United Kingdom

Capital: London
Population: approx. 67,900,000
Language: English
Part of the EU since: No longer members

Member Bodies

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) http://www.accaglobal.com/
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) https://www.cimaglobal.com/
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) https://www.cipfa.org/
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) http://www.icaew.com/
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) https://www.icas.com/

Professional Bodies

	ACCA	CIMA	CIPFA	ICAEW	ICAS
Membership	Mandatory	Voluntary	Voluntary	Mandatory	Voluntary
No. of members	223,454	115,000	14,000	151,761	22,606
Institute staff	1,403	1,300	230	741	159
Date of establishment	1904	1919	1885	1880	1854
Local branches	104	100	14	10	2
Subject to public oversight	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Public oversight authority	Financial Reporting Council (FRC), changing to ARGA Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)	FRC FCA PRA	FRC FCA PRA	FRC FCA PRA	FRC FCA PRA

Involvement in Qualification and Market Access	ACCA	CIMA	CIPFA	ICAEW	ICAS
Initial education	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Examination	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Approval and registration	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Continued Professional Development	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Activities	ACCA	CIMA	CIPFA	ICAEW	ICAS
Standard setting	Financial Reporting Council (FRC)	FRC	FRC	FRC	FRC
Quality assurance	Yes, for members in public practice and for members registered for audit in relation to non-PIEs, under POT oversight	Yes (for members in public practice)	Yes (for members in public practice)	Yes, for members in public practice and for members registered for audit in relation to non-PIEs, under POT oversight	Yes, for members in public practice and for members registered for audit in relation to non-PIEs, under POT oversight
Disciplinary measures	Yes, as above	Yes	Yes	Yes, as above	Yes, as above

Profession

Professions	Chartered Certified Accountant	Chartered Management Accountant	Chartered Public Finance Accountant	Chartered Accountant	Chartered Accountant
Professional body	ACCA	CIMA	CIPFA	ICAEW	ICAS
Protected title	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Reserved activities¹	Statutory Audit	N/A	Local public audit in England	Statutory Audit and Insolvency	Statutory Audit and Insolvency
Included authorisations	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

^{1 – ACCA, ICAEW and ICAS are Recognised Qualifying Bodies (RQBs) for these reserved activities, and also act as Recognised Supervisory Bodies (RSBs) regulating their members in these areas under the oversight of the Professional Oversight Team (see also the table on professional bodies). CIPFA is an RQB in relation to local public audit in England.
NB: Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI) is also a registered RQB in the UK in accordance with Schedule 10 of the 2006 UK Companies Act. In accordance with CAI bye-laws, the Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board (CARB) carries out all the monitoring functions of the CAI as RSB.}

Supervision

	Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA)	Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA)	Chartered Public Finance Accountant (CIPFA)	Chartered Accountant (ICAEW)	Chartered Accountant (ICAS)
Regulated profession²	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Supervision	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Public oversight authority	FRC FCA PRA	FRC FCA PRA	FRC FCA PRA	FRC FCA PRA	FRC FCA PRA

² – Regulation by the professional bodies of their members

Qualification

	Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA)	Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA)	Chartered Public Finance Accountant (CIPFA)	Chartered Accountant (ICAEW)	Chartered Accountant (ICAS)
Pre-entry	Routes to entry: – direct entry after secondary level education – entry after completion of a university degree or post graduate programme – entry after Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) level	Open entry qualification. Students must complete the Certificate in Business Accounting or equivalent before progressing onto the professional qualification. Entry after qualification at Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) level	Routes to entry: – direct entry after secondary level education – entry after completion of a university degree or post graduate programme – entry after qualification at AAT level	4 main routes to entry: – direct entry after secondary level education – entry after completion of a university degree or post graduate programme – entry after ICAEW’s Certificate in Finance, Accounting and Business (CFAB) – entry after qualification at AAT level	Routes to entry: – direct entry after secondary level education – entry after completion of a university degree or post graduate programme – entry after qualification at AAT level
General initial education steps (without possible exemptions)	– study for and pass 13 ACCA professional qualification exams (depending on exemptions) – complete ethics and professional skills module – complete 3 years supervised work experience	– complete CIMA’s Certificate in Business Accounting (5 exams) – study for and pass CIMA’s 10 professional qualification exams) – complete three years relevant work experience	– complete 3 stages 1. Professional Certificate, 2. Professional Diploma, 3. Strategic Phase – 12 modules to be completed in total – submission of a workplace log detailing relevant work experience (usually around 3 years)	– sign a training agreement – register as a student with ICAEW – complete the four essential elements of Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) training (15 ACA modules, 450 days technical work experience, Initial Professional Development, Structured Training in Ethics) – qualify and apply for ICAEW membership	– enter and complete a training contract with an ICAS authorised employer for the prescribed period, normally three years – achieve relevant work experience requirements and achieve key competencies – study for and pass three stages of examinations (subject to exemptions). Final level of exams includes a TPE case study and a Public Trust and Ethics exam.

Statistics

	Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA)	Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA)	Chartered Public Finance Accountant (CIPFA)	Chartered Accountant (ICAEW)	Chartered Accountant (ICAS)
No. of qualified professionals in the UK and Republic of Ireland	101,476	85,000	12,450	128,626	18,934
No. of worldwide qualified professionals	223,454	115,000	13,358	151,761	22,028
No. of new trainees in the UK and Republic of Ireland	79,937	55,000	1,949	21,618	3,488
No. of all trainees	445,186	120,000	4,749	28,700	3,488
No. of people taking the professional examination	268,277	Information not available	Information not available	Information not available	Information not available
No. of people passing the professional examination	23,289	Information not available	Information not available	Information not available	Information not available

Market access – qualified professional⁶

	Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA)	Chartered Management Accountant (CIMA)	Chartered Public Finance Accountant (CIPFA)	Chartered Accountant (ICAEW)	Chartered Accountant (ICAS)
Registration required	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Competent authority for registration	ACCA	CIMA	CIPFA	ICAEW	ICAS
Cost of appointment/registration	£258 Membership Fee and Practising Certificate £514	£313 Membership Fee for Fellows plus Member in Practice £153 (UK and Ireland)	£332 Membership Fee	£300 Membership Fee and Practising Certificate £268	£495 Membership Fee and Practising Certificate £595
Oath required	No	No	No	No	No (new members do state an oath at the admissions ceremony)
Insurance required	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Professional addressed required	Contact address required	MiP (Member in Practice) address required	PAS (Practice Assurance Scheme) address required	Contact address required	Contact address required