A-Z of abbreviations

The directory of accountancy abbreviations is published by the ICAEW Library & Information Service and provides an A to Z of abbreviations used in the accountancy profession and related fields. The list covers abbreviations for organisations, qualifications and acronyms of accounting documents.

The inclusion of an organisation in this list (and any associated qualification or post nominal letters) does not confer any status or recognition. You should always seek to establish the criteria for membership, regulatory framework and standards of ethical/professional conduct to satisfy your requirements.

A4S	Accounting for Sustainability
AA	Accountant-administratieconsulent (Netherlands)
AAA	American Accounting Association also Accountants and Auditors Association (United Arab Emirates) also Authority of Audit and Accounting (Lithuania)
AAAI	Associate of the Institute of Administrative Accountants (no longer a valid qualification- the body is now called Institute of Financial Accountants, and their qualification is AFA).
AAAP	Associate of the Association of Accountancy Practitioners
AABA	Association for Accountancy & Business Affairs
AACB	Associate of the Association of Certified Book-Keepers
AADB	Accountancy and Actuarial Discipline Board
AAFA	Association of Accountants, Financial Workers and Auditors of Republic of Macedonia
AAG	Airline Accounting Guidelines (issued by the International Air Transport Association)
AAIA	Associate of the Association of International Accountants
AALPFA	Associate of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (Formerly the American Association of Hispanic Certified Public Accountants)
AAMS	Accredited Asset Management Specialist (US) (from the College for Financial Planning)
AAOIFI	Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions
AAP	Association of Accountancy Practitioners Address: 74 Bradford Lane, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD3 8LU Tel: 07880 623455
AAPA	Association of Authorised Public Accountants also Associate of the Association of Authorised Public Accountants
AARF	Australian Accounting Research Foundation
AAS	Australian Accounting Standard
AASB	Australian Accounting Standards Board also Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (Canada)
AASE	Australian Associated Stock Exchange
AASMB	Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board (Sri Lanka)
AASOC	Auditing and Assurance Standards Oversight Council (Canada) known in French as the Conseil de surveillance de la normalisation en audit et certification (CSNAC).
AAT	Association of Accounting Technicians
AB3C	Auditing Board of the Central Chamber of Commerce of Finland
ABAF	Association of British Accountants in France
ABASA	Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of South Africa
ABIAF	Association of British Independent Accounting Firms
ABM	Accountancy Board of Malta
ABN	Accounting Bodies Network
ABV	Accredited in Business Valuation (US) (from AICPA)
ACA	Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales also Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland
ACAT	Association of Church Accountants and Treasurers
ACAUS	Association of Chartered Accountants in the US
ACB	Association of Certified Book-Keepers
ACCA	Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (Member of the Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies) also: Associate of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
ACEA	Associate of the Institute of Cost and Executive Accountants
ACEVO	Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations
ACFE	Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
ACFEI	American College of Forensic Examiners International
ACIArb	Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
ACIB	Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (now the ifs School of Finance)
ACIBS	The Associateship Course (Associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland)
ACIE	Association of Charity Independent Examiners
ACII	Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute
ACIS	Associate of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators
ACMA	Associate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants also Associate of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan
ACMI	Associate of the Chartered Management Institute
ACPA	Associate of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Ireland also Associate of the Association of Certified Public Accountants (International) also Affiliated Conference of Practicing Accountants International also Associate of the Association of Certified Public Accountants (formerly known as the Corporation of Public Accountants)
ACRA	Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Singapore) or Associate of the Corporation of Registered Accountants (a designation of the Corporation of Accountants, 1891-1939)
AcSB	Accounting Standards Board (Canada)
AcSEC	Accounting Standards Executive Committee (US) (now known as the Financial Reporting Executive Committee)
ACT	Association of Corporate Treasurers also Association for Computers and Taxation (US)
ADAA	Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority
ADIT	Advanced Diploma in International Taxation (offered by the Chartered Institute of Taxation)
AECA	Asociacion Espanola de Contabilidad y Adminsitracion de Empresas (Spanish Association of Accounting and Business Administration)
AEP	Accredited Estate Planner (US) (from the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils)
AFA	Associate of the Institute of Financial Accountants
AFCA	Associate of the Association of Financial Controllers and Administrators
