An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certified Accountant or Certified Public Accountant, or Registered Public Accountant. Such professionals are granted certain responsibilities by statute, such as the ability to certify an organization's financial statements, and may be held liable for professional misconduct. Non-qualified accountants may be employed by a qualified accountant, or may work independently without statutory privileges and obligations.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) is the world's first professional body of Chartered Accountants (CAs).
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) is a professional membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports chartered accountants and students around the world. As of July 2022, it has over 198,000 members and students in 147 countries. ICAEW was established by royal charter in 1880.
Chartered accountants were the first accountants to form a professional accounting body, initially established in Scotland in 1854. The Edinburgh Society of Accountants (1854), the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries (1854) and the Aberdeen Society of Accountants (1867) were each granted a royal charter almost from their inception. The title is an internationally recognised professional designation; the certified public accountant designation is generally equivalent to it. Women were able to become chartered accountants only following the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 after which, in 1920, Mary Harris Smith was recognised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and became the first woman chartered accountant in the world.
Founded in 1904, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants(ACCA) is the global professional accounting body offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification (ACCA). It has 240,952 members and 541,930 future members worldwide. ACCA's headquarters are in London with principal administrative office in Glasgow. ACCA works through a network of over 110 offices and centres in 51 countries - with 346 Approved Learning Partners (ALP) and more than 7,600 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide employee development.
The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) is the world’s leading professional body for Accounting Technicians, with over 150,000 members worldwide.
The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), South Africa’s pre-eminent accountancy body, is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading accounting institutes. The institute provides a wide range of support services to more than 48,000 members and associates who are chartered accountants (CAs(SA)), as well as associate general accountants (AGAs(SA)) and accounting technicians (ATs(SA)).
A tax advisor or tax consultant is a person with advanced training and knowledge of tax law. The services of a tax advisor are usually retained in order to minimize taxation while remaining compliant with the law in complicated financial situations. Tax Advisors are also retained to represent clients before tax authorities and tax courts to resolve tax issues.
The Institute of Indirect Taxation (IIT) was a distinct professional body in the United Kingdom prior to its merger with the Chartered Institute of Taxation in August 2012.
The Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) is the international professional body specialising in the profession of corporate treasury. It was founded in 1979 and was awarded a Royal Charter on 1 January 2013. It is both an examining body, providing a wide range of qualifications for those working in treasury, risk and corporate finance, and a membership organisation which supports and represents its members.
British qualified accountants are full voting members of United Kingdom professional bodies that evaluate individual experience and test competencies for accountants.
The Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA) is a professional accountancy body representing and providing certification for financial accountants in the United Kingdom. The IFA is a full member of the International Federation of Accountants.
The Chartered Financial Planner is a qualification for professional financial planners and financial advisers awarded by the Chartered Insurance Institute.
Accounting Technicians Ireland is the leading professional body for Accounting Technicians on the island of Ireland. They have over 10,000 members and students in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland.
A chartered professional is a person who has gained a specific level of skill or competence in a particular field of work, which has been recognised by the award of a formal credential by a relevant professional organization. Chartered status is considered a mark of professional competency, and is awarded mainly by chartered professional bodies and learned societies. Common in Britain, it is also used in Ireland, the United States and the Commonwealth, and has been adopted by organizations around the world.
Simon McKie is the chairman and a designated member of McKie & Co LLP. He is also a writer and lecturer on taxation and other matters and a contributor to the charitable and technical activities of a number of professional bodies.
The Tax Institute, formerly the Taxation Institute of Australia, is a member-based association of tax professionals in Australia. Members include accountants, lawyers and academics.
Herbert Jeffrey Wooller is an English accountant and educationalist. He is noted for his accountancy tuition initiatives, and for campaigning for reform of his professional institute, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. The institute eventually excluded him from its membership because of his association with the Irish International University, Irish University Business School and International University Business School. Wooller has founded several educational institutions such as the Jeff Wooller College, Institute of Professional Financial Managers and Irish University Business School.
