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In finance

In contrast to investment; dollar cost averaging, market timing, and diversification are phrases associated with speculation.

Investments are often made indirectly through intermediaries, such as banks, credit unions, brokers, lenders, and insurance companies. Though their legal and procedural details differ, an intermediary generally makes an investment using money from many individuals, each of whom receives a claim on the intermediary.

X Accounting

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) defines accountancy as "the art of recording, classifying, and summarizing in a significant manner and in terms of money, transactions and events which are, in part at least, of financial character, and interpreting the results thereof."^[4]

Accounting is thousands of years old; the earliest accounting records, which date back more than 7,000 years, were found in Mesopotamia (Assyrians). The people of that time relied on primitive accounting methods to record the growth of crops and herds. Accounting evolved, improving over the years and advancing as business advanced

Early accounts served mainly to assist the memory of the businessperson and the audience for the account was the proprietor or record keeper alone. Cruder forms of accounting were inadequate for the problems created by a business entity involving multiple investors, so double-entry bookkeeping first emerged in northern Italy in the 14th century, where trading ventures began to require more capital than a single individual was able to invest. The development of joint stock companies created wider audiences for accounts, as investors without firsthand knowledge of their operations relied on accounts to provide the requisite information.^[6] This development resulted in a split of accounting systems for internal (i.e. management accounting) and external (i.e. financial accounting) purposes, and subsequently also in accounting and disclosure regulations and a growing need for independent attestation of external accounts by auditors.

Today, accounting is called "the language of business" because it is the vehicle for reporting financial information about a business entity to many different groups of people. Accounting that concentrates on reporting to people inside the business entity is called management accounting and is used to provide information to employees, managers, owner-managers and auditors. Management accounting is concerned primarily with providing a basis for making management or operating decisions. Accounting that provides information to people outside the business entity is called financial accounting and provides information to present and potential shareholders, creditors such as banks or vendors, financial analysts, economists, and government agencies. Because these users have different needs, the presentation of financial accounts is very structured and subject to many more rules than management accounting. The body of rules that governs financial accounting in a given jurisdiction is called. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or GAAP. Other rules include International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS,^[8] or US GAAP.

Accountant

The Big Four auditors are the largest employers of accountants worldwide. However, most accountants are employed in commerce, industry and the public sector.

British Commonwealth

In the Commonwealth of Nations, which includes the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong pre 1997 and several dozen other states, commonly recognized accounting qualifications are Chartered Accountant (CA or ACA), Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA), Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA) and International Accountant (AAIA). Other qualifications in particular countries include Certified Public Accountant (CPA – Ireland and CPA – Hong Kong), Certified Management Accountant (CMA – Canada), Certified General Accountant (CGA – Canada), Certified Practising Accountant (CPA – Australia) and members of the Institute of Public Accountants (Australia), and Certified Public Practising Accountant (CPPA – New Zealand).

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) received its Royal Charter in 1854 and is the world's first professional body of accountants.

United Kingdom

• 
  A Chartered Accountant must be a member of one of the following:
  
  • 
    the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) (designatory letters ACA or FCA)
    
  • 
    the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) (designatory letters CA)
    
  • 
    Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI)
    
  • 
    a recognised equivalent body from another Commonwealth country (designatory letters being CA (name of country) e.g. CA (Canada))
    
• 
  A Chartered Certified Accountant must be a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (designatory letters ACCA or FCCA).
  
• 
  A Chartered Management Accountant must be a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (designatory letters ACMA or FCMA).
  
• 
  A Chartered Public Finance Accountant must be a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (designatory letters CPFA).
  
• 
  An International Accountant is a member of the Association of International Accountants (designatory letters AIAA or FAIA).
  
• 
  An Incorporated Financial Accountant is a member of the Institute of Financial Accountants (designatory letters AFA or FFA).
  
• 
  An Associate Professional Accountant is a member of the Institute of Professional Accountants(designatory letters APA-UK or FPA).^{[3][importance?]}
  
• 
  A Certified Public Accountant may be a member of the Association of Certified Public Accountants (designatory letters AICPA or FCPA) or its equivalent in another country, and is usually designated as such after passing the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination.
  
• 
  A Public Accountant may be a member of the Institute of Public Accountants (designatory letters AIPA, MIPA or FIPA).
  

Excepting the Association of Certified Public Accountants, each of the above bodies admits members only after passing examinations and undergoing a period of relevant work experience. Once admitted, members are expected to comply with ethical guidelines and gain appropriate professional experience.

Chartered, Chartered Certified, Chartered Public Finance, and International Accountants engaging in practice (i.e. selling services to the public rather than acting as an employee) must gain a "practicing certificate" by meeting further requirements such as purchasing adequate insurance and undergoing inspections.

The ICAEW, ICAS, ICAI, ACCA, AIA and CIPFA are six statutory RQB Qualification Bodies in the UK. A member of one them may also become a Registered Auditor in accordance with the Companies Act, providing they can demonstrate the necessary professional ability in that area and submit to regular inspection. It is illegal for any individual or firm that is not a Registered Auditor to perform a company audit.

All six RQBs are listed under EU mutual recognition directives to practice in 27 EU member states and individually entered into agreement with the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA).

Further restrictions apply to accountants who carry out insolvency work.

In addition to the bodies above, technical qualifications are offered by the Association of Accounting Technicians, ACCA and AIA, which are respectively called AAT Technician, CAT (Certified Accounting Technician) and IAT (International Accounting Technician).

Australia

In Australia, there are three legally recognised professional accounting bodies: the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA), CPA Australia (CPA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia (ICAA).

Canada

In Canada, there are four recognized accounting bodies: the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CA) and the provincial and territorial CA Institutes, the Society of Management Accountants of Canada, also known as the Certified Management Accountants (CMA), the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada (CGA), and the Society of Professional Accountants of Canada (RPA). CA and CGA were created by Acts of Parliament in 1902 and 1913 respectively, CMA was established in 1920 and RPA in 1938.

The CA program is the most focused on public accounting and most candidates obtain auditing experience from public accounting firms, although recent changes allow candidates to obtain their experience requirements in industry at companies that have been accredited for training CAs; the CMA program focuses in management accounting, but also provides a general approach to financial accounting and tax; the CGA program takes a general approach allowing candidates to focus in their own financial career choices. The CA and CMA programs require a candidate to obtain a degree as a program entry requirement. The CGA program requires a degree as an exit requirement prior to certification.

Auditing and public accounting are regulated by the provinces. In British Columbia and Prince Edward Island, CAs and CGAs have equal status regarding public accounting and auditing; In the rest of Canada, CAs, CMAs, and CGAs are considered equivalents pursuant to provincial and territorial legislation. However, in practice, most public accounting and auditing in Canada is performed by CAs.

As of 2006, the Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA or FCCA) is also recognized by the Canadian government as an eligible qualification to audit federal government institutions in Canada. Furthermore, The Canadian branch of ACCA is pursuing recognition for statutory audit purposes in the province of Ontario under the province's Public Accounting Act of 2004.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, there are two local accountancy bodies the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA) and the New Zealand Association of Certified Public Accountants (NZACPA) the operating name of New Zealand Association of Accountants Inc (NZAA).

To audit public companies an individual must be a member of either the NZICA or an otherwise gazetted body. Chartered Certified Accountant (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants or FCCA) qualification has also been gazetted under). An ACCA member can practice as long as they hold an ACCA public practice certificate (with audit qualification) in their country of origin.

Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, a chartered accountant must be a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (designatory letters ACA or FCA), therefore it is the sole local accountancy body. To audit public companies an individual must be a member of the ICASL.

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