Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales
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The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) is the largest English and Welsh accountancy body for chartered accountants and auditors, with over 128,000 members.
There is, however, no legal requirement for an accountant to be a member of one of the many Institutes as the term accountant does not have the same legal protection in the United Kingdom as that given to, say, doctors and lawyers. There are, though, certain legal rights and duties which are available to professionally qualified accountants. For example, individuals who operate in the areas of audit and insolvency must be registered and only members of certain chartered accountancy bodies (such as the ICAEW) are eligible for such registration. Likewise individuals who describe themselves as "chartered accountants" must be a member of an accountancy body which holds a 'Royal Charter' and if working in public practice these chartered accountants must comply with additional regulations such as holding indemnity insurance and submitting to regular and independent inspections.
The ICAEW has 3 offices; the main one is in Moorgate, London and the other two are based in Milton Keynes.
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[edit] Admission to membership
To be admitted to membership, applicants must generally complete a period of relevant work experience (training) and pass a series of examinations. The work experience lasts between three and five years and must be with an employer or employers approved by the Institute for training. The examinations are in two stages, professional stage (six papers) and advanced stage (two papers and a case study, which must be taken in the final year of training).
Existing members of ACCA, CIMA and CIPFA of over five years membership may be admitted, subject to passing an Examination of Experience ([1]) and sponsorship by two ICAEW members. Members of equivalent bodies in other European Economic Area countries and Switzerland may also be admitted to membership after passing an aptitude test, provided they are a citizen of an EEA state or Switzerland.
The Institute has mutual recognition agreements in place with:
- Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
- Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland
- Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia
- Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants
- New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants
- South African Institute of Chartered Accountants
- Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe
- Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants
ICAEW members may be admitted to full membership of the above institutions after passing an aptitude test or subject to other specific requirements.
[edit] Membership categories
- Members have the designation ACA (Associate) or FCA (Fellow) after their name.
- Fellowship is intended to designate those who have achieved a higher level of professional experience. It is awarded, on application, to those members who have attained at least ten years of membership and who, at the date of application, have complied with the Institute's requirements on continuing professional development in the preceding three years and have no outstanding disciplinary charges against them.
[edit] History
Until the mid-nineteenth century the role of accountants in England and Wales was restricted to that of bookkeepers in that accountants merely maintained records of what other business people had purchased and sold. However, with the growth of the limited liability company in Victorian Britain a demand was created for more technically proficient accountants to deal with the increasing complexity of the Companies legislation being introduced.
To improve their status and combat criticism of low standards, accountants in the cities of Britain formed associations. The Institute of Accountants in London was formed in 1870, comprising 37 members under the leadership of William Quilter. In 1871, standards for membership were established with new members having to show knowledge and aptitude through successfully passing an oral examination.
Initially the London Institute restricted its membership to that city, but as other institutes were established elsewhere (for example, in Manchester, Sheffield and Liverpool) it was decided to remove this restriction and as such in 1872 it simply became known as the Institute of Accountants to reflect its new national coverage.
By 1878, these multitude of societies were considering merging in a further bid to improve their status. This was finally achieved in 1880, when the ICAEW was formed by Royal Charter.
[edit] Recent developments
In 2005 the ICAEW sought to merge with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). However, this project proved unsuccessful. The Institute also announced at this time that it was considering dropping the reference to England and Wales in its title to become the Institute of Chartered Accountants. However, this plan was also withdrawn.
The Institute is to introduce a new syllabus in 2007. In order to make it more appealing to prospective students the policy of time-barring students has been removed and the exams which need to be taken will become more flexible as a modular structure is to be introduced.
