Under the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council Ordinance (Cap. 588), only a certified public accountant (practising) (CPA (practising)), a CPA firm or a corporate practice registered with the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (AFRC) can hold an appointment or render a service, whether paid or unpaid, as an auditor of a company under the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622) or accounts for the purposes of any other Ordinance.

The register of CPA firms and corporate practices is published by the AFRC for the purpose of enabling the public to ascertain whether they are dealing with a CPA firm or corporate practice registered with the AFRC, and to ascertain their particulars. Any personal data or other data contained in the register of CPA firms and corporate practices must not be used for any non-directly related purposes. It is a criminal offence under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486) to use the personal data in the register of CPA firms and corporate practices for direct marketing without the data subjects' consent.

Whilst the AFRC has taken all reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of the entries, it accepts no responsibility for any errors or omissions in the register of CPA firms and corporate practices.