Can a get a Practicing licence through ICPA

Can i get a practicing licence through ICPA

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Hi there i am looking to start my own practice for SME's can I get a practising licenec through ICPA?  I have been ACCA qualified for 15 years , all in industry, and I am going to start my own practise.  I dont want to apply for the ACCA practsing licence as  I have changed jobs so no one to sign of my training record. Can i apply for a licence through th ICPA? I wou't be preforming any audit work.

Please help as I am getting really confused on how to proceed. I know I must have a licence but how do i get one if i dont want to apply for an ACCA licence???

Thanks

 

Replies (20)

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By marks
22nd Sep 2016 22:20

ICPA will give you a certificate if you join but it isnt really worth anything and isnt recognised as one of the CCAB bodies eg ICAS, ICAEW, ICAI, ACCA, CIPFA . The ICPA is an association but there is no requirement to pass any exams/done any training. Though you do from memory have had to worked in practice either as an employee or on your own for a set number of years.

Not to downcry ICPA, as I think it is good for all the benefits you get being a member, of it and I am actually a member. But I publicise that I am a CA with ICAS. But dont actually publise that i am a member of ICPA. Would actually say that for a small practitioner that ICPA gives me more facilities, support and practical help than ICAS does.

If you did go out on your own then you would need to resign as an ACCA member if you dont get a practising certificate through them. Understand that their rules prevent you practising as a member without their practising certificate.

On a separate point you dont need to have a licence. Plenty of people out there hold themselves out as an "accountant" without any licence. Just really need to register with HMRC and thats it. Can in theory operate without any licence, without any PII, without keeping up CPD etc. Though wouldnt advise this.

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By Tim Vane
22nd Sep 2016 22:25

I think you are misunderstanding what ICPA is - it is essentially a trade organisation and cannot licence you to practice, any more than the Tufty Club.

You can certainly join, and they will happily take your membership fees. You'll need to give up your ACCA membership if you go into public practice, but frankly you are likely to find ICPA far more benefit than ACCA if you are a small practice, even if you can't call yourself a Chartered Accountant anymore. The majority of the fee paying public don't know and don't care about the difference between an accountant and a chartered accountant anyway, so why worry about a licence.

If you don't want to join ICPA, you can just resign from ACCA, pay an MLR fee to HMRC, and you're quite literally in business.

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By cheekychappy
22nd Sep 2016 22:26

ICPA is not even the blue peter badge of the profession.

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By In a Daze
22nd Sep 2016 23:35

I did resign my ACCA membership it had absolutely no effect on my practice growth or retaining clients.

There are both poor Charted Accountants and qualified by experience.

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Replying to In a Daze:
By jon_griffey
23rd Sep 2016 17:39

In a Daze wrote:

I did resign my ACCA membership it had absolutely no effect on my practice growth or retaining clients.

There are both poor Charted Accountants and qualified by experience.

How do you know it had no effect on practice growth? You will never know what potential clients avoided you because you were not Chartered.

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Replying to jon_griffey:
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By In a Daze
24th Sep 2016 20:19

jon_griffey wrote:

In a Daze wrote:

I did resign my ACCA membership it had absolutely no effect on my practice growth or retaining clients.

There are both poor Charted Accountants and qualified by experience.

How do you know it had no effect on practice growth? You will never know what potential clients avoided you because you =were not Chartered.

When i started out on my own i made a decision on what i wanted to earn each year. which was around £60k after tax i have now achieved this figure working more or less part time however, the amount of referrals goes up month on month although i only take on a new client if one leaves.

Most of referrals come from other trade bodies and clients.

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Replying to In a Daze:
By cheekychappy
29th Sep 2016 11:08

.

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Replying to In a Daze:
By cheekychappy
29th Sep 2016 11:09

In a Daze wrote:

I did resign my ACCA membership it had absolutely no effect on my practice growth or retaining clients.

There are both poor Charted Accountants and qualified by experience.

According to another forum, you say that you only completed the F papers. So your comment is somewhat misleading.

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Red Kite
By Red Kite
23rd Sep 2016 09:40

Speaking from experience (since 2006), membership of ICPA brings many benefits.
Over the years the association has joined forces with numerous professional and highly respected individuals and, whilst it isn't recognised as one of the CCAB bodies, it certainly merits great respect.
The head of ICPA (Tony Margaritelli) and, his team, work tirelessly for the benefit of members and they are constantly reviewing how to take the membership to the next level.

