British accountancy qualifications

In the UK, there is no licence requirement for individuals to describe themselves or practise as an accountant (except for audit or insolvency work). However, to use certain titles and designatory letters requires membership of the appropriate professional body, thus:

* Bodies with royal charter
o Chartered Accountants must be members 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) (designatory letters ACA or FCA)
+ a recognised equivalent body from another Commonwealth country (designatory letters being CA (name of country) e.g. CA(Canada))
o Chartered Certified Accountants must be members of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) (designatory letters ACCA or FCCA)
o Chartered Management Accountants must be members of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) (designatory letters ACMA or FCMA)
o Chartered Public Finance Accountants must be members of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) (designatory letters CPFA)
* Other recognised bodies
o International Accountants must be members of the Association of International Accountants (AIA) （one of six RQBs in UK) (designatory letters AAIA or FAIA)
* Other professional bodies
o Authorised Public Accountants must be members of the Association of Authorised Public Accountants (AAPA) （one of six RSBs in UK) (designatory letters AAPA)
o Incorporated Financial Accountants must be members of the Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA) (designatory letters FFA or AFA)
o Institute of Professional Accountants must be members of the [[Institute of Professional Accountantswww.ipaccountants.org.uk]] (IPA) (designatory letters APA or FPA)
o Certified Public Accountants must be members of the Association of Certified Public Accountants (CPA) (designatory letters ACPA or FCPA)
o Certified Practising Accountants must be members of the Institute of Certified Practising Accountants (ICPA) (designatory letters ICPA)

Except the Association of Authorised Public Accountants (AAPA), the Association of Certified Public Accountants (ACPA) and the Institute of Certified Practising Accountants (ICPA), each of these 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.

In addition to the bodies above, the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) (designatory letters MAAT) is the UK’s leading body for junior accounting staff. After passing exams and obtaining relevant experience, its members can apply for MIP (Member in Practice) status and are then licensed and regulated by the AAT to provide Practice services. The AAT is also sponsored by the professional accounting bodies CIPFA, ICAEW, CIMA and ICAS. ACCA offers a similar (although not directly comparable) status as a Certified Accounting Technician (CAT). AIA offers IAT with the London Chamber of Commerce & Industry.