British qualified accountants are full voting members of

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 ...

professional bodies that evaluate individual experience and test competencies for

accountant 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 Certif ...

s. The term ''accountant'' has the same legal protection in the United Kingdom as that given to other professions. Only certain functions are restricted to professionally qualified accountants; for example, individuals who operate in the areas of

audit An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon." Auditing al ...

and

insolvency In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...

must be registered, and only members of certain accountancy bodies are eligible for such registration. If working in public practice, these qualified accountants must comply with additional regulations such as holding

professional indemnity insurance Professional liability insurance (PLI), also called professional indemnity insurance (PII) and commonly known as errors & omissions (E&O) in the US, is a form of liability insurance which helps protect professional advising, consulting, and servic ...

(as accountants are one of the professions most likely to face a professional indemnity claim) and submitting to regular and independent inspections. CCAB-qualified accountants is an informal shorthand for full members of any of the UK

accountancy Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activities and conveys ...

bodies formed by

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 ...

. All six of these bodies founded the

Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies The Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (CCAB) is an umbrella group of chartered professional bodies of British qualified chartered accountants. The primary objective of the CCAB is to provide a forum for the member bodies to discuss issues ...

in 1974; CIMA left after 2011, but its members may still be intended when this phrase is used. The British Government's

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was created by the Gordon Brown premiership on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Uni ...

, implementing the Companies Acts 1989 and

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, allows members of six bodies to act as

auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting an ...

to a

limited company In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a c ...

. These are the five member bodies of CCAB, and the AIA. In the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, under the EU mutual recognition directive, members of these six bodies may practise auditing in other EU member states, with 'absolute equal status'. In addition, there are other non-CCAB bodies whose members also provide accountancy and related services.

Recognised bodies for restricted work

Audit of limited companies

It is illegal for any individual or firm that is not a Registered Auditor to perform an audit of a UK limited company. To become a Registered Auditor, an accountant must hold a practising certificate from a recognised body, demonstrate the necessary professional ability in that area, and submit to regular inspection. Certain bodies, known under the Companies Acts 1989 and 2006 as Recognised Qualifying Bodies (RQBs), award the qualifications necessary for audit work, as an entry requirement. A similar but not identical list of Recognised Supervisory Bodies (RSBs) may authorise their members to carry out company audits. The six RQBs in relation to company auditing under the Companies Acts are:Current RSBs and RQBs

Financial Reporting Council 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 ...

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is the global professional accounting body offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification (CCA). Founded in 1904, It is now the fourth-largest professional accounting body ...

(ACCA) *

Association of International Accountants The Association of International Accountants (AIA) is a professional accountancy body. It was founded in the United Kingdom, UK in 1928 and since that date has promoted the concept of ‘international accounting’ to create a global network of ac ...

(AIA) *

Chartered Accountants Ireland Chartered Accountants Ireland was established by Royal Charter on 14 May 1888, and is Ireland's largest accountancy body. According to its website, it represents over 30,000 members globally. Chartered Accountants Ireland is part of the C ...

(CAI) *

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 ...

(ICAEW) *

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland 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 Brit ...

(ICAS) *

Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) is a UK based organisation for accountants who work in the public sector, accounting firms and other professional bodies where management of public funds are required. CIPFA is the ...

(CIPFA) since 2006 but currently in abeyance The AIA and CIPFA are not RSBs; their members, if engaging in audit, must therefore be supervised by another body. The

Association of Authorised Public Accountants The Association of Authorised Public Accountants (AAPA) is a British professional body for public accountants. The AAPA was formed in 1978 as a professional body for auditors recognised individually under the Companies Act 1948. AAPA achieved forma ...

(AAPA) has the status of RSB, historically under a grandfather clause in order to supervise individuals who had been authorised for audit purposes under the Companies Act 1948. RQBs and RSBs are self-regulated but monitored 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 ...

