The importance of being Chartered Certified 

Chartered Certified Accountants provide advice and financial expertise to support businesses and the public sector in making the best decisions and doing the right thing. 

To hold the title ‘Chartered Accountant’ an account must be a member of a Chartered institution such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). 

This means that a Chartered accountant will have taken a minimum of three years of in-depth training, and passed a series of examinations in financial management, auditing, business strategy and taxation. 

Are Crunch part of an accountancy body? 

Yes, we have always believed in the importance of being a member of a big accountancy body, and that’s why we opted to be a member of ACCA.

Crunch has trained its accountants through the Accountancy Technicians (AAT) qualifications and the ACCA examinations to deliver highly trained accountants.

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Who are the ACCA? 

ACCA is the global professional accounting body founded in 1904, offering the Chartered Certified qualification. They make sure businesses are regulated to incredibly high standards and provide a route to make complaints if a business makes a mistake.

Who are their members?

 A flourishing global community with 233,000 members, and 534,000 future members (once they have passed their examinations). ACCA are committed to developing highly skilled and forward-thinking accountants to support people and businesses globally. 

ACCA businesses must be owned in the main by fully qualified Chartered Certified ACCA accountants (51% or over). 

Crunch Accounting Ltd is our dedicated accounting firm that supplies 100% of its services to the core accountancy software business E-Crunch Ltd. Crunch Accounting continually searches and finds the best partner accountancy firms to work in its Crunch Accountancy Network (CAN).

Why does this matter to me?

If your tax return or accounts are done incorrectly, you have the option to make a complaint directly to us. If we fail to deal with the complaint properly, you can take the complaint to the ACCA.

The accountancy firm will then need to contribute to this process and there are consequences to both the firm and the individuals if they’re found to be at fault. It’s worth noting that professional bodies such as ACCA have codes of conduct for the behaviour of accountants.

The Accountancy Daily found out that “unregulated agents account for most agent-related complaints to HMRC and contribute to tax evasion and money laundering activities, while their mistakes and errors leave many taxpayers with large and unnecessary fines and penalties”

Can I trust a company that isn’t Chartered or Chartered Certified?

Our advice is to avoid choosing a company that isn’t Chartered or Chartered Certified - you’ll have nowhere to turn if there are  problems with their advice, conduct or their quality of service.

If the accountancy firm is not Chartered and don’t act on a complaint, the customer can go to the financial ombudsman - however it is a very long process.

What qualifications do Crunch hold?

Crunch’s qualifications across our accounting HQ function (Crunch Accounting Ltd) are:

• ATT (The Association of Taxation Technicians) 
• ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) - Fellowships (FCCA) & Associates (ACCA)
• AAT (The Association of Accounting Technicians)
• AFA (AFA Institute of Financial Accountants)
• ATA  Institute of Financial Accountants (Tax Advisor)
• Working towards CTA 

What are the other main chartered UK accountancy bodies?‍

The main other accountancy bodies are the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (CIMA).