The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) is the world's first professional body of Chartered Accountants (CAs).{{Citation needed, date=November 2023 ICAS act as a voice of the professional business community. Although other British accounting bodies use the title Chartered Accountant, the CA designation is unique to ICAS in the UK.{{Citation needed, date=November 2023 ICAS has more than 21,000 members and students worldwide. ICAS members are business advisors, business owners and entrepreneurs. They play roles in 80% of the FTSE 100 companies. Half of ICAS members are based in Scotland; the other half work in England and around the globe.{{cite web, title=About ICAS, url=http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/s4/committees/eet/inquiries/ScotlandBill/documents/ICAS.pdf, work=Submission from ICAS on Corporation Tax Reform, publisher=Scottish Parliament, access-date=19 September 2011, page=16, date=8 September 2011{{dead link, date=December 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes

History

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

(ICAS) is the world's first

professional body A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) is a group that usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in ...

of accountants, receiving its

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...

in 1854. The institute originated from: # The Institute of Accountants in Edinburgh, was formed in 1853;Perks, R.W.(1993): ''Accounting and Society''. Chapman & Hall (London); {{ISBN, 0-412-47330-5. p.16 # The Institute of Accountants and Actuaries in Glasgow, was formed in 1853; # The Aberdeen Society of Accountants, formed in 1867. These three bodies merged to form the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland in 1951. It was the first to adopt the designation ''"Chartered Accountant"'' and the designatory letters ''"CA"'' are still an exclusive privilege in the UK for ICAS members.

Anton Colella Anton Colella is a Scotland, Scottish businessman. He has been the chief executive officer of Moore Global since 2018, and was previously the global chief executive of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland. Colella is an advocate for ...

was the chief executive of the ICAS for about ten years, until retiring in 2018.{{cite news , last=Skoulding, first=Lucy, date=2018-01-24, title=Anton Colella, CEO, Moore Stephens International (current ICAS CEO), url=https://www.accountancyage.com/2018/01/24/anton-colella-ceo-moore-stephens-international/, work= Accountancy Age, access-date=2020-11-27

Membership and Qualification

* ICAS has over 24,000 members worldwide who worked in public practice, industry, commerce, the public sector and education. Membership is generally obtained by entering a training contract with an accountancy firm (although it is possible to train within the industry), during which the student gains experience and sits a number of exams. The CA designation is reserved exclusively for their use in the UK. ICAS is the only UK chartered accountancy body that provides professional education and training, as well as examinations, for all its students. * Since the mid-1990s, ICAS has trained students located in England & Wales, and in that respect competes with

ICAEW 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 December 2024, it has over 210,000 memb ...

. In addition to the CA qualification, ICAS delivers the ICAS Tax Professional (ITP) qualification in partnership with Tolley Tax Training. Those completing the qualification are awarded the designiation 'ITP'.

Admission to membership

It generally takes 3 years to qualify as a CA during which students will combine structured work experience with classroom-based study of relevant education syllabus. The training programme enables students to develop the professional knowledge, skills and attributes essential to qualify as a CA. In order to be eligible to enter training to become a chartered accountant, prospective CA students must hold a UK degree (or overseas equivalent). The UK NARIC provides a service to individuals seeking confirmation on comparability between international qualifications and UK qualifications. In addition prospective CA students must obtain a training contract with an authorised employer.

Mutual recognition

The institute has mutual recognition agreements in place with: *

Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales 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 December 2024, it has over 210,000 memb ...

* Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland *

Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) was incorporated by an Act of the Parliament of Canada in 1902, which later became known as the ''Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants Act''. The CICA developed and supported account ...

* Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia * New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants *

South African Institute of Chartered Accountants The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), South Africa’s pre-eminent body for accountants. The institute provides a wide range of support services to more than 48,000 members and associates who are chartered accountants (C ...

Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA, ) is the professional accounting body of Hong Kong. It is overseen by the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council. Responsibilities *Registering accountants and issuing pract ...

American Institute of Certified Public Accountants The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is the national professional organization of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) in the United States, with more than 428,000 members in 130 countries. Founded in 1887 as the Americ ...

ICAS members may be admitted to full memberships of the above institutions after passing an aptitude test or subject to other specific requirements. Members of equivalent bodies in other

European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Asso ...

member states and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

may also be admitted to membership after passing an aptitude test, provided they are citizens of an EEA state or

. A mutual recognition arrangement between the Institute and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) was put in place in 1996, but was terminated by ICAS in 2005.

Role of ICAS

Under the Royal Charter, ICAS works in the public interest. The objective of ICAS is to uphold the integrity and standing of the profession of chartered accountancy in the interests of society and the membership, through excellence in education and the development of accountancy and through service to members and the enforcement of professional standards. ICAS is a Designated Professional Body under the Financial Services and Markets Act, licensing firms of CAs to conduct a range of incidental investment business activities. It is a Recognised Professional Body under the Insolvency Act that issues permits to individual CAs to conduct insolvency appointments. ICAS is also a Recognised Qualifying Body and Recognised Supervisory Body in relation to company auditing under the Companies Act 1989. ICAS is able to authorise members to conduct audit, insolvency and investment business work in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. This right is held in common with ACCA,

and the

ICAI The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, abbreviated as ICAI, is India's largest professional accounting body under the administrative control of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. It was established on 1 July 1949 ...

. ICAS is a member of The Global Accounting Alliance (GAA) – an alliance of the world's leading professional accountancy bodies, which was formed in 2005. The GAA is intended to promot
quality services
share information and collaborate on important international issues. It works with national regulators, governments and stakeholders, through member-body collaboration, articulation of consensus views, and working in collaboration, where possible with other international bodies, especially IFAC. ICAS is a founding member of Chartered Accountants Worldwide (CAW), an initiative by the leading chartered institutes to support, develop and promote the vital role that chartered accountants play throughout the global economy. It creates a community of hundreds of thousands of chartered accountants and students who share a commitment to the highest standards of professional and ethical practice.

Disciplinary process

ICAS was hesitant to join the Accountancy & Actuarial Discipline Board when it was first set up (as the AIDB), but joined after approval by a special general meeting in October 2004. The AADB only hears matters considered to be in the

public interest In social science and economics, public interest is "the welfare or well-being of the general public" and society. While it has earlier philosophical roots and is considered to be at the core of democratic theories of government, often paired ...

. The institute conducts its own hearings into less substantial allegations. These used to be held in private, but ICAS resolved at a further special meeting in 2009 to follow the example of other bodies such as ICAEW to make the hearings public.ICAS opts for public disciplinary tribunals
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100306074017/http://www.accountancyage.com/accountancyage/news/2258909/icas-opts-public-disciplinary , date=6 March 2010 , ''Accountancy Age'', 4 March 2010

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website

Key Facts and Trends in the UK Accountancy Profession
annual publication by the

Professional Oversight Board The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is an independent regulator in the UK and Ireland based in London Wall in the City of London, responsible for regulating auditors, accountants and actuaries, and setting the UK's Corporate Governance and ...

{{IFAC Members {{Authority control 1854 establishments in Scotland Accounting in the United Kingdom Professional associations based in Scotland Financial services in Scotland Organisations based in Edinburgh with royal patronage Organizations established in 1854 Member bodies of the International Federation of Accountants