(POB), part of the

(FRC), to support public confidence. Under the

's Mutual Recognition Directive, all British accountants with practising rights and belonging to a RQB/RSB can practice as a public accountants in all member countries of the

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 ...

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 ...

, providing that they are citizens of one of these states. They can describe themselves only by their own accountancy qualification rather than the local professional accountant qualification; access to the local professional qualifications is based on an aptitude test. Various other national bodies have

mutual recognition agreement Mutual recognition occurs when two or more countries or other institutions recognize one another's decisions or policies, for example in the field of conformity assessment, professional qualifications or in relation to crime, criminal matters. A m ...

s with most British RQBs. For example, in Hong Kong, members of RQBs excluding CIPFA are accredited by

HKICPA 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 practi ...

and therefore licensed under the Professional Accountants Ordinance with 'absolute equal status' to local CPAs.

Insolvency and investment business work

Under the Companies Act, Insolvency Act & Financial Services and Markets Act, only the ACCA,

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 ...

, CAI and ICAS are able to authorise members to conduct all the legally restricted work of

and 'investment business work' in the United Kingdom.

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 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 ...

(ICAEW) (designatory letters ACA or FCA) ***the

(ICAS) (designatory letters CA) ***

(CAI) (designatory letters ACA or FCA) ***a recognised equivalent body in another

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

country (designatory letters being CA (name of country) e.g. CA(Canada)) **

Chartered Certified Accountant The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is the global professional accounting body offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification (CCA). Founded in 1904, It is now the fourth-largest professional accounting body ...

s must be members of the

(ACCA) (designatory letters ACCA or FCCA) **Chartered Public Finance Accountants must be members of the

(CIPFA) (designatory letters CPFA) **Chartered Management Accountants must be members of the

Chartered Institute of Management Accountants The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) is the global professional management accounting body, based in the United Kingdom. CIMA offers training and qualification in management accountancy and related subjects. It is focused on ...

(CIMA) (designatory letters ACMA or FCMA) *Other recognised bodies (RQBs and RSBs) **International Accountants must be members of the

(AIA), one of six Recognised Qualifying Bodies in the UK (designatory letters AAIA or FAIA) **Authorised Public Accountants must be members of the

(AAPA), one of five Recognised Supervisory Bodies in the UK (designatory letters AAPA) *Other professional bodies ** Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA) (designatory letters AFA or FFA), 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 (IFAC). ** Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) (designatory letters MAAT or FMAAT) **

Certified Public Accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Stat ...

s may be members of the

Certified Public Accountants Association The Certified Public Accountants Association (CPAA) (formerly Association of Certified Public Accountants and CPA UK) was formed in 1989 to represent the interests of certain accountants in the United Kingdom. The association's National Administr ...

(CPAA) (designatory letters ACPA or FCPA), or of a CPA body in another country

Entry requirements

The chartered bodies and the AIA (which is the other Recognised Qualifying Body) admit members only after passing examinations and undergoing a period of relevant work experience.

Syllabi A syllabus (; : syllabuses or syllabi) or specification is a document that communicates information about an academic course or class and defines expectations and responsibilities. It is generally an overview or summary of the curriculum. A sylla ...

and methods of assessment vary between these bodies, and may include a project, case study or viva (One-to-one case study and oral examination). Candidates who hold degrees in accounting or related subjects may be exempt from certain papers. Some bodies, including ICAEW, provide direct membership exchanges and short routes to admittance for members of certain overseas bodies. Once admitted, members are expected to comply with ethical guidelines, gain appropriate professional experience and undergo

continuing professional development Professional development, also known as professional education, is learning that leads to or emphasizes education in a specific professional career field or builds practical job applicable skills emphasizing praxis in addition to the transferab ...

. The other bodies recognise academic qualifications and work experience. Most bodies offer Fellowship after five or ten years' further experience in good standing as an Associate member.

Practising certificates

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.

Bookkeepers and accounting technicians

Individuals with such qualifications are recognised as professionally qualified bookkeepers. The

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 ...

