1.

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).

1. 1. United Kingdom
• A Chartered Certified Accountant must be a member of the Association of Chartered
Certified Accountants (designatory letters ACCA or FCCA).
• A Chartered Accountant must be a member of one of the following:
○ the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW)
(designatory letters ACA or FCA)
○ the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) (designatory letters
CA)
○ the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI)
○ a recognised equivalent body from another Commonwealth country (designatory
letters being CA (name of country) e.g. CA (Canada))
• A Chartered Management Accountant must be a member of the Chartered Institute of
Management Accountants (designatory letters ACMA or FCMA).
• A Chartered Public Finance Accountant must be a member of the Chartered Institute
of Public Finance and Accountancy (designatory letters CPFA).
• An International Accountant must be a member of the Association of International
Accountants (designatory letters AIAA or FAIA).
• An Incorporated Financial Accountant must be a member of the Institute of Financial
Accountants (designatory letters AFA or FFA).
• A Certified Public Accountant must be a member of the Association of Certified Public
Accountants (designatory letters AICPA or FCPA).
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.

1. 2. 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 (CGA), 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.

1. 3. Australia
In Australia there are four main local professional accountancy bodies.
• Certified Practicing Accountants (CPA) are members of CPA Australia.
• Professional National Accountants (PNA) and Member of National Institute of
Accountants (MNIA) are members of National Institute of Accountants Australia.
• Chartered Accountants are members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in
Australia.
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 leadership And work throughout the world in industry
Education: The education is Skill based and they need to complete 19 courses which are
consisted of 2 business cases

1. 4. 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.

1. 5. 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.

1. 6. Bangladesh
Main article: Accountancy profession in Bangladesh

2. 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. [2] 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 [3] employed as accountants and auditors in the U.S.
U.S. tax law grants accountants a limited form of accountant-client privilege.

3. Earnings and Wages

Accountants Median Salary per Industry [3]
• 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

4. Hong Kong
Main article: Accountancy in 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.

5. Austria
In Austria the accountancy profession is regulated by the Bilanzbuchhaltungsgesetz 2006 (BibuG
- Management Accountancy Law).

6. 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. [4]

7. References
1. Pixley, Francis William: Accountancy - constructive and recording accountancy (Sir
Isaac Pitman & Sons, Ltd, London, 1900), p4[1]
2. Accounting News
3. Accountant Salary and Wage
4. OROC official site; Access 2008