A professional accounting body is a organization

Organization

An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...

 or association

Voluntary association

A voluntary association or union is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement as volunteers to form a body to accomplish a purpose.Strictly speaking, in many jurisdictions no formalities are necessary to start an association...

 of accountants in a particular jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...

. Usually a persons needs to be a member of such professional accounting body to hold out to the public of the jurisdiction as an accountant. The designations for qualified accountants vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, such as Chartered Accountant

Chartered Accountant

Chartered Accountants were the first accountants to form a professional body, initially established in Britain in 1854. The Edinburgh Society of Accountants , the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries and the Aberdeen Society of Accountants were each granted a royal charter almost from...

, Certified Accountant

Certified Accountant (disambiguation)

Certified Accountant may refer to:*Certified Public Accountant, a statutory title of qualified accountants in several countries*Chartered Certified Accountant or Certified Accountant, a British qualified accountant designation...

, Certified Public Accountant

Certified Public Accountant

Certified Public Accountant is the statutory title of qualified accountants in the United States who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA...

 or Certified Management Accountant

Certified Management Accountant

The title Certified Management Accountant is used by various professional bodies around the world to designate their different professional certifications....

.

Some countries have a single professional accounting body while others have several. If there is more than one body, such bodies may or may not compete with each other; in some countries, professional accounting bodies are divided according to their field of activity. For example, India has two professional accounting bodies: the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India is a national professional accounting body of India. It was established on 1 July 1949 as a body corporate under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 enacted by the Constituent Assembly of India to regulate the profession of Chartered Accountancy in...

 deals with financial accounting, while the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India

Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India

The Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India is a premier professional accountancy body established on May 28, 1959 under the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959 enacted by the Parliament of India to regulate the profession of Cost Accountants in India.The ICWAI is a Founder Member of...

 deals with cost accounting

Cost accounting

Cost accounting information is designed for managers. Since managers are taking decisions only for their own organization, there is no need for the information to be comparable to similar information from other organizations...

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