(AAT) is the UK's leading body offering a qualification at 'bookkeeper' level. The AAT has approximately 2,500 licensed bookkeepers (from a total membership of 150,000). The AAT is recognised in the EU and internationally respectively. AAT also offer higher level qualifications which enable the holder to gain "licensed accountant" status, of which there are 5,100 (2021). Licensed AAT accountants are MAATs (Members of AAT) of if they have five years of experience and an unblemished record they can take advantage of the FMAAT (Fellow) designation. These licensed accountants are exactly the same as Chartered Accountants with one very notable exception, they are not permitted to undertake audit work. These 5,000+ AAT Licensed Accountants provide tax and accountancy services to over 500,000 small businesses and individuals in the UK. AAT members can claim a range of exemptions from ACCA, ICAEW, ICAS, CIPFA and CIMA examinations and vice versa. Many AAT students go on to study for Chartered status with one of the Chartered bodies with approximately 30% of Chartered body membership comprising those who began their studies with AAT. AAT has also been a full member of th
International Federation of Accountants (IFAC)
since 2012. The Institute of Accountants & Bookkeepers (IAB) also offer

Qualifications and Credit Framework The Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) was the national credit transfer system for education qualification in England, Northern Ireland and Wales between September 2011 and October 2015. The replacement was the Regulated Qualification Fr ...

(QCF) qualification specifically in

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 ...

and

Payroll A payroll is a list of employment, employees of a company who are entitled to receive compensation as well as other work benefits, as well as the amounts that each should obtain. Along with the amounts that each employee should receive for time ...

. IAB members are professionally qualified accountants and bookkeepers. Members use designatory letters AIAB standing for "Associate Member of the IAB", MIAB "Member of the IAB and FIAB "Fellow Member of the IAB". After passing exams and obtaining relevant experience, its members can apply for a Certificates of Supervision, Certificate of Compliance and eventually Certificates in Practice status, depending on membership level and experience, and are then licensed and regulated by the IAB to provide practice bookkeeping, accounting, tax and financial advisory services, although they are not entitled to undertake audit or insolvency work. As in the case of members of the RQBs, IAB practising members are required to hold adequate insurances and undertake regular CPD activities relevant to the services they offer. Although not sponsored by any other professional body, IAB qualifications are recognised by many of the bodies and members may, depending on the qualifications they hold apply for some exemptions to the other professional bodies. AIA also offers IAT with the

London Chamber of Commerce & Industry The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) is a business organization based in London, founded in 1882. It provides support for its members’ businesses through services and advocates on behalf of London’s business community. The Cham ...

. IFA offers Financial Accounting Technician (AFT) The

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 ...

(ICB), founded in the UK in 1996, claims over 150,000 students and members worldwide.

CCAB-qualified accountants

The

(known as CCAB) was formed in 1974 as an umbrella group for the major British qualified accountancy bodies. The six

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and Irish professional accountancy bodies with a

were the founder members of the CCAB. On 2 March 2011, the

(CIMA) announced that it would be leaving CCAB, because CCAB had become more focussed on audit since the formation of the

as the regulator for accounting matters, and therefore less relevant to CIMA members.Cima to leave CCAB accountancy forum
''Public Finance'', 2 March 2011 The remaining members are: *

(ACCA) *

(CAI) which covers 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

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, and is considered to be both a British and Irish professional body *

(CIPFA) *

(ICAEW) *

(ICAS) All full members of these bodies and CIMA 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 non-Chartered bodies or overseas equivalents. The CCAB bodies are Recognised Qualifying Bodies (RQBs) in relation to company auditing under the Companies Act 2006. {{As of, 2015, however, CIPFA's status as an RQB is currently in abeyance.

References

External links

Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies

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

Outsourced Bookkeeping Accounting
annual publication by the

Finance department services Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and discipline of money, currency, assets and liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business Administration wich study the planning, organizing, leading, and controlling of an o ...

Accounting in the United Kingdom Accounting qualifications