How To Qualify as a Chartered Accountant

To qualify as a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), you will need to complete the following steps:

1. Academic Qualifications: You will need to have a degree or equivalent qualification recognized by ICAEW. If you don't have an appropriate degree, you may still be eligible to enter the ACA (Associate Chartered Accountant) qualification via the ICAEW Certificate in Finance, Accounting, and Business (CFAB).

2. Professional Development: The ACA is a rigorous training program that combines work experience with study. To complete it, you will need to find a training agreement with an ICAEW-authorized employer. During your training agreement, you will be required to complete a minimum of 450 days of practical work experience in accounting and finance, along with completing 15 ICAEW professional development courses.

3. ACA Exams: You will need to pass 15 exams in total, which are divided into three levels: Certificate, Professional, and Advanced. These exams are designed to test your knowledge and skills in accounting, finance, business, and ethics.

4. Ethics and Professionalism: As a Chartered Accountant, you will need to adhere to high ethical and professional standards. Therefore, you will need to complete an ethics and professional scepticism module as part of your ACA training.

5. Membership: Once you have completed your training and exams, you will be eligible for ICAEW membership and will be able to use the ACA designation.

Overall, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with the ICAEW is a challenging but rewarding process that requires dedication and hard work. It is important to research and plan ahead before starting your journey to ensure you meet all the necessary requirements.

 

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ICAEW Calls For Emergency Taskforce To Tackle HMRC Backlog

 

Ministers must set up a taskforce to deal with the unacceptable delays at HMRC, which are holding back the UK’s economic growth, says ICAEW.

ICAEW is calling for the immediate creation of a cross-sector taskforce to address long-standing delays at HMRC, which it says have become a drag on the UK’s economic growth.

The emergency taskforce would be charged with identifying areas for support to end delays, as well as recommending improvements to HMRC’s service standards to enable business growth, ICAEW says.

Taxpayers and accountants are having to wait up to a year for HMRC to respond to queries over the phone or by post, ICAEW says, while callers report that they have waited for more than an hour before being cut off. Customer service staffing levels at HMRC have reduced from 25,500 to 19,500 people, causing long delays for both agents and taxpayers.

These delays were the biggest area of complaint made by ICAEW members in 2022, whether relating to financial or other resource constraints. 

VAT registration for a new or growing business or re-registration where an existing business incorporates should be expected to happen quickly, the Institute says. Such businesses are growing and their administrative workload will double while they wait for HMRC to act.

ICAEW is increasingly of the view that HMRC is now trapped by its backlog and delays are now an anchor on the UK’s economic growth. The government needs to urgently tackle this issue if it is serious about building the ‘pillar of enterprise’, it says.

“The delays at HMRC are unacceptable, need to be addressed promptly and are acting as a drag on the UK’s economic growth,” ICAEW Chief Executive Michael Izza says. 

“We’re calling on ministers to set up an emergency taskforce to identify steps to eliminate HMRC’s backlog and improve its service standards, so that in the future it supports, not inhibits, business growth and maximises the tax receipts needed to fund public services.”

The taskforce should include representatives from professional bodies and from business, who would be empowered to make recommendations to HMRC to improve its services and clear its backlog, ICAEW says.

“HMRC performs a vital function supporting businesses and growth, for example ensuring new businesses can register promptly for VAT, and its work is essential in collecting tax receipts to fund public services,” Izza continues. 

“Despite this vital role and the commitment from hardworking civil servants, HMRC is often overlooked and overstretched, leading to problems, and we would be pleased to work with it to tackle these issues.”

It is unclear whether these waiting times relate to financial or other resource constraints, but the time it takes for HMRC to respond is perceived by many chartered accountants to be the single biggest obstacle to growth and tops the list of complaints by members, ICAEW says. It is a problem regardless of the means of communication being used, where intervention or action cannot be undertaken automatically.

Spoiler alert: THIS WON'T HAPPEN!

 

Tax Investigation Insurance

Market leading tax fee protection insurance for businesses, sole traders and individuals. Protect yourself from accountancy fees in the event of an HMRC enquiry.

Having a Solar Protect Tax Investigation Insurance policy at your disposal means that should you be one of the many 1000's of businesses or individuals that are selected by HMRC each year to look into your tax affairs your own accountant (your tax return agent) can get on and defend you robustly.

You have the peace of mind knowing that your accountant's (your tax return agent) fees will be paid by the insurance without any Excess for you to find.

Tax Investigation Insurance is an insurance policy that will fully reimburse your accountant's (your tax return agent) fees up to £100,000 if you are subject to enquiry by or dispute with HMRC.

A Solar Protect policy will enable your accountant (your tax return agent) to:

• Deal with any correspondence from HMRC
• Attend any meeting with HMRC
• Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal or Upper Tribunal
• Having the security of knowing that fees will be met in full will enable your Accountant (your tax return agent) to defend your position robustly

Please click here for details.