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Replying to Red Kite:
By Tim Vane
27th Sep 2016 14:26

"Membership of ICPA brings many benefits"

- A fine sentiment, but respect aside, as an established small firm, what benefits would I expect if I signed up today?

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Replying to Tim Vane:
Red Kite
By Red Kite
27th Sep 2016 17:02

In response Tim, I can only direct you towards

http://www.icpa.org.uk/benefits/top_ten_benefits

Possibly, you're already aware of these listings?

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boxfile
By spilly
23rd Sep 2016 11:53

One problem you might encounter is when a client wants a mortgage. The banks & mortgage companies want their forms signed off by someone who is a member of the main accountancy bodies, and they don't recognise the ICPA. Otherwise, I agree totally that ICPA is very supportive. They also understand that most of us are dealing with small businesses and sole traders, unlike ACCA who seem to think we all work for large companies.

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Replying to spilly:
Red Kite
By Red Kite
23rd Sep 2016 12:27

In fairness spilly, there is now more reliance on evidence based SA302 tax calculations, to support lending criteria.

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Replying to Red Kite:
Tornado
By Tornado
27th Sep 2016 15:52

Perhaps, but I have just had to complete an Accountant's Certificate for Santander in addition to other evidence, and it is made clear if you are not on their list of approved professionals, then you cannot complete the Certificate.

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Replying to Briar:
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By nigel wilkes
28th Sep 2016 14:58

hi.. interesting message trail.. am an FCCA, 21 years working for same business in Housebuilding industry.

out of work.. I had one SME client, for whom I managed compliance work for 4 years. Client very happy. However, breaking my regulators rules.. I did not have a ACCA Practising Cert.[PC] Found out that my work experience would not qualify me for a PC. And without a PC, also would not get PII cover. So, I have had to explain this to my ex-client, [who is also a long standing friend], and he has now engaged elsewhere.. simple as that... any comments..

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Replying to Briar:
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By Sarahjane
28th Sep 2016 21:08

Why would you feel the need to even respond with such negativity? Perhaps the polite and dignified approach would be to say nothing . I have battled with dyslexia for many years and it's attitudes like yours that make me even more determined to achieve .

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Replying to Sarahjane:
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By nigel wilkes
29th Sep 2016 10:25

Sarahjane wrote:

Why would you feel the need to even respond with such negativity? Perhaps the polite and dignified approach would be to say nothing . I have battled with dyslexia for many years and it's attitudes like yours that make me even more determined to achieve .


to Sarah Jane... was this message in response to mine, directly above?
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Replying to nigel wilkes:
Tornado
By Tornado
29th Sep 2016 10:40

I think this was directed at Briar who was being too critical of the format of the OP.

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Tornado
By Tornado
28th Sep 2016 23:27

The advice given by most people already is good, but with limited or nil experience in General Practice, you may find it difficult to deal with the many aspects of finance and business that will arise.

I would suggest that you speak to the ACCA about your plans and I feel sure that they will give you good advice on how to proceed. Remember that they will not want to lose you as a member and may suggest a way in which you could qualify for a Practising Certificate. Remember always to answer any questions honestly.

One point I make to clients who might be thinking of changing direction, is that they are often very good at what they do, but just want to try something different. This is all very well until they start looking in the detail of alternatives and then realise that they are actually going to be much better off continuing what they are doing, even if it gets a bit repetitive at times.

I am trying to suggest that you draw on the 15 years experience you have already gained in industry and perhaps set up in business serving that particular sector as a specialist consultant. I feel that the Accountancy profession is moving towards bigger firms and the days of sole practitioners and small partnerships are numbered which means that people with specialist skills will be the norm in any Practice in the future.

Whether you get endorsement from the ACCA or not, you can still trade as a sole trader or small company and with the right approach to your potential clients, you should be able to find work that you can do easily and efficiently.

It is important to arrange some kind of professional indemnity insurance related specifically to the kind of work you will be doing, and I think this will not be difficult to do.

I hope this, and some of the previous posts, are of assistance to you.

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Replying to Tornado:
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By Sarahjane
29th Sep 2016 10:57

Thank you Tornado, you are correct I was replying to Briar.

Thank you all for your comments and advice they have been very helpful. I am in the process of completing my ACCA practising certificate and I have more than enough experience so hopefully that will get approved.

I have identified my niche that not only draws on my technical skill set but also my industry skill set.

Thank you again for all the constructive advice.

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