Talk:Chartered Accountant

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is all very interesting, but it doesn't tell me clearly what the practical difference is between a run-of-the-mill accountant and a Chartered accountant.

For many professions (eg lawyer, doctor etc) it is illegal for a person to offer their services unless they have been properly trained in the discipline. This is not so in the accountancy profession - anyone can set themselves up on in business and call themselves an accountant. They may have had no training at all and may be totally incompetent!

However, they cannot call themselves a Chartered Accountant... in the UK, only a fully trained, qualified and monitored member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) or the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) can call themselves Chartered. A member of the ICAEW has the designatory letters ACA (Associate) or FCA (Fellow), a member of ICAS has the letters CA or (I believe) FCA.

Choosing a Chartered Accountant as opposed to a "run-of-the-mill" accountant means that you are choosing a qualified person... would you choose to trust your health to an unqualified doctor???

Are you suggesting that Chartered Certified Accountants, Chartered Management Accountants and Chartered Public Finance Accountants are "unqualified"? Psnae 05:16, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Subject is chartered accountant, not chartered certified accountant

The article has persistently been edited by an unregistered user using a changing IP address.

The user adds non-neutral POV statements concerning the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants to show that this is an equivalent or superior qualification.

There is a separate article concerning the other qualification. I do not believe it is appropriate to add material on it here, other than the single sentence within the article to add clarity and cross reference.

Whether the qualifications are equivalent or whether one or other is superior is a subjective matter that should have no place in Wikipedia.

THJames 22:39, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

Agreed. Psnae 23:30, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

Seconded --Mig77 08:53, 4 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] South African Chartered Accountant

In South Africa, a person has to qualify as a chartered accountant in order to register as an auditor.

To perform accounting duties, an accountant (non-chartered) has to be registered with an approved accounting body such as SAICA (CA) or CIMA (CMA) or CPA (Certified Public Accountant).

Another interesting point - in South Africa, the best accounting designation is CA(SA), which is equivalent to the United States CPA.

However, there is also a CPA qualification in South Africa, which is inferior to CA. CPA's (formerly known as CFA's) mostly do accounting work for smaller Closed Corporations (which is a company that is not subject to a statutory audit).

CA's generally do audit work (they are the only accountants allowed to do an audit in South Africa) and more advanced accounting (compilation of financial statements) and taxation work.

146.182.9.9 10:20, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Bodies issuing CA qualification in UK

I have removed ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA and ACCA from the list of bodies that isue the "Chartered Accountant" title. Their members have similar titles but they are different ones.

THJames 20:12, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Role of the Queen/Privy Council

I have removed references to the Queen and Royal Charters as although they are issued in countries of which she is sovereign many Commonwealth countries such as Ireland (Republic of), India and Pakistan are republics and in some cases were already republics when their accountancy bodies were founded.

That the UK and Ireland are the only countries where the Chartered Accountant designation is issued is likely to be because they are the only countries where English is the main language, rather than because of the Queen.

THJames 20:12, 27 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cultural references

On At Last the 1948 Show, they had a running gag of putting chartered accountants in incongruous situations... AnonMoos 18:08, 18 September 2006 (UTC)