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Soflex Online is an award winning software and internet
development firm. We have been creating innovative solutions for
24 years. We create software to help automotive repair shops manage
the daily operations of their business. Practitioners of accountancy are known as accountants. Officially licensed accountants are recognized by titles such as Chartered Accountant (UK), Certified Public Accountant (US), or Certified General Accountant (Canada). (the majority of "public" accountants in Canada are Chartered Accountants; however, Certified General Accountants are also authorized by legislations to practise public accounting and auditing in all Canadian provinces, except Quebec as of 2005). Accountancy attempts to create accurate financial reports that are useful to managers, regulators, and other stakeholders such as shareholders, creditors, or owners. The day-to-day record-keeping involved in this process is known as bookkeeping. At the heart of modern financial accounting is the double-entry book-keeping system. This system involves making at least two entries for every transaction: a debit in one account, and a corresponding credit in another account. The sum of all debits should always equal the sum of all credits. This provides an easy way to check for errors. This system was first used in medieval Europe, although claims have been made that the system dates back to Ancient Greece. According to critics of standard accounting practices, it has changed little since. Accounting reform measures of some kind have been taken in each generation to attempt to keep bookkeeping relevant to capital assets or production capacity. However, these have not changed the basic principles, which are supposed to be independent of economics as such. Contents of this Article The first known English book on the science was published in London by John Gouge or Gough in 1543. It is described as A Profitable Treatyce called the Instrument or Boke to learn to knowe the good order of the kepyng of the famouse reconynge, called in Latin, Dare and Habere, and, in Englyshe, Debitor and Creditor. A short book of instruction was also published in 1588 by John Mellis of Southwark, in which he says, "I am but the renuer and reviver of an ancient old copie printed here in London the 14 of August 1543: collected, published, made, and set forth by one Hugh Oldcastle, Scholemaster, who, as appeareth by his treatise, then taught Arithmetics, and this booke in Saint Ollaves parish in Marko Lane." John Mellis refers to the fact that the principle of accounts he explains (which is a simple system of double entry) is "after the forme of Venice". The very interesting and able book described as The Merchants Mirrour, or directions for the perfect ordering and keeping of his accounts formed by way of Debitor and Creditor, after the (so termed) Italian manner, by Richard Dafforne, accountant, published in 1635, contains many references to early books on the science of accountancy. In a chapter in this book, headed "Opinion of Book-keeping's Antiquity," the author states, on the authority of another writer, that the form of book-keeping referred to had then been in use in Italy about two hundred years, "but that the same, or one in many parts very like this, was used in the time of Julius Caesar, and in Rome long before." He gives quotations of Latin book-keeping terms in use in ancient times, and refers to "ex Oratione Ciceronis pro Roscio Comaedo"; and he adds: "That the one side of their booke was used for Debitor, the
other for Creditor, is manifest in a certain place, Naturalis Historiae
Plinii, lib. 2, cap. 7, where hee, speaking of Fortune, saith thus:
There were several editions of Richard Dafforne's book printed---the second edition having been published in 1636, the third in 1656, and another was issued in 1684. The book is a very complete treatise on scientific accountancy, it was beautifully prepared and contains elaborate explanations; the numerous editions tend to prove that the science was highly appreciated in the 17th century. From this time there has been a continuous supply of literature on the subject, many of the authors styling themselves accountants and teachers of the art, and thus proving that the professional accountant was then known and employed. Very early in the 18th century, the services of an accountant practising in the city of London were made use of in the course of an investigation into the transactions of a director of the South Sea Company, who had been dealing in the company's stock. During this investigation the accountant appears to have examined the books of at least two firms of merchants. His report is described Observations made upon examining the books of Sawbridge and Company, by Charles Snell, Writing Master and Accountant in Foster Lane, London. The United States owes the concept of the Certified Public Accountant designation to England which had coined the Chartered Accountant designation in the 19th century.
Please refer to the latest statutory auditing rights of above accounting bodies in individual jurisdictions and distinction from non-audit bodies for various consumers. In UK, only 3 chartered accountants (England & Wales, Scottish and Irish)and their equivalents (AIA and ACCA) are "Registered Auditors" under Companies Act. ACA is the best known and most respected qualification in the UK, equivalent of a CA but handled by a different board ICAEW.
The CA program focuses in public accounting and candidates must obtain auditing experience from public accounting firms; the CGA program takes a general approach allowing candidates to focus in their own financial career choices; the CMA program focuses in management accounting. All three programs require a candidate to obtain a degree and practical accounting experience before certification. Auditing and Public Accounting are regulated by the provinces. Historically, only CAs can perform audits in Ontario. After the corporate accounting scandals including the Enron fiasco, the provincial government of Ontario passed a new Public Accounting Act allowing qualified CAs, CGAs and CMAs to audit. In Quebec, CAs still have monopoly in the audit of public companies; In British Columbia and Prince Edward Island, CAs and CGAs have equal status regarding public accounting and auditing; In the rest of Canada, CAs, CGAs, and CMAs are considered equivalents pursuant to provincial and territorial legislations. A recent attempt between the CAs and CMAs (in 2005) to join forces
to form a new unified body failed as the respective organisations
could not reach consensus on a number of important issues. This
failure represented a factual indicator of the continued and strong
resentment of the infringement of other accounting designations'
influence and opinion upon others, as well as a possible measure
of the degree of pride that still remained within each of Canada's
three recongised accounting bodies. The recent measure (2004) of
opening Ontario's public practice to all three bodies may actually
have exacerbated the competition between these organisations, especially
in light of the historic monopoly conferred to the CA association. A CPA is licensed by the state of his/her residence to provide auditing services to the public, although most CPA firms also offer accounting, tax, litigation support, and other financial advisory services. The requirements for receiving the CPA license varies from state to state, although the passage of the Uniform Certified Public Accountant examination is required by all states. This examination is designed and graded by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. A CIA is granted a certificate from the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), provided that the candidate passed a rigorous examination of four parts. A CIA mostly provides his/her services directly to their employers rather than the public. A CMA is granted a certificate from the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), provided that the candidate passed a rigorous examination of four parts and meet the practical experience requirement from the IMA. A CMA mostly provides his/her services directly to his/her employers rather than the public. A CMA can also provide his services to the public, but to an extent much lesser than that of a CPA. The United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there are about one million (1) persons employed as accountants and auditors in the U.S. U.S. tax law grants accountants a limited form of accountant-client privilege.
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Before the Enron and other scandals, there were five large firms and were called the Big Five. Since Arthur Andersen's assurance practice split, with a plurality joining KPMG in the US and Deloitte & Touche outside of the US, Arthur Andersen left from the group. Previous to this there were also groupings referred to as the "Big Six" and the "Big Eight". Enron turned out to be only the first of a series of Accounting scandals that enveloped the accounting industry in 2002. This is likely to have far-reaching consequences for the U.S. accounting industry. Application of International Accounting Standards originating in International Accounting Standards Board headquartered in London and bearing more resemblance to UK than current US practices is often advocated by those who note the relative stability of the U.K. accounting system (which reformed itself after scandals in the late 1980s and early 1990s). Accounting reform of a far more comprehensive sort is advocated by those who see issues with capitalism or economics, and seek ecological or social accountability.
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