Accounts certification threshold for Member in Practice

Rupinder Sharma

Hi I have one client and he is self-employed and in full employment but does not earn more than £40K per year and I have been dealing with his accounts from last few years, but as he has to submit his income to Home office for his visa and he needs it to be certify by chartered accountant as mentioned in Home Office guidelines. but i do not know any chartered accountant who can certify it and I do not want to loose my client. its a shame that why AAT member in Practice not included as an certifying accountant in Home Office list or at least it should be some limit that we can certify accounts upto £1 million or up to auditing limit. Can AAT get some kind or threshold for member in practice?

Craig_G

I was dismayed to read on the Home Office website that exam-qualified AAT members don't belong to a recognised accounting body, but that the qualified-by-experience members of the Institute of Financial Accountants do:

Requirements for accountants

If you are providing evidence from an accountant or accountancy firm, they must be either a fully qualified chartered accountant or a certified accountant who is a member of a registered body.

If your earnings were for work done while you were in the UK, the evidence must come from an accountant or accountancy firm in the UK who is a member of a recognised supervisory body:

the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW);
the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland (ICAS);
the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI);
the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA);
the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA);
Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA); and
the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

If you made your earnings while you were not in the UK, the evidence must come from a member of one of the above supervisory bodies, or from a full member of the International Federation of Accountants.

I suspect that the Home Office have considered the Institute of Financial Accountants' membership of the International Federation of Accountants to be evidence that it's a worthwhile qualification.

It simply cannot be right that the AAT qualification is viewed as inferior to one which accepts members who aren't required to sit, never mind pass, a single exam.

Even if we suspend disbelief and accept that five years of practical accounting experience (that's all that's needed to 'qualify' with the Institute of Financial Accountants) is enough to become an accountant, then Fellow members of the AAT should also be recognised by the Home Office — to become an FMAAT, five years of senior post-qualifying experience are required.

Newbie

I have just emailed this to membership support, thanks for the update

dantray

With regards to the institute of financial accountants - What kind of credibility does membership of this organisation give you, both in practice and in industry?

I ask as i'm seriously considering sacking ACCA off completely and from the ACCA exams i have already passed it appears as though I can claim a large number of exemptions against IFA. I would like to know what doors this may open for me.

Thanks.

Monsoon

dantray wrote: »

I would like to know what doors this may open for me.

It's a bit of an anomaly. I don't think it's that highly regarded, certainly not as much as AAT, but they've been working hard to get more recognition. I'm not sure how much sway it holds with employers.

Newbie

I thought I would give this topic a bump, I take it the there have been no developments since?

Fireraiser

Until yesterday, those bodies were the only UK full members of IFAC. Now that AAT has joined those ranks, I wonder if the Home Office will change its guidelines. Maybe worth asking them?