If you’ve been searching for an accountant, you’ve probably noticed that not everyone uses the same title. Some call themselves accountants. Others say chartered accountant, certified accountant, or chartered certified accountant. The differences aren’t just branding — they reflect different professional qualifications, regulatory bodies, and levels of training.

So, what is a chartered accountant? In short, it’s a professionally qualified accountant who has passed rigorous examinations, completed structured practical training, and is regulated by a recognised professional body. They’re held to ongoing standards of conduct and continuing education — which matters a great deal when someone is responsible for your business finances.

In this post, we’ll explain what the different designations mean, what a chartered or chartered certified accountant actually does, and what to look for when choosing one for your business.

In the UK, the term chartered accountant isn’t just a job title anyone can adopt. It refers specifically to members of certain recognised professional bodies — most notably the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), whose members hold the ACA qualification, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS).

The ICAEW currently has over 147,000 members in the UK and Ireland, and its members work across everything from FTSE 100 finance teams to small practice firms advising local businesses.

Separately, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) awards the designation Chartered Certified Accountant — a qualification that is equally rigorous and globally recognised, though technically distinct from the ‘chartered accountant’ title. ACCA membership requires passing 13 professional examinations and completing three years of documented practical experience.

The key point for business owners: both ACA and ACCA are serious professional qualifications that take years to earn. The accountant who holds either designation has been tested, supervised, and is regulated — which means they can be held accountable if something goes wrong. An unqualified person calling themselves an accountant carries none of those protections.

At Edward Harris, our founder Hasan Mahmood is ACCA-qualified and the firm is regulated by ACCA, which also provides our anti-money laundering supervision.

The scope of work varies widely depending on the type of practice and the clients served. At the broadest level, a chartered accountant’s job is to ensure financial records are accurate, compliant, and useful — but that description undersells what a good one actually contributes.

Compliance work

This is what most people think of first: preparing year-end accounts, filing corporation tax returns, completing self assessment, managing VAT returns, and dealing with HMRC on a client’s behalf. It’s essential work, and getting it wrong is expensive — but it’s the floor, not the ceiling.

Advisory work

A chartered accountant who’s paying attention will also help you with tax planning, cash flow forecasting, understanding your management accounts, and making better financial decisions throughout the year. The difference between a reactive accountant and a proactive one is usually felt most sharply at year-end — the proactive one has already flagged the tax bill that’s coming; the reactive one just helps you pay it.

Specialist areas

Many chartered accountants develop expertise in specific sectors or situations — construction and CIS, property portfolios, e-commerce, forensic accounting, corporate finance, or insolvency. Choosing someone with relevant sector experience isn’t just a nice-to-have; it often translates directly into better advice and fewer missed opportunities.

This is a question we get asked fairly often. Both ACA (ICAEW) and ACCA are respected, rigorous qualifications — the practical difference for most small business owners is minimal. What matters more is the individual accountant’s experience, approach, and whether they understand your type of business.

That said, here’s how they differ in structure:

• ACA (ICAEW): Requires a training contract with an ICAEW-authorised employer. The exams are widely considered demanding, with a strong focus on UK GAAP and IFRS. Most ACA trainees come through larger firms and then move into industry or smaller practices later. The training contract typically lasts three years.
• ACCA: More flexible in terms of entry route — accessible to career changers and those who didn’t come through a traditional graduate training scheme. Requires 13 exams and three years of supervised practical experience. ACCA is recognised in over 180 countries and is increasingly common in UK practice.

Both routes require consistent, sustained effort over several years — the exams are genuinely difficult, and balancing study with full-time work in practice is no small feat. An accountant who has earned either qualification has demonstrated real commitment to the profession.

When you’re choosing an accountant for your business, the more useful questions are: do they have experience working with businesses like mine, do they communicate clearly, and will they be proactive rather than reactive?

Here’s our honest take: for most owner-managed businesses, working with a qualified and regulated accountant — whether ACA, ACCA, or another recognised body — is worth it. Not because unqualified bookkeepers can’t do useful work (many can), but because the stakes of getting it wrong are high enough that professional accountability matters.

Consider what’s on the line: your corporation tax return, your self assessment, your VAT position, your payroll obligations. Errors in any of these can result in penalties, interest, and unwanted HMRC attention. A regulated accountant carries professional indemnity insurance and is supervised by their professional body. If something goes wrong, there is a complaints and redress process. With an unregulated provider, there isn’t.

For very simple situations — a sole trader with a single income stream and minimal expenses — a bookkeeper or entry-level accountant might be perfectly adequate. But the moment your situation involves a limited company, employees, VAT, property income, or any meaningful complexity, the case for working with a qualified professional becomes much stronger.

We’d also say: the value of a good chartered accountant isn’t just in keeping you compliant. It’s in helping you understand your numbers well enough to make better decisions. That’s the difference between an accountant who files your return and one who actually helps your business.