Chartered Accountants Ireland

Last updated

Chartered Accountants Ireland
AbbreviationChartered Accountants Ireland
Formation26 May 1888;135 years ago (1888-05-26)
Type Chartered body
Headquarters Dublin
Membership
30,000 [1]
President
Sinead Donovan [2]
Chief Executive
Barry Dempsey [3]
Website charteredaccountants.ie
Chartered Accountants House, Pearse Street Chartered Accountants House.JPG
Chartered Accountants House, Pearse Street

Chartered Accountants Ireland was established by Royal Charter on 14 May 1888, [4] and is Ireland's largest accountancy body. According to its website, it represents over 30,000 members globally. [1] [5]

Contents

Chartered Accountants Ireland is part of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies and members are authorised to conduct audit, insolvency and investment business work. It is one of Ireland's six Recognised Accounting Bodies, regulated by the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA).

Chartered Accountants Ireland is a founding member of the chartered accountants body, Chartered Accountants Worldwide. [6]

History

Chartered Accountants Ireland was established under a royal charter in 1888. This original body was named the 'Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland'. [7] The body has been a member of the International Federation of Accountants since 1977. [8]

Organisation

The council is the highest governance organ of the institute. It determines strategy and policy, and consists of 23 members. [9] The bye-laws provide for a geographical spread of council members between the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Great Britain and for a balance between members in practice and members in business. [10]

Chartered Accountants Ireland supports six district societies in Ireland (Ulster, Leinster, Cork, Mid-West, Western, North-West), one in London and one in Australia (Sydney) and one in the USA. [11]

Operation

Commentary

Representative of Chartered Accountants Ireland sometimes comment on matters such as foreign direct investment, [12] Corporate Social Responsibility, [13] insolvency, [14] taxation, [15] [16] NAMA, [17] budget announcements, [18] [19] and other matters. [20] [21]

Enquiries

In 2007 the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board was established to develop Standards of Professional Conduct and to supervise the compliance of members, member firms, affiliates and students. [22] [23] They initiated an investigation into the "circumstances around the issue of inappropriate directors' loans at Anglo Irish Bank" and into the performance of Ernst and Young. [24] In 2009, independent Senator Shane Ross said the Institute "ranks with the Central Bank of Ireland as the winner of the wooden spoon for watchdogs". [25] The first Chairman of the Regulatory Board, had companies he is a director of, fined a total of €3.35 million by the Central Bank of Ireland, for risk control and reporting failures. [26] [27] [28]

In 2009 Chartered Accountants House on Pearse St., was officially opened by President McAleese, with new resources for its members and conferencing facilities. [29]

An external inquiry team in February 2010 found that the Institute's complaints committee had a prima facie case to answer for the conduct of its proceedings and there were further apparent flaws in the accountancy body's disciplinary procedures. [30]

The Irish Times, the country's newspaper of record, in April 2010 raised questions about the role of Institute Members in relation to the crisis affecting the banking sector and an insurance company. [31] Within days, an opinion piece in the respected Sunday Business Post said "what a glorious contribution that body of super-chargers made to the collapse of business and of the entire financial system here and how they have got away with it". [32]

The Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA), the independent body entrusted with overseeing corporate governance in the accountancy profession, in November 2010, fined the Institute of Chartered Accountants €10,000. It described the Chartered Accountants Ireland's complaints committee's behaviour as a "substantive failure and not merely a technical" one. [33]

The next week in November 2010, it was announced that the policing of audits of publicly quoted companies is being taken out of the hands of professional accounting bodies and transferred to the state's auditing watchdog. The move of the role to an independent, state-run body is seen as a more stringent approach to enforcing audit standards. This follows on from an EU recommendation that member states needed to ‘‘up their game’’ in the monitoring of public interest bodies. [34]

The next month Irish accountancy firms and auditors who worked with the Irish banks during the previous three years were barred from doing key stress tests on behalf of the Central Bank of Ireland and the International Monetary Fund.

