abbreviation Association of Chartered Certified Accountants

Founded in 1904, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is the global body for professional accountants offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification (Designatory letters ACCA or FCCA). It is one of the largest and fastest-growing global accountancy bodies with 147,000 members and 424,000 students in 170 countries (as at April 2011). The Institute's headquarters are in London with the principal administrative office being based in Glasgow. ACCA work through a network of 83 offices and centres and more than 8,500 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development.

The term 'Chartered' in ACCA qualification refers to the Royal Charter granted in 1974 by Her Majesty the Queen in the United Kingdom.

Since Chartered Certified Accountant is a legally protected term, individuals who describe themselves as Chartered Certified Accountants must be members of ACCA and, if they carry out public practice engagements, must comply with additional regulations such as holding a practising certificate, being insured against any possible liability claims and submitting to inspections.

The Association of Authorised Public Accountants (AAPA), one of the British professional bodies for public accountants, has been a subsidiary of ACCA since 1996.

ACCA works in the public interest, assuring that its members are appropriately regulated for the work they carry out and, promoting principles-based approaches to regulation. ACCA as an organisation actively seek to enhance the public value of accounting in society through international research, taking a progressive stance on global issues to ensure accountancy as a profession continues to grow in both reputation and influence.