Bookkeeping associations are founded to provide support and standards for the

bookkeeping Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions, and is part of the process of accounting in business and other organizations. It involves preparing source documents for all transactions, operations, and other events of a business. T ...

industry. This is achieved by creating common standards for the industry that bookkeepers can work towards and that allow the users of bookkeepers to know what level of knowledge a bookkeeper they hire has. The definition of a bookkeeper is broad and wide and open to interpretation. Each country can have its own standards and anyone can call themselves a bookkeeper while not having any qualifications or knowledge of the industry. The method of obtaining a bookkeeping qualification vary. A person can to pay a fee and not have to sit exams, obtain a qualification based on your experience, sit examinations without supervision, or sit examinations fully supervised in an exam hall or in a computer environment training exam centre. In many countries there are competing bookkeeper associations, but their qualifications are achieved in different ways and their knowledge levels can be different. Bookkeeping associations can provide help on bookkeeping issues, tax issues, legal issues and professional development for their members. They can also lobby on behalf of their members to help promote their interests. They can as a body promote the standards of bookkeeping and market the benefits of using a qualified bookkeeper.

List of bookkeeping associations from around the world

{, class="wikitable sortable" border="1" , - ! Country ! Body ! By Unsupervised Exam ! By Supervised Exam ! By Experience ! By Licence , - , Australia , Association of Accounting Technicians (Australia) , Yes , Yes , Yes , No , - , Australia , Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (Australia) , Yes , Yes , Yes , No , - , Canada ,

Canadian Bookkeepers Association Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

, No , Yes , Yes , No , - , Canada ,

Institute of Professional Bookkeepers of Canada An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

, No , Yes , Yes , No , - , Denmark , Foreningen Freelance Bogholdere , No , No , Yes , No , - , India , Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (India) , No , Yes , Yes , No , - , Ireland ,

Institute of Certified Bookkeepers The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers ("ICB") is a British not-for-profit organization. Its objective is to promote the bookkeeping profession worldwide and offer its students and members trusted bookkeeping qualifications. Founded in the United ...

, Yes , Yes , Yes , No , - , Ireland , Irish Bookkeepers Association , No , Yes , Yes , No , - , Israel ,

Israel Bookkeepers Association Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. It occupies the Pale ...

, No , Yes , Yes , No , - , New Zealand
NZ Qualified Bookkeepers Association
, Yes , No , Yes , No , - , New Zealand
NZ Bookkeepers Association Inc
, Yes , No , No , No , - , Nigeria , Association of Bookkeepers Nigeria , No , Yes , Yes , Yes , - , Norway , Norwegian Association of Authorised Accountants , No , Yes , No , No , - , South Africa , Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (South Africa) , , , , , - , UK ,

Association of Accounting Technicians The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) is a UK-headquartered, global professional body for accounting technicians and bookkeepers, as well as a major provider of finance and accounting qualifications in the UK. In 2023, AAT confirme ...

, No , Yes , Yes , No , - , UK ,

International Association of Book-keepers The Institute of Accountants and Bookkeepers (IAB) was founded in the United Kingdom in 1973 and, as a non-profit organisation, in its early years focussed purely on being an international professional and examining body for bookkeepers. Organisat ...

, No , Yes , Yes , No , - , UK ,

, Yes , Yes , Yes , No , - , USA ,

, Yes , Yes , Yes , No , - , USA , American Institute of Professional BookkeepersThe American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers
/ref> , No , Yes , Yes , No , -

Explanation of table headings

;Country :The country the bookkeeping association represents. Where a bookkeeping association is represented in more than one country, there should be a separate entry for each country it represents. ;Body :The full registered name of the bookkeeping association ;By Unsupervised Exam :An exam where no independent verification is made that the exam was taken without help. ;By Supervised Exam :An exam is taken and supervised by independent personnel ;By Experience :The qualification is issued based on the experience of the person and no exam is taken. That person has provided the required evidence of their experience. ;By Licence :The person buys the right to use a title identifying them as a bookkeeper but no evidence of experience or examinations is requested or required.

References

Accounting organizations