Chartered Accountant

Chartered Accountant (CA) is the title of members of a certain professional accountancy associations in the Commonwealth countries and Ireland. The term chartered originally referred to the Royal Charter under which the earliest bodies were incorporated. Subjects examined include financial accounting, management accounting, auditing, taxation and company law.

Chartered Accountants often act as auditors, although in most countries they must comply with additional requirements in order to do so.Chartered Accountants originally worked only in public practices, selling advice and services to other individuals and businesses, but today in addition many work within private corporations and government bodies.

There are a number of other accountancy professional organisations, both within and outside the Commonwealth, whose members bear other designations, for example Certified Public Accountant.