To become a chartered accountant typically entails belonging to a professional body that provides accounting and financial services while maintaining a significant level of professional development. The chartered accountant designation traces its origins to the United Kingdom in 1854, and it has since spread throughout the world. In the United States, chartered accountants are referred to as certified public accountants (CPAs). To become a chartered accountant, one has to get the formal education and certification required of the profession.
A person would need a degree from an institution of higher learning to become a chartered accountant. Prime examples of such institutions include the London School of Business & Finance (LSBF) in the U.K. and the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business in the U.S. The minimal educational requirement needed to become a chartered accountant is a bachelor's degree in accounting. In addition to learning how to prepare financial information or reports for individuals or businesses, students study other subject areas such as microeconomics and macroeconomics, statistics, business management, marketing, and accounting law and ethics.
Many employees, however, prefer people who have a master's degree in accounting or, better yet, a master's degree in business administration (MBA) with a specialization in accounting. A few colleges and universities also offer a Ph.D. in accounting for those who wish to become tenured professors, researchers and scholars in the field.
The most important requirement needed to become a chartered accountant is getting a certification from a professional organization upon graduation. Certification is not mandatory for the practice of accounting, but it is necessary to earn the chartered accountant designation. It also enhances one's chances of employment in the job market since it indicates an adherence to a certain set of professional standards. In addition to this compliance, certification usually consists of meeting the minimum work experience requirements, passing an exam to gain the certification and taking continuing education requirements to maintain it.
In the U.K., chartered accountants must belong to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW), the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), or the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI). In the U.S., the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) awards the CPA title to accountants who pass its Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination (Uniform CPA Exam). Canada, the Bahamas, Nigeria, Pakistan, India, Ghana, and Trinidad and Tobago are some of the other countries that have chartered accountant organizations.