An Accountant is a practitioner of accountancy, which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and other decision makers make resource allocation decisions.

The word "Accountant" is derived from the French "Compter' which took its origin from the Latin "Computare". The word was formerly written in English as "Accomptant", but in process of time the word, which was always pronounced by dropping the "p", became gradually changed both in pronunciation and in orthography to its present form.

Commonwealth of Nations & Ireland

United Kingdom

• A Chartered Certified Accountant must be a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (designatory letters ACCA or FCCA).

• 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)
• the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland (ICAI)
• a recognised equivalent body from another Commonwealth country (designatory letters being CA (name of country) e.g. CA (Canada))

• 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 must be a member of the Association of International Accountants (designatory letters AIAA or FAIA).

• An Incorporated Financial Accountant must be a member of the Institute of Financial Accountants (designatory letters AFA or FFA).

• A Certified Public Accountant must be a member of the Association of Certified Public Accountants (designatory letters ACPA or FCPA).

Except Association of Certified Public Accountants,each of 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 Accountant 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.

ICAEW, ICAS, ICAI, ACCA, AIA and CIPFA as six statutory RQB Qualification Bodies in UK, the member of them may also become Registered Auditors 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.