An
Accountant is a practitioner of
accountancy, which is the measurement,
disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information
that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and other decision
makers make resource allocation decisions.
The word "Accountant" is derived from the French word 'Compter'
which took its origin from the Latin word 'Computare'. The word was
formerly written in English as "Accomptant", but in process of time
the word, which was always pronounced by dropping the "p", became
gradually changed both in pronunciation and in orthography to its
present form.
The
Big Four are the largest
employers of accountants worldwide.
Commonwealth of Nations & Ireland
In the
United
Kingdom
, Canada
, Australlia and several other Commonwealth of Nations countries,
the equivalents of Certified Public Accountant (CPA) include
Chartered
Certified Accountant (ACCA),
Chartered Accountant (CA or
ACA), Chartered Management Accountant, International Accountant
(AAIA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA - Ireland and CPA - Hong
Kong), Certified General Accountant (CGA - Canada), Certified
Practicing Accountant (CPA - Australia) and members of the NIA
(Australia).
United Kingdom
- A Chartered Accountant must be a member of one
of the following:
Except Association of Certified Public Accountants,each of above
bodies admits members only after passing examinations and
undergoing a period of relevant work experience. Once admitted
members are expected to comply with ethical guidelines and gain
appropriate professional experience.
Chartered,Chartered Certified,Chartered Public Finance,and
International Accountant engaging in practice (i.e. selling
services to the public rather than acting as an employee) must gain
a "practicing certificate" by meeting further requirements such as
purchasing adequate insurance and undergoing inspections.
ICAEW, ICAS, ICAI, ACCA, AIA and CIPFA as six statutory
RQB Qualification Bodies in UK, the member of them
may also become
Registered Auditors in accordance with the
Companies Act, providing they can demonstrate the necessary
professional ability in that area and submit to regular inspection.
It is illegal for any individual or firm that is not a Registered
Auditor to perform a company audit.
Further restrictions apply to accountants who carry out insolvency
work.
In addition to the bodies above, the
Association of Accounting Technicians and Association of Certified
Accounting Technicians offers its members training and support
in accountancy skills.
Canada
In Canada, there are three recognized accounting bodies: the
Canadian
Institute of Chartered Accountants (CA) and the provincial and
territorial CA Institutes,
the Certified General Accountants
Association of Canada , and the
Society of
Management Accountants of Canada, also known as the Certified
Management Accountants (CMA). CA and CGA were created by Acts of
Parliament in 1902 and 1913 respectively and CMA was established in
1920.
The CA program focuses on public accounting and candidates must
obtain auditing experience from public accounting firms; the CGA
program takes a general approach allowing candidates to focus in
their own financial career choices; the CMA program focuses in
management accounting. The CA and CMA programs require a candidate
to obtain a degree as a program entry requirement. The CGA program
requires a degree as an exit requirement prior to
certification.
Auditing and Public Accounting are regulated by the provinces.
Historically, only CAs can perform audits in
Ontario
. In 2004, the provincial government of
Ontario passed a new Public Accounting Act that would allow
qualified CGAs and CMAs to perform audits, conditional on their
organizations being able to demonstrate that their qualification
and regulatory programs are equivalent in rigour to that of the CA
program. As of March 2006, this process of evaluation had
not yet begun.
On November 20, 2009, Quebec
passed
regulations granting qualified CAs, CGAs and CMAs statutory
auditing rights. In British Columbia
and Prince Edward Island
, CAs and CGAs have equal status regarding public
accounting and auditing; In the rest of Canada, CAs, CGAs,
and CMAs are considered equivalents pursuant to provincial and
territorial legislation.
As of year 2006, the Chartered Certified Accountant (
ACCA or FCCA)
is also recognized by Canadian government as an eligible
qualification to audit federal government institutions in Canada.
Furthermore, The Canadian branch of
ACCA is
pursuing recognition for statutory audit purposes in the province
of Ontario under the province's Public Accounting Act of
2004.
Australia
In Australia there are four main local professional accountancy
bodies.
However, the Chartered Certified Accountant (
ACCA or FCCA)
qualification is also recognized as a prescribed body for
insolvency purposes under the Corporation Act 2001, section 1282
and for audit purposes by ASIC under Practice Statement 180 Auditor
recognition in
Australia.
Additionally the
Institute of
Certified Management Accountants (ICMA) awards the CMA
designation, and is specialized in the area of
Management Accounting.Description: are
excerpt in in finance, taxation, and business leadershipAnd work
throughout the world in industryEducation: The education is Skill
based and they need to complete 19 courses which are consisted of 2
business cases
New Zealand
In New Zealand, there is only one local accountancy body, the
New
Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA).
