Countries outside of the United States refer to their registered bookkeepers as chartered accountants. These people are required to be members of a professional organization within their own country. For example, in Sri Lanka they must become members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.
Education and training will be where the greatest variance is found between those who are not chartered and those who are. Testing requirements and the amount of time they will be required to put into their own education will determine the title they receive.
The first professional body of accounting was formed by a group of chartered accountants in Britain back in 1854. Since that time many more organizations have been formed. Within the United States of America these would be referred to as a Certified Public Accountant. Individual governing rules and regulations are created within the group themselves. In addition each country has their own requirements regarding the ability to perform of each person.
Within Canada these people are referred to as CAs. Until recently only registered members were allowed to practice auditing functions for a public company. However, every country has their own variations on what is acceptable and what is not. Registrations and licensing is only useful in the country where it was obtained. Currently the guidelines are too different to allow true international accounting.
When someone is considering becoming certified or registered as an accountant, it is important to realize that there can be many things that will need to happen before this can take place. For example, in the United States a person must complete a four year Bachelor’s degree and an additional 18 curriculum hours prior to being allowed to even take the CPA examinations.
In the United States, the CPA exam is made up of several different parts. Today one needs to be very dedicated to their work to continue and obtain a license of this type. It is estimated that approximately 85% of those who take the exam do not pass on the first try. This can become very expensive for someone just setting out to build their career.
In a nutshell, the difference between chartered and non-chartered is simply a matter of organizational membership. Many may have the ability to do the things that the members do but either choose to not join the professional organization or for some reason are not allowed to join.
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