Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) is the Scottish professional accountancy body for chartered accountants and auditors. It is based in Edinburgh.

ICAS is a member of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (CCAB) and International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

History

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) is the world's first professional body of accountants, receiving its Royal Charter in 1854. The institute originated from:

# The Edinburgh Society of Accountants, formed in 1854;Perks, R.W.(1993): "Accounting and Society". Chapman & Hall (London); ISBN 0412473305. p.16]
# The Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries, formed in 1854;
# The Aberdeen Society of Accountants, formed in 1867.

These three bodies merged to form the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland in 1951. It was the first to adopt the designation "Chartered Accountant" and the designatory letters "CA" are still an exclusive privilege in the UK for members of the Scottish Institute.

Membership and Qualification

* ICAS has over 16,000 members worldwide working in public practice, industry, commerce, the public sector and education. Membership is generally obtained by entering a training contract with an accountancy firm (although it is possible to train within industry), during which the student gains experience and sits a number of exams. The CA designation is reserved exclusively for their use in the UK. ICAS is the only UK chartered accountancy body to provide professional education and training, as well as examinations, for all its students.

* Since the mid-1990s, ICAS has trained students located in England & Wales, and in that respect competes with ICAEW. [http://www.icas.org.uk/site/cms/contentviewarticle.asp?article=3046 Details]

* The ICAS has a special accelerated entry scheme for members of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.

Mutual recognition

The Institute has mutual recognition agreements in place with:

* Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
* Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland
* Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants
* Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia
* New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants
* South African Institute of Chartered Accountants
* Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants

ICAS members may admit to full memberships of the above institutions after passing an aptitude test or subject to other specific requirements.

Members of equivalent bodies in other European Economic Area member states and Switzerland may also be admitted to membership after passing an aptitude test, provided they are a citizen of an EEA state or Switzerland.

A mutual recognition arrangement between the Institute and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) was put in place in 1996. However this was terminated by ICAS in 2005. [http://www.icas.org.uk/site/cms/contentviewarticle.asp?article=4328 Details]

Role of ICAS

Under the Royal Charter, ICAS works in the public interest. The objective of ICAS is to uphold the integrity and standing of the profession of chartered accountancy in the interests of society and the membership, through excellence in education and the development of accountancy and through service to members and the enforcement of professional standards.

ICAS is a Designated Professional Body under the Financial Services and Markets Act, licensing firms of CAs to conduct a range of incidental investment business activities. It is a Recognised Professional Body under the Insolvency Act to issue permits to individual CAs to conduct insolvency appointments. ICAS is also a Recognised Qualifying Body and Recognised Supervisory Body in relation to company auditing under the Companies Act 1989.

ICAS is able to authorise members to conduct audit, insolvency and investment business work in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. This right is held in common with ACCA, ICAEW and the ICAI

References

ee also

* [http://www.frc.org.uk/images/uploaded/documents/5th%20Edition%20Key%20Facts%20and%20Trends%20Final090807.pdf Key Facts and Trends in the UK Accountancy Profession - July 2007]
* British qualified accountants

External links

* [http://www.icas.org.uk ICAS]