and Admission Department together with the Entry Form and other supporting documents when applying to sit the AT.

2.1.3

QP-graduate members with overseas accountancy degree who wish to apply for a Practising Certificate ("PC"):
Note: QP-graduate members with overseas accountancy degree are required to sit and pass the AT on Hong Kong Law.  This requirement is applicable to those who register as QP students on or after 1 January 2008.

2.2

Acceptance of an entry to the AT from an applicant does not imply that the applicant is qualified for HKICPA membership and/or issuance of a PC, where applicable.  HKICPA membership applicants/PC applicants must satisfy the examination and other admission/issuance requirements prevailing at the time of the HKICPA Registration and Practising Committee’s/ the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (AFRC)’s consideration of their relevant applications.  Please visit the homepages of HKICPA and AFRC for the latest membership and PC issuance requirements respectively.

3.    The examination

• Hong Kong Law
• Hong Kong Taxation

Candidates may choose to sit the two papers OR just one paper at each sitting.  The Council rules that subject-by-subject passes are allowed and that there is no time limit restricting the validity of such passes.

For individuals who have sat and passed the relevant paper(s) in the HKICPA PC Examinations, HKICPA accredited accountancy programmes offered by tertiary institutions, Hong Kong Institute of Accredited Accounting Technicians (formerly known as Hong Kong Association of Accounting Technicians) Examinations and/or HKICPA professional examinations as listed in above Appendix - "other options to satisfy the Aptitude Test requirement", they may transfer their examination results acquired from the examinations/programmes to meet the AT requirement.

The examination for each AT paper, comprising multiple-choice questions and totalling 100 marks, will last for 1 hour 45 minutes in a close-book format.

In a close-book examination, candidates are NOT permitted to take to your desk, or use or possess while at your desk, any books, notes or other materials.

You are permitted to use only noiseless, cordless and non-programmable calculators, provided that the calculators must not be equipped with communication function.  Computers and electronic dictionaries of any size or models are not allowed.

Candidates should carefully read the Examination Regulations in the Examination Attendance Docket prior to sitting the examinations.  Failure to follow any of these regulations may result in marks penalty or even disqualification from the entire examination.  All violations of the examination regulations will be duly considered by the Qualification and Examinations Board.  Effective from December 2014, for candidates who have violated any minor and straightforward examination regulation for the first time, their answer sheet will be marked and processed as normal.  However, a letter will be sent to warn the offenders that the incident will be recorded in their candidate files and any repeated offences in future would attract penal actions including marks penalty.  For candidates who have violated the same examination regulation for the second time, two marks will be deducted from the candidates' results of the relevant paper.  For candidates who have violated the same examination regulation for the third time or more, a stricter penalty of five marks deduction will apply.

NO overseas examination centre is provided.  Candidates are required to take the AT in Hong Kong.  Candidates should refer to the Examination Attendance Docket issued by the HKEAA for the assigned examination venue.

If weather conditions are doubtful (such as the possible hoisting of Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or the issue of the Red / Black Rainstorm Signal), candidates should pay attention to the radio / television broadcast, or view the HKEAA / HKICPA website for the examination schedules before they leave for the examination centre.  For more details on the bad weather arrangements, please refer to the information leaflet (to be provided in May 2024) which will also be posted to candidates together with their Dockets.

Candidates can download the sample questions from this webpage.  The sample questions are provided to help candidates familiarize themselves with the possible types and style of questions which they may see in the examination.  The best answers may no longer be valid with the prevailing rules and regulations.

Candidates will be graded as "Pass", "Fail" or "Absent".

Candidates who scored 50 percent marks or above would be graded "Pass".

Examination results will be available online on the result release date mentioned above for three months.  Notification email will be sent to candidates when the result slips have been issued.  Candidates can follow the user guide provided in the notification email and login to their account to access their examination results and download a digital copy of the result slip.

Candidate may request ONE physical copy of the result slip for free by submitting online application within two months from the result release date.  Candidates can follow the instructions specified in the notification email to submit application.

An administration fee of HK$200 per copy is required for (i) additional copies; (ii) requests made after the two-month period; or (iii) result slip of previous sessions.  Candidates if wish to apply physical copy of the result slip after two months from the result release date, please email to examadmin@hkicpa.org.hk for assistance.

Fee(s) paid are non-refundable, non-transferable, and cannot be deferred.

8.    Change of correspondence address

Your contact details as provided through the online application process for the AT will be used solely for examination-related purposes (confirmation of enrolment and release of examination results).

Any change in contact details or correspondence address for the purpose of the AT after submission of the online application should be notified to the Institute in WRITING by email: atpce@hkicpa.org.hk.