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Farnell: when is an accountant not an ‘accountant’?

Hiring an accountant is not always as transparent as one might think as anyone can say they are an accountant, regardless of whether they have specific institute endorsed qualifications. Sean Farnell, partner at Burgis & Bullock, says it is high time this shoddy state of affairs was reviewed and calls for tighter controls on who can call themselves an accountant

This is not the set up for yet another accountant joke, but a serious question that in my opinion is not asked often enough by UK businesses.

I know it is confusing with the main institutes (ICAEW, ACCA, CIPFA, CIMA, ICAS, et al) all vying for recognition as ‘the one true faith’ and the decision of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) back in 1996 to call themselves Chartered Certified Accountants further muddied the water.

One thing the institutes all have in common is that they are professional organisations requiring the passing of stringent professional exams and highly regulated with regards to the activities their members may undertake, and the methodology used.

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