The Director of Corporate Enforcement, Paul Appleby, in February 2011 said, there were grounds for questioning "the consistency and quality of audit work within the profession". Mr Appleby also said auditors "report surprisingly few types of company law offences to us", with the so-called "big four" auditing firms reporting the least often to his office, at just 5pc of all reports. He had taken issue on "numerous occasions" with the quality of audit work and audit reports issued by accountants. "Occasionally, this has resulted in admissions of lapses, and where appropriate, in revised audit reports being issued." At the same time, the Revenue Commissioners said "that current audits said little about the business model of firms or their liquidity position". [35]

The state's auditing watchdog warned Irish listed companies that it wants to see better financial reporting in 2011, after stating that it has been "disappointed" by Irish plcs. [36]

A March 2011 report into the Irish banking collapse criticised the role of external auditors in failing to identify and warn of the risky lending practices being adopted by Irish banks. [37] It said auditors took a narrow interpretation of their job description and remained "silent" during the excesses of the boom. It found the external auditors of the main Irish banks consistently failed to report "excesses over prudential sector lending limits" to the Central Bank of Ireland. [38]

In July 2011, the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board was fined a record €110,000 by IAASA, the third time the Institute was fined in the space of eight months. It called CARB's failure to comply its own procedures on five occasions as " serious" and found that the Chartered Accountants' Institute recklessly "communicated inaccurate and misleading information" to the complainant. [39]

A week after the Irish Government pumped €1 billion into Credit Unions in October 2011, the Central Bank issued a strong warning to auditors they do not sign off on any accounts unless proper provisions are made for bad debts. [40]

Later in the same month the Central Bank again put the work of Auditors under the microscope following their failure to spot systematic and large-scale abuse of client funds at an Investment Firm. [41]

In July 2012, the Institute was criticised when it was discovered that it charged Trainee Accountants in the Republic €600 more than those in Northern Ireland for doing exactly the same course. [42]

Following the publication of a report by the Financial Reporting Council in October 2012, the Irish Times in an acid commentary said it speaks " of a profession that lost its way and, rather than provide a check on rule-bending in financial services, became a willing and well-paid accomplice." [43]

In February 2013, Michel Barnier, the EU Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, questioned the conduct of the auditors of Irish banks which lead to the financial crash. [44]

The Central Bank of Ireland in January 2014 demanded better auditing standards from Institute members following the discovery of €235m black hole at Ireland's largest car insurer. [45]

The Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board spotted a pattern of repeat poor performances by some firms in their statutory audits of clients but refused to name those who had received consecutively poor marks for the performance of audits. From June 2016, responsibility for the inspection of public interest entity audits such as those of banks and building societies will be transferred away from the Institute. [46]

Education, careers and advocacy

In 2009, Chartered Accountants Ireland introduced a new route to Chartered Accountancy. Originally called 'The Elevation Programme', it is now referred to as the Flexible Route pathway.

The Flexible Route provides students with the option to study and sit exams without undertaking a training contract and gives students a maximum of 8 years to complete all programme requirements. The Training Contract and Flexible Route pathways both have the same entry and qualification requirements and the qualification received on completion is the same. [47]

In 2012, Chartered Accountants Ireland launched a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) initiative to encourage members to promote Ireland as a location for FDI business. [48] [49]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Accounting</span> Measurement, processing and communication of financial information about economic entities

Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the processing of information about economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activities and conveys this information to a variety of stakeholders, including investors, creditors, management, and regulators. Practitioners of accounting are known as accountants. The terms "accounting" and "financial reporting" are often used as synonyms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Accountant</span> Practitioner of accounting or accountancy

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Financial audit</span> Type of audit

A financial audit is conducted to provide an opinion whether "financial statements" are stated in accordance with specified criteria. Normally, the criteria are international accounting standards, although auditors may conduct audits of financial statements prepared using the cash basis or some other basis of accounting appropriate for the organization. In providing an opinion whether financial statements are fairly stated in accordance with accounting standards, the auditor gathers evidence to determine whether the statements contain material errors or other misstatements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chartered accountant</span> Professional designation for accountants

