Unqualified accountants 'damaging to public'

News Article - 24 December 2007
Category: Business

The Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (CCAB) is surveying its members for their views on accountants with no professional qualifications.

Reported in the Scotsman, unqualified accountants can offer tax-planning and a number of other services without any relevant training or professional indemnity insurance.

According to the CCAB, the accountancy industry needs some form of regulation to control who can term themselves an accountant.

It claimed that unqualified accountants could be damaging to members of the public as people who use these services have no legal protection.

"You could be walking down the high street and see the term accountant on a board and you're none the wiser of their qualifications," commented Anton Colella, chief executive of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, a member of CCAB.

"These people can prepare your accounts and do your tax returns," he added.

The CCAB was formed in 1974 and is made up of the six main UK professional accounting bodies. It currently contributes one third of the Financial Reporting Council's funding.

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