Online Webinars
Accreditation Rules for
Online Webinars.
The Accreditation Rules below applicable for online courses shall complement the current accreditation rules applicable for face-to-face courses. These rules have been introduced in light of the measures brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Such rules have been approved by the Accountancy Board on 3 April 2020 and updated on 14 January 2021. Such update is effective retrospectively for events taking place as from 1 January 2021. These rules will continue to apply till the COVID-19 stipulated measures will cease to apply. The Accountancy Board reserves the right to revise these rules. Accreditation requests for online courses submitted during this period will fall under these rules.
Accreditation of CPE activities is a duty which has been delegated by the Accountancy Board to the Malta Institute of Accountants, as the approved accountancy body under Directive 1 issued in terms of the Accountancy Profession Act and the Accountancy Profession Regulations, for this purpose.
‘AAB’ refers to the approved accountancy body, hence the Malta Institute of Accountants.
Applicability of
These Rules.
The AAB accredits Live webinars, only if they:
- Are to be transmitted ‘live’;
- Allow for interaction between learner and presenter;
- Allow participants to hear the presenter and see the presenter and/or the presentation;
- Provide opportunities for all participants to raise questions; and
- Provide a means for course providers to verify participants’ attendance throughout the entire duration of the event e.g. log-in and log-out confirmation.
Recorded live webinars made available after the webinar has taken place cannot be claimed as being accredited. The Accreditation shall apply only for the live webinar session for which accreditation is sought. Accreditation of other forms of online learning may be considered by the AAB in due course.
The Accreditation
Process.
A course provider shall seek accreditation from the AAB by filling in the CPE Accreditation Request Form and sending it by e-mail to accreditations@miamalta.org, at least three weeks prior to the event. The following information needs to be provided:
(a) The nature of the course;
(b) The final course programme of the event including: Date, time, detailed agenda including timings related to registration, breaks and lecturing time and a short summary of each session;
(c) A profile of the speaker/s (qualifications) and a summarised curriculum vitae.
The AAB shall reserve the right to request further information.
Besides the above, course providers who will be accrediting any of their courses through the AAB for the first time shall be requested to fill in the following form.
The accreditation process begins upon submission of the CPE Accreditation Request Form. The AAB reviews the course to ensure it meets the relevance criteria under the MIA CPE Regulations/AB CPE Scheme, then issues an invoice. Payment must be made in advance to MIA Professional Limited before accreditation is granted.
The AAB will confirm accreditation via email, including the accredited CPE hours, competency area, and event reference number. Course providers will receive a standard Declaration of Proof of Attendance to issue to participants after the event, replacing the previous certificate of attendance. Declarations must include the participant’s details and reflect actual attendance, up to the maximum accredited hours. Providers may issue reduced CPE hours if a participant arrives late or leaves early, with declarations sent by email.
On the Friday before the event, the AAB shall upload the event’s details on the AAB’s website. The AAB shall reserve the right to appoint a representative to attend, at no charge, events that it has accredited to ensure that pertinent rules and procedures are being followed at all times.
After the event, the course provider shall fill the Accredited Event Review Form, and return it to the AAB within ten working days from the date of the event.
Cancellation of an
Accredited Event.
Should the course provider for any other reason opt to reschedule an event, the AAB shall be immediately notified by e-mail. Once agreed, the rescheduled event’s date shall also be communicated in the same manner.
Should the course provider for any other reason cancel the event, the AAB shall immediately be notified by e-mail.
Repetition of an
Accredited Event.
Should the course provider opt to repeat an accredited event, an e-mail with the required information listed in the Accreditation Process section of these Rules shall be sent to the AAB for review and confirmation of accreditation.
The Use of
‘Accreditation’ Term.
Terms related to the accreditation of CPE hours should not be issued on any promotional material prior to the accreditation being granted by the AAB.
Once the accreditation is granted, the course provider can make use of the following statement when promoting the event “This event has been accredited with X hours of structured CPE qualifying under Core / Professional Development competency as per the Accountancy Board Accreditation Rules.”
The terms “Accountancy Board”, “AAB”, “Accredited”, “Accreditation”, or variants thereof shall not be used for events not accredited by the AAB in accordance with these Rules.
Accreditation Fees.
A cost recovery accreditation fee applies depending on the nature of the event covering:
(a) The assessment and review of the course material;
(b) The issuance of the accreditation email communicating the qualifying CPE hours and the relevant competency;
(c) The declaration confirming proof of attendance that is to be sent out to the participants;
(d) The upload of the event’s details on the AAB’s website.
| Nature of Event | Fee |
|---|---|
| One-time SessionRepeat session taking place within the same calendar year | €150 + VAT€60 + VAT |
| Multi-session event, attendance to all sessions is compulsoryRepeat session taking place within the same calendar year | €150 + VAT€60 + VAT |
| Multi-session event with sessions that may be attended separatelyRepeat session taking place within the same calendar year | First session €150 + VAT, remaining sessions €60 + VAT€60 + VAT per session |
| Requests to amend the date (within the same calendar year), time, or speaker details received after the Friday before the event | €20 + VAT |
The accreditation fee charged for a repeated event taking place in the same calendar year covers (b) – (d) above.
The invoice amount shall remain due once the accreditation process has been initiated. Settled accreditation fees are non-refundable.
Transitional
Arrangements.
Course providers with AAB-accredited face-to-face courses postponed or converted to live webinars due to COVID-19 may transfer their accreditation, provided that:
- There were no changes in the programme; and
- The live webinar meets the requirements listed under section “Applicability of these Rules”.
The AAB will handle this at no additional cost.
Obligations of the
Course Provider.
Under these rules, the course provider shall be obliged to:
- Submit the required information within the stipulated deadline;
- Settle the accreditation fee in a timely manner;
- Issue the declaration confirming proof of attendance (provided by the AAB) to participants;
- Submit the Accredited Event Review Form by the deadline;
- Inform the AAB in case of postponement and cancellation of an accredited event; and
- Promote the event as accredited after accreditation is granted.
Purposes of
Processing.
The data collected in the New Customer Form will be used by the finance department to open up the relevant account in the system.
The data collected in the CPE Accreditation Request Form will be used by the persons responsible for the accreditation process in order to process the accreditation request.
The data collected from the Accredited Review Form will be used by the persons in charge of cpe monitoring for CPE monitoring purposes and compliance tracking.
Third Party
Data.
Where you provide us with personally identifiable information relating to other people, you shall be solely responsible for making sure that the provision of such data by you to the AAB fully complies with applicable data protection law and the relevant person in regard to whom the data relates has been provided with the necessary information at law regarding the AAB’s processing of his personal data and where necessary you will obtain their consent to our use of their information.
Any information notices, consents or other applicable requirements that may be required to be fulfilled for the provision of third party data to us shall be borne solely by you and you hereby fully indemnify the AAB and shall render the AAB completely harmless against all costs, damages or liability of whatsoever nature resulting from any claims or litigation (instituted or threatened) by any third party against the AAB as a result of the provision of any third party personal data by you to the AAB.