To audit public companies an individual must be a member of either
the NZICA or an otherwise gazetted body. Chartered Certified
Accountant (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants or FCCA)
qualification has also been gazetted under the relevant act (Under
Section 199 of the Companies Act 1993: Qualifications of Auditors).
An ACCA member can practice as long as they hold an ACCA public
practice certificate (with audit qualification) in their country of
origin.
Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, a Chartered Accountant must be a member of the
Institute of
Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (designatory letters ACA or
FCA), therefore it is the sole local accountancy body. To audit
public companies an individual must be a member of the ICASL.
Bangladesh
United States of America
In the
United
States
, legally practicing accountants are Certified Public Accountants
(CPAs), and other non-statutory accountants are Certified Internal Auditors
(CIAs), Certified
Management Accountants (CMAs) and Accredited Business
Accountants (ABAs). The difference between these
certifications is primarily the legal status and the types of
services provided, although individuals may earn more than one
certification. Additionally, much accounting work is performed by
uncertified individuals, who may be working under the supervision
of a certified accountant.
A CPA is licensed by the state of his/her residence to provide
auditing services to the public, although most CPA firms also offer
accounting, tax, litigation support, and other financial advisory
services. The requirements for receiving the CPA license varies
from state to state, although the passage of the Uniform Certified
Public Accountant examination is required by all states.
[9231] This examination is designed and graded
by the
American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
A CIA is granted a certificate from the Institute of Internal
Auditors (IIA), provided that the candidate passed a rigorous
examination of four parts. A CIA mostly provides his/her services
directly to his/her employer rather than the public.
A CMA is granted a certificate from the Institute of Management
Accountants (IMA), provided that the candidate passed a rigorous
examination of four parts and meet the practical experience
requirement from the IMA. A CMA mostly provides his/her services
directly to his/her employers rather than the public. A CMA can
also provide his services to the public, but to an extent much
lesser than that of a CPA.
An ABA is granted accreditation from the
Accreditation
Council for Accountancy and Taxation (ACAT), provided that the
candidate passed the eight-hour Comprehensive Examination for
Accreditation in Accounting which tests proficiency in financial
accounting, reporting, statement preparation, taxation, business
consulting services, business law, and ethics. An ABA specializes
in the needs of small-to-mid-size businesses and in financial
services to individuals and families. In states where use of the
word "accountant” is not permitted by non state licensed
individuals, the practitioner may use Accredited Business
adviser.
The
United States
Department of Labor
's Bureau of
Labor Statistics estimates that there are about one million
persons [9232] employed as accountants and auditors in
the U.S.
U.S. tax law grants
accountants a limited form of
accountant-client
privilege.
Earnings and Wages
Accountants Median Salary per Industry
- Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services
$57,020
- Management of companies and enterprises $55,560
- Local government $50,120
- Depository credit intermediation $49,380
- State government $47,200
Hong Kong
In
Hong
Kong
, the accountancy industry is regulated by the
HKICPA under the Professional Accountants
Ordinance (Chapter 50, Laws of Hong Kong). The Auditing industry for limited companies
is regulated under the Companies Ordinance (Chapter 32, Laws of
Hong
Kong), and other Ordinances such as the Securities and
Futures Ordinance, the Listing Rules, etc.
Removal of requirement for a qualified accountant in the
Listing Rules of Hong Kong
In November 2008, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited has
removed the requirement for a qualified accountant from the Listing
Rules but expanded the Code Provisions in the Code on Corporate
Governance Practices regarding internal controls to make specific
references to the responsibility of the directors to conduct an
annual review of the adequacy of staffing of the financial
reporting function and the oversight role of the audit
committee.
Austria
In Austria the accountancy profession is regulated by the
Bilanzbuchhaltungsgesetz 2006 (BibuG - Management Accountancy
Law).
Portugal
In Portugal, to be a qualified accountant or
auditor, having an academic degree is obligatory,
and the certification is exclusively awarded by the
Ordem dos Revisores
Oficiais de Contas (OROC), a professional organization. In
general, accountants or auditors accredited by the
Ordem dos
Revisores Oficiais de Contas are individuals with
university graduation diplomas in
business management,
economics,
mathematics
and even
law, who after further studies, applied
for an exam at the
Ordem dos Revisores Oficiais de Contas
and received the certification to be a ROC (
Revisor Oficial de
Contas), the highest professional qualification in the field
of
accountancy. Any citizen having a
polytechnic degree as
accounting technician is also
entitled to apply for the exam and certification at the OROC.
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