Accountant in 1854: The chartered profession and the audit state

What is the difference between an accountant and a bookkeeper? A bookkeeper records transactions as they happen — invoices, payments, payroll. An accountant works a level up: adjusting and closing the books, producing financial statements, interpreting them, filing tax and, where licensed, signing opinions a bookkeeper legally cannot. The boundary is blurring as software takes over the recording, pushing bookkeepers toward advisory work and accountants toward review.

Do you need a university degree to become an accountant? Usually, but less universally than people assume. A US CPA license requires 150 college credit hours in most states, though several states began accepting 120 hours plus extra experience from 2024–25. UK firms hire school-leavers into paid apprenticeships leading to chartered status, the ACCA qualification is open-entry, and India's chartered accountancy course can begin straight from secondary school.

What is the difference between a CPA and a chartered accountant? They are sibling licenses from different family trees. "Chartered accountant" descends from the royal charters granted to Scottish accounting societies from 1854, and is the credential across the UK, most of the Commonwealth and India. "Certified public accountant" began with New York's 1896 law and is the American license. Each country restricts audit sign-off to holders of its own license.