The Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA) will sign up an American firm next month to check the education qualifications of expatriates seeking accreditation to practice in the Kingdom.

Abdullah Ahmad Al-Maghmaas, secretary general of the SOCPA, said the organization does not have the resources to carry out these background checks.

There are many foreigners now seeking accreditation as accountants, particularly after they were allowed to change professions, he said.

About 653 accountants are about to write the SOCPA examination to become certified accountants including 147 Saudi women from Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Madinah, Makkah, Qassim and Abha.

Those who want to practice in Saudi Arabia must have SOCPA membership, Al-Maghmaas pointed out. Five thousand people are currently members of the organization, including three women who received licenses to set up accountancy firms.

To gain membership of the SOCPA, a person must write an examination in five subjects including accounting, Zakat and taxes, and commercial regulations.

An increasing number of applicants are keen to write the examination, said Al-Maghmaas.

According to its website, the SOCPA is a professional organization that operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Commerce “to promote the accounting and auditing profession.”

The SOCPA is mandated to review, develop and approve accounting and auditing standards, establish rules for fellowship certificate examinations provided such rules cover the professional, practical, theoretical aspects of the audit profession.

It should also organize courses of continuous education, conduct special research and studies covering accounting, auditing and other allied subjects, and publish periodicals, books and bulletins covering these subjects.

It should also establish an appropriate quality review program “to ensure that certified public accountants comply with accounting and auditing standards and the provisions of these regulations.”