AFM	Autoriteit Financiële Markten (Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets)
AFPC	Advanced Financial Planning Certificate
AFROSAI	African Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions
AFROSAI-E	African Organization of English-speaking Supreme Audit Institutions
AFTA	Associate of the Federation of Tax Advisers
AGA	Association of Government Accountants (US)
AGIG	Accountants Group in Germany
AIA	Association of International Accountants also Associate of the Institute of Actuaries also Association for Integrity in Accounting
AICB	Associate of the Institute of Certified Book-Keepers
AICM(Cert)	Associate Member of the Institute of Credit Management
AICPA	American Institute of Certified Public Accountants or Association of International Certified Professional Accountants
AIDB	Accountancy Investigation and Discipline Board (now the Accountancy & Actuarial Discipline Board)
AIFP	Associate of the Institute of Financial Planning
Aifs	Associate of the ifs School of Finance
AIIT	Associate of the Institute of Indirect Taxation
AIMC	Associate of the Institute of Management Consultancy (which merged with the Institute of Business Advisers in 2007 to form the Institute of Business Consulting, which was renamed Institute of Consulting) in 2011.
AIMgt	Previous qualification of the Institute of Management (now the Chartered Management Institute). For the current membership qualification, see ACMI.
AIMR	Association for Investment Management and Research (now the CFA Institute)
AISMA	Association of Independent Specialist Medical Accountants
AIU	Audit Inspection Unit
ALIA	Associate of the Life Insurance Association (now the Personal Finance Society)
ALPFA	Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (US) (formerly the American Association of Hispanic Certified Public Accountants)
AMCT	Associate member of the Association of Corporate Treasurers
AMIA	Affiliate member of the Association of International Accountants
ANTO	Accountancy National Training Organisation (Closed on 31 March 2002. With the agreement of the DfES the essential work of ANTO was taken over by the Accountancy Occupational Standards Group - see AOSG)
AOA	Auditing Oversight Authority (Slovak Republic)
AOB	Auditors Oversight Board (Egypt) or Audit Oversight Board (Malaysia)
AOC	Auditor Oversight Commission (Germany)
AOSG	Accountancy Occupational Standards Group The AOSG was an independent organisation formed by four of the main professional accountancy bodies (AAT, CIMA, CIPFA and ICAEW) for the development and promotion of national occupational standards in accountancy and the continuation of key activities previously managed by ANTO. In April 2008 the functions of AOSG were transferred to the Financial Services Skills Council - see FSSC.
AOSSG	Asian-Oceanian Standard-Setters Group
APA	Association of Practising Accountants
APA	Accredited Professional Accountant (from the Society of Professional Accountants- Canada)
APAK	Abschlussprüferaufsichtskommission (German Auditor Oversight Commission)
APB	Auditing Practices Board (formerly the Auditing Practices Committee) also Accounting Principles Board (US)
APC	Auditing Practices Committee (now the Auditing Practices Board)
APCIMS	Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers
APCTP	Association des Comptables du Tresor Public (Association of the Accountants of the Treasury - France)
APFS	Associate of The Personal Finance Society
APMI	Associate of the Pensions Management Institute
APOTEC	Associacao Portuguesa de Tecnicos de Contabilidade (Portuguese Association of Accountants)
APP	Association of Partnership Practitioners
AQF	Audit Quality Forum
ARABOSAI	Arab Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions
ARB	Accounting Research Bulletin (from AICPA)
ARC	Accounting Regulatory Committee
ARICS	Professional associate of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (now MRICS)
ASA	Accredited Senior Appraiser (US) (from the American Society of Appraisers)
ASB	Accounting Standards Board (formerly the Accounting Standards Committee) also Auditing Standards Board (US) (AICPA technical committee for auditing, attestation and quality control)
ASC	Accounting Standards Committee (now the Accounting Standards Board)
ASCA	Associate of the Institute of Company Accountants also Arab Society of Certified Accountants
ASCPA	Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants
ASFA	Associate of the Society of Financial Advisers (now the Personal Finance Society)
ASIC	Australian Securities and Investment Commission
ASLG	Arab Sustainability Leadership Group
ASOSAI	Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions
ASPA	Associate of the Society of Practising Accountants (located at the Corporation of Public Accountants/Association of Certified Public Accountants at 52, Market Street, Wigan, Tel:01942 510145)
ASR	Accounting Series Releases (from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) or Autorité fédérale de surveillance en matière de révision (Switzerland) also known as Autorità federale di sorveglianza dei revisori (Switzerland)
ASWA	American Society of Women Accountants
ATII	Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (from 1 Jan 2003 existing members can call themselves either ATII or CTA. New members must call themselves CTA.)
ATT	Member of the Association of Taxation Technicians
AuRC	Audit Regulatory Committee
AuSB	Auditing Standards Board (Canada)
AVA	Accredited Valuation Analyst (US) (from the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts)
AWSCPA	American Women's Society of CPAs

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