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| Abbreviation | ICAJ |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1965 |
| Headquarters | Kingston, Jamaica |
Region | Jamaica |
Official language | English |
President | Allison Peart |
| Website | icaj |
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica (ICAJ) is a professional accountancy body in Jamaica. It is the sole organisation in Jamaica with the right to award the Chartered Accountant designation.
ICAJ was established in 1965, three years after Jamaica gained its independence. The 1968 Public Accountancy Act was the statute for the incorporation of the ICAJ. In July 1980 the institute bought its property at 8 Ruthven Road, Kingston for the ICAJ headquarters. The ICAJ Secretariat facilities were formally opened on 18 January 1995. The ICAJ Code of Ethics was approved by Council in July 2000. ICAJ was designated the sole official agent of the Public Accountancy Board by the Ministry of Finance on 7 March 2001. [1]
In the early 2000s there were well-publicized failures of companies such as Enron and Worldcom in the United States, and Parmalat in Europe. ICAJ came under pressure to ensure that Jamaican companies could not have similar problems, which should have been caught by auditors. In October 2002 ICAJ announced that it was embarking on a financial system improvement project that would strengthen the enforcement and compliance framework of the accountancy profession in Jamaica and ensure that investors received accurate information. [2]
In November 2004 there was a proposal to make changes to the Money Laundering Act. According to the opposition, these would give the minister of finance the right to "violate the secrecy laws without any reference to the courts which is the only saving grace between individuals, companies and the overwhelming power of the state". ICAJ president Linroy Marshall said his organization had not been consulted on the proposal, but expressed serious concern about any move to violate confidentiality between an accountant and their client. [3]
In June 2003, and again in June 2011, ICAJ hosted the ICAC annual meeting. Attendance grew from 300 in 2003 to over 900 in 2011. [4]
On 1 July 2002 ICAJ adopted International Accounting Standards (IAS) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as Jamaica's national accounting and auditing standards. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) provided funding for a three-year program to implement and ensure compliance with these standards. [1] The move brought Jamaica in line with European standards, but at first meant that companies filing their financial reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would have to reconcile their figures to Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP) and highlight the differences from IFRS. In June 2007 the SEC allowed companies to file using IFRS, removing the burden of reconciliation. [5]
A long-standing agreement with the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) allows ICAJ to administer local examinations for the ACCA qualifications. In October 2001 ICAJ signed an agreement with the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) for ICAJ to provide services to AAT students locally. In January 2005, ICAJ and the University of the West Indies (Mona Campus) signed an agreement to review and monitor the university's MSc Accounting program to ensure it meets international standards. [1]
In June 2006, ICAJ signed an agreement with Certified General Accountants of Canada to recognize the CGA designation as an entry qualification for accounting students. This was in line with ICAJ's goal for accountants to be mobile within the region and for Jamaica to stay competitive within the Caribbean Single Market. [6] The CARICOM Single Market and Economy agreement would allow Jamaicans to work in other member states, but not to transfer their pensions. The ICAJ was involved in discussions on how to make pensions portable. [7] ICAJ is a member of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). [8] ICAJ is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean (ICAC). [9]
Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non-financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "language of business", 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.
The International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) was founded in June 1973 in London at the initiative of Sir Henry Benson, former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. The IASC was created by national accountancy bodies from a number of countries with a view to harmonizing the international diversity of company reporting practices. Between its founding in 1973 and its dissolution in 2001, it developed a set of International Accounting Standards (IAS) that gradually acquired a degree of acceptance in countries around the world. Although the IASC came to include some organizations representing preparers and users of financial statements, it largely remained an initiative of the accountancy profession. On 1 April 2001, it was replaced by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), an independent standard-setting body. The IASB adopted the extant corpus of IAS which it continued to develop as International Financial Reporting Standards.
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)).
Founded in 1908, the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CGA-Canada) serves Certified General Accountants and students in Canada and nearly 100 countries. CGA-Canada established the designation's certification requirements and professional standards, offers professional development, conducts research and advocacy, and represents CGAs nationally and internationally. CGA-Canada joined the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada to integrate operations under the CPA banner in 2015. CPA Canada is the new national accounting body formed by the merger of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) and the Society of Certified Management Accountants (CMA) in 2013, and now Certified General Accountants.
The Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) is one of the three legally recognised professional bodies for accountants in Australia. The IPA represents more than 40,000 members and students working in industry, commerce, government, academia and professional practice.
British qualified accountants are full voting members of United Kingdom professional bodies that evaluate individual experience and test competencies for accountants.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Guyana (ICAG) is a professional body in Guyana that regulates the accountancy industry and arranges for ongoing training of its members.
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.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Trinidad and Tobago (ICATT) is a professional accountancy body in Trinidad and Tobago. It is the sole organization in Trinidad and Tobago with the right to award the Chartered Accountant designation.
The accountancy profession in Malaysia is regulated by the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) through the powers conferred by the Accountants Act, 1967. The MIA is an agency under the Ministry of Finance and reports directly to the Accountant General Office. As at 4 February 2016, MIA has 32,618 members of which 68% are involved in commerce and industry, 22% in public practice and 10% in government and academia. Selangor and the Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory have the largest concentration of MIA membership with 13,125 and 7,351 members respectively. https://web.archive.org/web/20150725035639/http://www.mia.org.my/new/members_statistics_state.asp
The International Association for Accounting Education & Research (IAAER) is a non-profit organization that promotes excellence in accounting education and research. The organization also seeks to ensure that accounting academics make the maximum contribution to development of excellent accounting standards.
The National Board of Accountants and Auditors (NBAA) is an accounting professional and regulatory body operating under the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, the sole body to certify accountants in Tanzania. It began operating on 15 January 1973.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean (ICAC) is an association of accounting organizations in the Caribbean region that promotes professionalism and standards of best practice in the region.
The Cayman Islands Society of Professional Accountants (CISPA) is a professional association of accountants in the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. CISPA is responsible for licensing accounting practitioners, supports education of accountants and participates in decisions about the financial industry in the offshore financial centre.
The Ordre des Experts Comptables de Tunisie or OECT is a professional association of accountants in Tunisia. It was created in 1983 and placed under the Ministry of Finance.
The Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka, is a professional body offering qualification in management accountancy in Sri Lanka.
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