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ICAEW’s regulation and conduct roles

Our role as an improvement regulator is to strengthen confidence and trust in those regulated by ICAEW. We do this by enabling, evaluating and enforcing the standards expected by the profession, oversight regulators and government.

Read our Regulation and Conduct 2030 Strategy
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Parjinder Basra
Duncan Wiggetts

Protecting the public interest

As a world-leading improvement regulator, ICAEW acts in the public interest and stregthens consumer cofidence and trust by holding ICAEW members and firms to high professional standards. Underpinned by independent decision-making, ICAEW delivers impartial and robust assurance to oversight regulators, the profession, the government and the public.
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IRB Chair's Foreword

"I know that this report will bring home to you, as it did to me, just how much work is carried out by ICAEW's dedicated Professional Standards Department (PSD) staff and the independent regulatory and disciplinary committees, all working to help ICAEW members and firms maintain high professional standards, and to hold them to those standards." Parinder Basra, Chair, ICAEW Regulatory Board
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Chief Officer's Outlook for 2025

"While we have navigated successfully through a number of challenges during 2024...there are further challenges ahead." Duncan Wiggetts, Chief Officer, Professional Standards
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ICAEW's regulation and conduct roles

Our commitment and responsibilities 

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Our regulatory role

Oversight of ICAEW’s regulation and conduct role.

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ICAEW Regulation and Conduct 2030 Strategy

Find out about the ICAEW Regulation and Conduct strategy, its strategic pillars and our commitments as an improvement regulator.

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Monitoring

Monitoring and assessing compliance of ICAEW firms and IPs.

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Our roles

These roles are carried out by the ICAEW Professional Standards Department (PSD) and overseen by the ICAEW Regulatory Board (IRB).

  1. We authorise firms and individuals to undertake work regulated by law: audit, local audit, investment business, insolvency and probate.
  2. We support professional standards in general accountancy practice through our Practice Assurance scheme.
  3. We provide robust anti-money laundering supervision and monitoring.
  4. We monitor registered firms and individuals to ensure they operate in accordance with laws, regulations and expected professional standards.
  5. We investigate complaints and hold ICAEW Chartered Accountants and students, ICAEW-supervised firms and regulated and affiliated individuals to account where they fall short of the required standards.
  6. We respond and comment on proposed changes to the law and regulation.
  7. We educate through guidance and advice to help ICAEW’s regulated community comply with laws, regulations and expected professional standards.

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Keep up to date

Access the latest regulatory and conduct news in the Regulation & Conduct News hub.

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Resources

If you are a firm or individual regulated by ICAEW, access the full range of regulatory and conduct guidance and resources.

Regulation resources
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Complaints

If you wish to make a complaint about an ICAEW firm or member, or would like to access disciplinary and regulatory orders against ICAEW firms and members, full details are available.

Complaints process

Oversight regulators

OPBAS logo The Insolvency Service logo FRC logo LSB board FCA logo
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Key resources

LinkedIn Regulatory and conduct annual report Regulatory consultations Regulatory e-newsletters Quality assurance monitoring report