British qualified accountants are full voting members of United Kingdom examining bodies that evaluate individual experience and test competencies for accountants. Qualified accountants fall into two categories: members of Chartered and non-Chartered bodies.

CCAB-qualified accountants are full members of any of the six UK accountancy bodies formed by royal charter, which are themselves members of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies.

In addition, there are non-CCAB bodies whose members provide accountancy and related services.

The British Government's Department of Trade & Industry (DTI), implementing the Companies Act 1989, allows members of six bodies to act as auditor to a limited company. These are the member bodies of CCAB excluding CIMA, and the Association of International Accountants (AIA). In the European Union, under the EU mutual recognition directive, members of these six bodies may practise auditing in other EU member states, with absolute equal status.

Contents 1 CCAB-qualified accountants 2 Titles of British accountancy qualifications 3 British practising qualifications 4 References 5 External links

[edit] CCAB-qualified accountants

The Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (known as CCAB), formed in 1974, is an umbrella group for the major British qualified accountancy bodies. All six British and Irish professional accountancy bodies with a Royal Charter are members of the CCAB. These six are also the British professional bodies that belong to the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). They are:

• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
• Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI)
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS)

All full members of these bodies are deemed to hold equivalent-level qualifications. Many job advertisements for accountants in the United Kingdom therefore specify CCAB qualified as though it was a specific qualification rather than a group of qualifications. In practice some employers use the term as shorthand for 'professional accountant' and might consider members of the non-Chartered bodies.

The CCAB bodies, excluding CIMA are Recognised Qualifying Bodies (RQB) in relation to company auditing under the Companies Act 1989.^[1]

[edit] Titles of British accountancy qualifications

In the UK, there is no licence requirement for individuals to describe themselves or practise as an accountant (except for audit or insolvency work). However, to use certain titles and designatory letters requires membership of the appropriate professional body, thus:

• Bodies with royal charter
  • Chartered Accountants must be members of one of the following:
    • the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) (designatory letters ACA or FCA)
    • the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) (designatory letters CA)
    • the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI) (designatory letters ACA or FCA)
    • a recognised equivalent body from another Commonwealth country (designatory letters being CA (name of country) e.g. CA(Canada))
  • Chartered Certified Accountants must be members of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) (designatory letters ACCA or FCCA)
  • Chartered Management Accountants must be members of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) (designatory letters ACMA or FCMA)
  • Chartered Public Finance Accountants must be members of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) (designatory letters CPFA)
• Other recognised bodies
  • Authorised Public Accountants must be members of the Association of Authorised Public Accountants (AAPA) (designatory letters AAPA)
  • International Accountants must be members of the Association of International Accountants (AIA) (designatory letters AIAA or FAIA)
  • Incorporated Financial Accountants must be members of the Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA) (designatory letters FFA or AFA)
• Other bodies
  • Certified Public Accountants must be members of the Association of Certified Public Accountants (CPA) (designatory letters ACPA or FCPA)
  • Certified Practising Accountants must be members of the Institute of Certified Practising Accountants (ICPA) (designatory letters ICPA)

Except the Association of Authorised Public Accountants (AAPA), the Association of Certified Public Accountants (ACPA) and the Institute of Certified Practising Accountants (ICPA), each of these bodies admits members only after passing examinations and undergoing a period of relevant work experience. Once admitted members are expected to comply with ethical guidelines and gain appropriate professional experience.

In addition to the bodies above, the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) offers its members training and support in accountancy skills. ACCA offers a comparable status as a Certified Accounting Technician (CAT).

[edit] British practising qualifications

Before engaging in practice (i.e. selling services to the public rather than acting as an employee), an accountant belonging to any of these bodies must gain a 'practising certificate' by meeting further requirements such as purchasing adequate insurance and undergoing inspections.

Under the Companies Act, Insolvency Act & Financial Services and Markets Act, only the ACCA, ICAEW, ICAI and ICAS are able to authorise members to conduct all the legally restricted work of insolvency and 'investment business work' in the United Kingdom.

A larger number of bodies, known under the Companies Act 1989 as Recognised Qualifying Bodies (RQB), may authorise their members to carry out audits of UK limited companies. To become Registered Auditors, members must hold practising certificates, demonstrate the necessary professional ability in that area, and submit to regular inspection. It is illegal for any individual or firm that is not a Registered Auditor to perform a company audit.

The Recognised Qualifying Bodies (RQB) in relation to company auditing under the Companies Act 1989 are:

• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI)
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS)
• Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) since 2006^[1]
• Association of International Accountants (AIA)

Historically, the Association of Authorised Public Accountants (AAPA) had the status of a Recognised Supervisory Body to eligible AAPA members to use the designation Registered Auditor for audit purposes under the Companies Act 1948, but it no longer grants such authorisations.

Under the European Union 's Mutual Recognition Directive, all British accountants with practising rights and belonging to a Recognised Qualifying Body or Recognised Supervisory Body can practice as a public accountants in all member countries of the European Union, European Economic Area and Switzerland. They can only describe themselves by their own accountancy qualification rather than the local professional accountant qualification; access to the local professional qualifications is based on an aptitude test. It is necessary to be a citizen of one of the EEA states or Switzerland to benefit from this Directive.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} CIPFA Recognised for Companies Act Audit

[edit] External links

• Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies
• Key Facts and Trends in the UK Accountancy Profession - November 2006