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.
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.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) is the world's first professional body of Chartered Accountants (CAs).
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 a professional body for Accounting Technicians, with over 150,000 members worldwide.
The Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants or CICPA is a professional accounting organization based in Beijing with oversight responsibility for accountants in China.
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.
British qualified accountants are full voting members of United Kingdom professional bodies that evaluate individual experience and test competencies for accountants.
Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) is the umbrella body for the accountancy profession in Malaysia. It was established under the Accountants Act, 1967 to regulate and develop the accountancy profession in this country. MIA operates under the purview of the Ministry of Finance through the Accountant General's Department.
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 International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) develops and promotes the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. The IESBA also supports debate on issues related to accounting ethics and auditor independence.
The Liberian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (LICPA) is a professional association of accountants in Liberia.
The Lebanese Association of Certified Public Accountants (LACPA), in the Republic of Lebanon, was created by the Accountancy Profession Act No. 364/1994 to become the sole organization in Lebanon representing more than 1711 members of the CPA profession as of May 2011. LACPA is an active member of (IFAC) International Federation of Accountants, (FIDEF) Federation Internationale des Experts-Comptables Francophone and (AFAA) Arab Federation for Accountants and Auditors a federation of the Joint Arab Economic Action Charter of the Arab League.
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.
The Association of Accounting Technicians of Sri Lanka, or AATSL, is a Sri Lankan qualification and professional body for vocational accountants which was launched as an initiative that came through the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka. AAT is a technician level qualification offering higher apprenticeships which entitles those who have completed the exams and obtained relevant supervised work experience to become an accountant.
The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda is a professional body for certified public accountants (CPAs) in Uganda. As of July 2016, total membership was about 2,000 members.
The Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka, is a professional body offering qualification in management accountancy in Sri Lanka.
