When looking for an accountant most people do not realise that "accountant" can be the title used to describe a range of different people, some of whom may not even be qualified.
Anyone in the UK can give themselves the title of accountant or bookkeeper even though they may have had no training or education in the field of accountancy and certainly do not have any professional qualifications. This could have very serious consequences as you would have no comeback for any advice you had been given or especially if any laws are broken. This is especially the case when tax accounts are submitted.
If you are a large business, a small business or just need personal finance advice it would certainly be wise to engage a professional, fully qualified accountant, that has passed the exams set by one of the professional institutes. Many of the professional bodies that qualify accountants insist on many hours of relevant work experience and also the requirement of sitting and passing many exams.
Members of these professional accountancy institutes have to have professional indemnity insurance to cover themselves, and also to cover you, if anything should go wrong. They also have to keep to the code of professional ethics set by the institute of which they are a member. This all means that if your accountant gets it wrong you will not be the one to suffer and you can also complain to the institute to which they belong. If they do not keep up to the very highest standards they can have their membership revoked.
There are many qualifications that an accountant can hold and the main ones are listed below:-
If you wish to check that the accountant whom you wish to work for has the appropriate qualification that they are claiming they hold then each of the institutes listed will allow you to check if they are indeed a member or associate of their organisation and will also inform you if this is not the case.
Anyone in the UK can give themselves the title of accountant or bookkeeper even though they may have had no training or education in the field of accountancy and certainly do not have any professional qualifications. This could have very serious consequences as you would have no comeback for any advice you had been given or especially if any laws are broken. This is especially the case when tax accounts are submitted.
If you are a large business, a small business or just need personal finance advice it would certainly be wise to engage a professional, fully qualified accountant, that has passed the exams set by one of the professional institutes. Many of the professional bodies that qualify accountants insist on many hours of relevant work experience and also the requirement of sitting and passing many exams.
Members of these professional accountancy institutes have to have professional indemnity insurance to cover themselves, and also to cover you, if anything should go wrong. They also have to keep to the code of professional ethics set by the institute of which they are a member. This all means that if your accountant gets it wrong you will not be the one to suffer and you can also complain to the institute to which they belong. If they do not keep up to the very highest standards they can have their membership revoked.
There are many qualifications that an accountant can hold and the main ones are listed below:-
- Chartered Tax Advisor (CTA, ATII or FTII) and will be a Member or Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT)
- Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA or FCCA) and will be a Member or Fellow or the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
- Chartered Accountant (ACA or FCA) and will be a Member or Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)
- Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA or FCMA) and will be a Member or Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
- Certified Public Accountant (ASPA or FSPA) and will be an Associate or Fellow of the Association of Certified Public Accountants (ACPA)
If you wish to check that the accountant whom you wish to work for has the appropriate qualification that they are claiming they hold then each of the institutes listed will allow you to check if they are indeed a member or associate of their organisation and will also inform you if this is not the case.
No comments:
Post a Comment