When you engage an accountant, it’s hard to know how good they’re going to be. At best you may have some recommendations or read their testimonials, but what should you be looking for?
There are several qualifications that accountants may have – but the reality is that there is no requirement for anyone to have qualifications and still be able to call themselves an accountant.
The qualifications
If you’re looking for peace of mind, it’s probably sensible to look for an accountant with a recognised qualification. These include:
ICAEW – Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
This is the industry body for accountants who qualify (by examination) as Members (ACA) or, after a period of time, as Fellows (FCA). In England and Wales this is considered to be the stamp of excellence for qualified accountants.
ACCA – Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
This is similar to the ICAEW, but is a more global organisation with the qualification being present in most countries globally, Again, membership generally requires passing exams as well as gaining a level of experience. Membership (ACCA) is gained on completion of examination and experience requirement, fellowship (FCCA) is gained after 5 years of membership.
CIOT – Chartered Institute of Taxation
This is the next level up for anyone who wants to specialise in taxation. Both ACA or ACCA qualification will give exemptions from some exams at CTA level. Then once the exams have been passed, this allows the candidate to add CTA (Chartered Tax Advisor) after their name.
ATT – Association of Taxation Technicians
This is the professional body for people who provide tax compliance services in the UK. It’s the first qualification an aspiring tax advisor would go for.
AAT – Association of Accounting Technicians
This is the first level qualification for anyone who comes into accounting. For some this is their sole qualification, others go on to attain Chartered or Chartered Certified qualifications.
A regulated practice
The ICAEW also regulates practices where at least 50% of the shareholders (partners) are ICAEW qualified.
What does that mean to the client?
On the surface, you won’t see anything different, but a regulated practice undergoes regular examinations, both for auditing and for compliance. That means that someone from ICAEW turns up and physically carries out the checks.
An audit is pretty self-explanatory, but the compliance assessment covers issues such as Anti bribery, money laundering, ethical issues, staff care, contracts, Professional Indemnity, GDPR, and all-round best practice.
ICAEW have slightly more stringent rules than just the basics, but are usually coming at things from a helpful angle. They may look into where data is stored – even if it’s in the cloud the servers are based somewhere, and there are some countries that are better to avoid.
They’ll also look into things like client fund management and monitor how we work in line with regulations. By being monitored it ensures that the services we provide are of a really high professional standard and, consequently, result in peace of mind for our clients.