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Association of Chartered Certified Accountants</span> Global professional organization

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Institute of Chartered Accountants</span> Institute in South Africa

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)).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute of Chartered Accountants of India</span> National professional accounting body in India

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (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 as a statutory body under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 enacted by the Parliament for promotion, development and regulation of the profession of Chartered Accountancy in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Financial Reporting Council</span> Regulator responsible for promoting high quality corporate governance

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 Stewardship Codes. The FRC seeks to promote transparency and integrity in business by aiming its work at investors and others who rely on company reports, audits and high-quality risk management.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia was the professional accounting body representing Chartered Accountants in Australia before it merged with the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants to become Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

British qualified accountants are full voting members of United Kingdom professional bodies that evaluate individual experience and test competencies for accountants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants</span>

The Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) is a professional body that regulates the accountancy industry in the Bahamas. In theory anyone approved by the relevant government ministry can act as an independent auditor, but in practice, all auditors are members of BICA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria</span> Professional accountancy body

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) is a professional accountancy body in Nigeria. It is one of the two professional accountancy associations with regulatory authority in Nigeria, the other being the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN). The relationship between the two organizations has been tense. In 2007 ICAN attempted to have a bill declaring ANAN void.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan</span> Pakistani professional accountancy organization

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan is a professional accountancy body in Pakistan. It has over 10,000 members working locally and globally. The institute was established on July 1, 1961 to regulate the profession of accountancy in Pakistan. It is a statutory autonomous body established under the Chartered Accountants Ordinance, 1961. With the significant growth in the profession, the CA Ordinance and By-Laws were revised in 1983.

Accountancy in Hong Kong is regulated by the HKICPA under the Professional Accountants Ordinance. The auditing industry for limited companies is regulated under the Companies Ordinance, and other Ordinances such as the Securities and Futures Ordinance, the Listing Rules, etc.

The Association of International Accountants (AIA) is a professional accountancy body. It was founded in the UK in 1928 and since that date has promoted the concept of ‘international accounting’ to create a global network of accountants in over 85 countries worldwide.

The Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) is one of the two professional accountancy associations with regulatory authority in Nigeria, the other being the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). A consultant offering financial services in Nigeria must be a member of either ANAN or ICAN.

CPA Ireland, formerly the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland, is one of the main Irish accountancy bodies, with 5,000 members and students.

Robert William Black was a public administrator who was the first Auditor General for Scotland, holding the post between 2000 and 2012. He had several Local Authority management roles before being appointed as Auditor General. As Auditor General he coordinated the scrutiny of public finances over several administrations. After retiring from the role of Auditor General he held multiple board positions and chaired several independent commissions that carried out independent reviews on issues such as housing policy and policing.

The Accounting in Sri Lanka is regulated under the several legal regulations. There are several professional accountancy body in the country. The Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board (SLAASMB) is the audit oversight entity, while the Auditor General of Sri Lanka has audit oversight over government all entities.

