Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia

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The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA) was constituted by Royal Charter in 1928.

The ICAA now operates under a Supplemental Royal Charter (amended from time to time) granted by the Governor General of Australia on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II on 19 August 2005.

It is the sole body entitled to award the designation of Chartered Accountant in Australia. Members use the designatory letters CA.

1 Governance
2 Becoming a Chartered Accountant
3 Mutual recognition agreements
- 3.1 Partial recognition
4 Employment
5 Membership
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Governance

The ICAA is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of seven members who are elected by Chartered Accountants on regional registers and up to four Board appointed members. Directors and Regional Councillors will be elected for a three year term, with one-third of the positions on the Board and Regional Councils being up for election each year. The President and Deputy President are elected annually by the Board.

The principal role of the Regional Councils is to provide advice to the Board on strategic policy and member issues, act as a link between the Board and members in their region, assist in public profiling and liaison with State and Territory governments, and carry out such functions as may be delegated to them by the Board. Each Regional Council has either six or nine members elected by the members in that region.

[edit] Becoming a Chartered Accountant

Most Chartered Accountants in Australia, are university graduates who, after completing their degree, are required to pass a postgraduate program, the CA Program and also complete a 3 year period of approved practical experience mentored by a Chartered Accountant. To then retain their Chartered Accountant designation members must complete Continuing Professional Education (CPE) of 120 hours in a triennium.

[edit] Mutual recognition agreements

The ICAA has mutual recognition agreements in place with the following overseas bodies:

Most members of overseas accounting bodies with mutual recognition agreements with ICAA need only pass an examination in Australian tax and law to become members of ICAA, once resident in Australia.

However there are some additional requirements:

membership of the overseas accounting body must have been acquired through the normal examination based route and not direct entry
there are some additional restrictions that apply to Certified Public Accountants from Hong Kong and the United States, along with Zimbabwe Chartered Accountants in terms of the specifics of training and experience required.

[edit] Partial recognition

Members of certain other accounting bodies are granted exemption from the bachelor degree requirement but are required to pass the CA Program and complete qualifying service.

CIMA members are exempted from up to two papers of the CA Program and may access a reduced work experience requirement due to the strategic alliance between ICAA and CIMA. Details

Partial recognition may also apply to members of accounting bodies with mutual recognition agreements with ICAA, where the member in question does not qualify for full mutual recognition.

[edit] Employment

Chartered Accountants in Australia are employed, in the most part, by public companies and professional accounting firms.

[edit] Membership

During the 2005 year, the membership of the Institute grew to 42,455. In addition, there were 15,151 university accounting graduates enrolled in the CA Program. Membership grew by some nine per cent. 43 per cent of members work in commerce and 39 per cent in public practice at locations throughout Australia and in 107 countries around the world. The remaining members fill positions in government, academia and elsewhere.

By comparison, the CPA Australia membership in 2003 was around 70,000 fully qualified members.