Chartered practice or not?

Chartered accountant to be made director/shareholder of a non-chartered practice - issues?

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The practice I work for is currently not associated with the ICAEW or ACCA. My colleague and I are currently managers of the firm and are looking to become owners and directors at somepoint. My colleague is ACCA and I and ACA, the two current owners are not qualified. Ownership is likely to be 40% each for us and 10% each for the current owners.

What issues are we going to face and what alternatives (aside from dropping membership) might there be as far as the Institue is concerned?

I will be contacting the ICAEW at somepoint but I thought I'd find out what "real" people have to say first because they may be options the ICAEW will not disclose.

Thanks in advance.

Replies (9)

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By Ranse
20th Jul 2018 16:06

if you have not spoken with your assoc yet , please do ASAP , try and get a PC first ( seems like you don't own one) before thinking of owning a practice.....to be a chartered firm , the firm must be controlled by members who are chartered...

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Replying to Ranse:
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By noosh82
23rd Jul 2018 20:10

It's a while off yet so no rush. I just wondered what was likely to be the case.
Thanks!

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Replying to Ranse:
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By noosh82
23rd Jul 2018 20:10

It's a while off yet so no rush. I just wondered what was likely to be the case.
Thanks!

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ALISK
By atleastisoundknowledgable...
20th Jul 2018 16:43

Based on your scenario above, you and the ACCA would need practicing certificates. I suspect that the firm would be able to call itself neither ACCA nor ACA unless one of you gained membership of the other, hence remain an unqualified firm (albeit with qualified owners).

EDIT:
If you didn’t have / couldn’t get a PC, you would have to give up your qualification to take your new role. Sounds harsh, but I suspect as the owners aren’t qualified you prob haven’t managed to get one, unless you had one before you moved to this firm.

I’d speak to ACA & ACCA; they’ll give you the definitive answer, this is just what I think they’ll say from my PC / ownership enquiries.

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Replying to atleastisoundknowledgable...:
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By noosh82
23rd Jul 2018 20:12

Ah so it's potentially possible to get a PC for myself but for the firm to remain "un-chartered"? I may have been mistaken in an assumption that the firm must be chartered if the owners are so. I really need to speak to the Institute. Thanks for your reply!

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Caroline
By accountantccole
23rd Jul 2018 11:47

I think what atleastisound… says sounds right from memory.
I am ACCA qualified and had to be an affiliate of the ICAEW when I became partner in an ICAEW firm. Didn't have to do much to be allowed to be an affiliate, of course had to pay extra money each year.

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Slim
By Slim
23rd Jul 2018 13:36

I wouldnt put too much emphasis on it, rarely am I asked about qualifications. If you're service is good no one will care.

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Replying to Slim:
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By TCJ
23rd Jul 2018 16:50

Slim wrote:

I wouldnt put too much emphasis on it, rarely am I asked about qualifications. If you're service is good no one will care.

A colleague of mine has been running his own firm in the UK for 15 years. Qualifications have never been an issue (he has none).

He provides an excellent service and that alone is enough to run a successful business. Maybe some "high-end" clients may ask for qualifications, although I've never heard of this.

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Mark Lee headshot 2023
By Mark Lee
31st Jul 2018 15:36

What a strange view you have of ICAEW. If you contact the ethics advisory team they will give you all the help you need to avoid falling foul of their rules.

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