References

  1. 1 2 "About Us". Chartered Accountants Ireland.
  2. ↑ "About Us - President & Office Bearers". Chartered Accountants Ireland.
  3. ↑ "About Us - Leadership team". Chartered Accountants Ireland.
  4. ↑ The Accountant 3 October 1974
  5. ↑ "Chartered Accountants Ireland Annual Report 2020" (PDF). Chartered Accountants Ireland. 31 December 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "About CAW". 11 August 2016.
  7. ↑ "About us". Chartered Accountants Ireland.
  8. ↑ "Chartered Accountants Ireland". 4 May 2011.
  9. ↑ "About Us - Council". Chartered Accountants Ireland. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  10. ↑ "About Us - Structures - Council". Chartered Accountants Ireland.
  11. ↑ "District Societies". Chartered Accountants Ireland. Archived from the original on 26 September 2009.
  12. ↑ Belfast Telegraph supplement, 2 July 2012, p 6
  13. ↑ Sunday Business Post, 15 July 2012, p23
  14. ↑ Sunday Independent, 15 July 2012, page 24
  15. ↑ Belfast Telegraph, 15 June 2012, p40
  16. ↑ Sunday Independent Business, 30 September 2012, page 4
  17. ↑ Sunday Business Post, 15 April 2012
  18. ↑ Sunday Times, 28 October 2012
  19. ↑ Irish News, 22 March 2012, p14
  20. ↑ RTÉ Six One News, 29 February 2012
  21. ↑ Sunday Independent Business, 5 August 2012, p2
  22. ↑ LIFE Magazine (10 April 2007). "Watchdog set up to oversee auditors - Irish, Business". Independent.ie. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  23. ↑ "Home". Carb.ie. Archived from the original on 17 May 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  24. ↑ "Fri, Dec 19, 2008 - Drumm resigns as chief executive of Anglo Irish". The Irish Times. 12 December 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  25. ↑ LIFE Magazine (15 March 2009). "Never trust an institute - Shane Ross, Columnists". Independent.ie. Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  26. ↑ Fit Magazine (25 October 2009). "Ex-regulator red-faced as bank hit by €2.75m fine - Irish, Business". Independent.ie. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  27. ↑ "Merrill Lynch Publicity statement" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  28. ↑ "Settlement Agreement between Financial Regulator and Irish Life" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  29. ↑ "Speech by President Mary McAleese at official opening of Chartered Accountants House". Chartered Accountants Ireland. 8 December 2009.
  30. ↑ City Guides (21 February 2010). "State watchdog suddenly widens probe into top accountancy body - Irish, Business". Independent.ie. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  31. ↑ "Fri, Apr 09, 2010 - Do question marks hang over the heads of auditors?". The Irish Times. 4 April 2010. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  32. ↑ "The Sunday Business Post". Sbpost.ie. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  33. ↑ LIFE Magazine (7 November 2010). "Shane Ross: Accountants' body is fined €10k following complaint - Shane Ross, Columnists". Independent.ie. Archived from the original on 8 September 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  34. ↑ "The Sunday Business Post". Sbpost.ie. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  35. ↑ Emmet Oliver (11 February 2011). "Appleby and Revenue query work of auditors". Independent.ie. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  36. ↑ "The Sunday Business Post". Sbpost.ie. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  37. ↑ "Misjudging Risk: Causes of the Systemic Banking Crisis in Ireland - Nyberg Report". www.gov.ie.
  38. ↑ "Tue, Apr 19, 2011 - Nyberg report criticises role of auditors". The Irish Times. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  39. ↑ City Guides (18 September 2011). "Shane Ross: Look out for our Greek pals - Shane Ross, Columnists". Independent.ie. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  40. ↑ LIFE Magazine (13 October 2011). "New warning for credit unions on loans from the Central Bank - Irish, Business". Independent.ie. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  41. ↑ "Auditors targeted in Custom House regulation review". www.sbpost.ie. Archived from the original on 2 November 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  42. ↑ "Accountants pay €600 more to do course here". Irish Independent. 4 December 2012. Archived from the original on 17 February 2013.
  43. ↑ "Report raises questions over auditing profession's role in crisis - The Irish Times - Mon, Oct 15, 2012". The Irish Times . Archived from the original on 15 October 2012.
  44. ↑ "Stephen Kinsella: Behaviour of our auditors during crash can't be ignored any longer". Irish Independent. 19 February 2013.
  45. ↑ "Central Bank demands better auditing standards". 30 January 2014.
  46. ↑ "Pattern of poor performance at some auditors". Sunday Independent. 17 January 2016.
  47. ↑ "Flexible Route". www.charteredaccountants.ie.
  48. ↑ Ulster Business, 31 August 2012, p.120
  49. ↑ "FDI". Chartered Accountants Ireland.

53°20′39″N6°14′54″W / 53.344198°N 6.248279°W / 53.344198; -6.248279

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.