Can someone please answer this for me?

Question

if a person who wanted to get into accounting that had no degree but is gettin all the experience from a family member who is an accountant could that person open his own little office and label his office as a ------------ accountant and actuali work for themselves

Answer 1

apsrt from the few businesses that require a licence any one can set up as anything - it is up to clients to check the business principals have the correct qualifications

Answer 2

I don't think so. You could do little things for people that are related to accounting like taxes and stuff, but to do other things, you probably need a degree, unless you make a big show of your experience.

Answer 3

You can open up an office and certainly do accounts work but you cannot call yourself a CERTIFIED or CHARTERD accountant and cannot sign accounts.

To be a qualified accountant you have to sit and pass exams from those bodies.

Good luck with your plan

Answer 4

Please try to obtain a license from the legal authority before starting your office.

Answer 5

no

Answer 6

i think you need qualifications to do this type of work, but don't quote me on that

Answer 7

I am sure I have answered this before!

If you are un-qualified (not Chartered or Certified)You can 'do' the books for someone. This is book-keeping. You can submit thier returns to the Tax office (you register as their agent). You can provide them with management accounts, cash flow projections or reconcile their bank accounts and do their VAT returns. You obviously have to know what you are doing. Why not take the AAT course? Then you can have letters after your name, which would give confidence to prospective clients. What you cannot do is audit accounts for a Limited company. The other thing that would worry me is professional liability. Suppose after a few years of doing some accounts the IR decided to have an investigation and found some discrepancies, could you be sued by your client for professional negligence? Have a look at http://www.aat.org.uk

Answer 8

You can qualify as an accountant without a degree (many of the institutes have a tiered examination structure that allows you to enter at a range of levels). So from that perspective, not having a degree is less of an issue. (In fact many accountancy firms prefer to recruit trainee Chartered Accountants with a non-accountancy degree).

However this is only part of the story.

In the UK it is also possible to practice as an accountant without being a member of one of the recognised professional bodies. There are many such people out there. But they are legally not allowed to do audit work or work on solicitors accounts, charity accounts (above a certain size) and a small number of other regulated areas.

That said, what is possible, and what is desirable are not always the same thing - and most clients do prefer the reassurance that you belong to one of the main recognised institutes for accountants in public practice:

the ACCA - http://www.accaglobal.com

the ICAEW - http://www.icaew.co.uk

the CIMA - http://www.cimaglobal.com

the ICAS - http://www.icas.org.uk

the IFA - http://www.ifa.org.uk

the AAT - http://www.aat.org.uk

the CIOT - http://www.tax.org.uk

the ATT - http://www.att.org.uk

If you are not in one of these bodies, you would also need to know that the HMRC would be regulating you for compliance with the Money Laundering Regulations, and many banks/building societies would not accept your work without supporting documentation from the Revenue showing that they had accepted the numbers. This limits the value of a pure 'qualified by experience' person.

Basically, if you are young enough, do the exams - it will make you better as an accountant, more competent to do the work, better value to your clients, and able to do a wider range of services.