What is a practising certificate?
A practicing certificate for accountants is a license provided by an institute to which the accountant belongs, which enables the accountant to engage in public practice.
The features of the practising certificate vary, but generally the certificate confirms that the accountant is registered and monitored and that they adhere to the institute’s rules and standards on Continuing Professional Development (CPD), ethics, Practice Assurance Regulations and Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII).In most cases, the institute will also become the designated supervisor for Anti-Money Laundering purposes.
The application process
The application process and timescales to obtaining a practising certificate are dependent on experience gained, the quality of records and the institute involved.
It can take time to have your work experience signed off by a former employer and the turnaround time of applications from institutes varies enormously, from around 10-14 days with the ICAEW to 8 weeks with the ACCA.
How to obtain a practising certificate
The path to getting a practicing certificate depends on your institute and your personal situation.
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
Part of the process to obtaining a practising certificate with the ACCA involves documenting 12 months pre and at least 24 months post membership experience via Practising Certificate Experience Forms (PCEF). You will also need three years of supervised experience with an ACCA approved employer to obtain a practising certificate. If your experience is through a non-ACCA Approved Employer, it is advisable to contact ACCA and discuss who would be appropriate to sign off your records before you begin completing the PCEF.
ACCA has guidance on their website here if you want to learn more.
If you are not eligible to apply for a practising certificate with the ACCA, then you could consider converting to ICAEW via their Pathways to Membership scheme.
ICAEW Pathways to Membership scheme
Another option to obtaining a practising certificate is by converting your qualification to another institute.
If you are fully qualified with the ACCA but without a practicing certificate, ICAEW’s Pathways to membership may be open to you after you have completed an 'Examination of Experience' in your own time. Successful individuals who join ICAEW through Pathways are entitled to use the ACA designation after their name and are entitled to full ICAEW member benefits.
Their website holds all the information about the scheme, and the steps, once you have successfully passed Pathways and been invited to join ICAEW, that you need to take to become an ICAEW Chartered Accountant and obtain your Practicing Certificate.
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS)
To apply for a practising certificate from the ICAEW and ICAS, you need to fill out an application form.
When you apply for a practising certificate, you need to show recent work experience. This experience should be relevant to the areas in which you intend to practise. You must also demonstrate ethical awareness. Additionally, you need to meet the requirements for Compulsory Professional Development (CPD) and PII compliance.
You can find further information from ICAEW here and ICAS here.
The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT)
The AAT offers two types of licence: AAT Licenced Bookkeeper and AAT Licensed Accountant.
The services you can provide depend on the licence you hold. Each service falls into one of four tiers based on risk. Tier 1 has the highest risk, while Tier 4 has the lowest.
If you wish to operate in public practice as an accountant, you must be an AAT Licenced Accountant. An AAT Licenced Bookkeeper would be unable to complete a tax return or any company work on behalf of a client.
For each service you want to be licensed in, you must demonstrate that you have relevant, practical experience in all the key areas and be able to competently perform them.
Some eligibility and exemption criteria apply. Determine whether you're eligible for a licence or exempt from needing one.
Applying to become a member of AAT through CPD learning pathway
To obtain AAT membership, you need to show certain professional skills from the past five years.
However, if you're unable to evidence either the technical or professional skills asked for during the application, you can apply via an alternative route.
The MAAT CPD Pathway gives access to 8 expert-led online learning modules during the first year of AAT full membership. This pathway helps to build the technical and professional skills needed in addition to the AAT qualification.
By applying under ‘Route Two – MAAT CPD learning pathway’, candidates will gain access to the pathway as soon as their application is approved. It must be completed as soon as possible to retain MAAT status. For more information visit their website here.
Once a member of the AAT you will need to apply to become an ‘AAT Licensed Accountant’. The process involves completing 3 online tests.
AAT states: “we need to confirm you understand your ethical and practice management obligations, and the anti-money laundering controls and monitoring you must apply in your practice. We check your knowledge of these areas by asking you to complete our licensed application standards tests as part of your application for licensed membership.”
Converting to AAT
The option to convert to the AAT also exists. More information can be found on their website here regarding the qualifications which are recognised to support eligibility for MAAT status.
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
CIMA issues a practising certificate following admission to CIMA's member in practice register or following successful annual renewal. You are required to gather the necessary documents and complete an application form which is accessible on their website here.
Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA)
To offer accountancy services to the public for reward in the UK you are required to obtain an IFA practising certificate.
To apply for an IFA practising certificate you must complete an application form and meet a range of criteria including:
- Having achieved IFA membership through an educational route approved by the IFA and be able to provide evidence of this. Please note, if you obtained membership before the 1 July 2022 you may not meet the IFA's educational entry requirements. Your accounting qualification should be equivalent to the IFA Direct education programme.
- As part of the educational requirements you must have studied UK tax and UK law.
- Having not less than three years' UK experience in at least three of these main areas: financial accounting, management accounting, assurance, taxation and/or data processing. The experience must have been gained within 10 years of applying for a practising certificate.
For more information on obtaining a practising certificate with the Institute of Financial Accountants, visit their website here.
Anti-Money Laundering Supervision (AML)
Once you have a practicing certificate, you can promote yourself as a member of that institute. They will also be your AML Supervisor.
If you do not belong to an institute or are part qualified, you must register with HMRC for AML supervision.
Do I need a practicing certificate to join TaxAssist Accountants?
Whether you choose to start your own independent firm, or if you decide to join TaxAssist Accountants you will be engaging in public practice; therefore, if you belong to an accountancy institute, you will be required to obtain a practising certificate.
We would advise you to contact your institute direct to find out their requirements and how they apply to your personal circumstances.
If you do not belong to an institute but you have several years of relevant experience, then you would need to apply to HMRC for AML supervision. If accepted, you would then be eligible to join the TaxAssist network.
We discuss practising certificates further when you attend a TaxAssist Accountants Discovery Day.
