Chartered Accountants Ireland named biggest accountancy body in Ireland (5th July 2010)

Chartered Accountants Ireland is the fastest growing professional accountancy body in the United Kingdom and Ireland according to the latest statistics from the Professional Oversight Board (POB), an operating board of the United Kingdom's Financial Reporting Council.

Chartered Accountants Ireland’s membership in the UK and the ROI has shown the strongest growth of any accountancy body in these islands, with an average of 6% per year between 2004 and 2009.

The POB report also found that Chartered Accountants Ireland had the youngest population of members of any of the accountancy bodies, with 67% of members under the age of 45.

In terms of students, Chartered Accountants Ireland has seen 8% compound annual growth in numbers between 2006 and 2009 and it currently has the highest proportion of female students of any of the accountancy bodies, with 53%.

Commenting on the figures, Richard Gardiner, Chairman of Chartered Accountants Ulster Society, a regional society of Chartered Accountants Ireland said:

“The research shows that despite difficult global economic conditions, Chartered Accountancy remains a popular career choice for young people and that the Chartered Accountant qualification is held in high esteem.

“We’re very pleased that Chartered Accountants Ireland is upholding its leading position in terms of overall growth and is performing strongly in terms of recruiting new students and in maintaining a gender balance.

“I believe that the Chartered Accountancy profession is playing an important role in aiding the economic recovery, and that is a reflection of both the outstanding level of business training provided by the qualification and the high quality of people entering the profession."

• The Professional Oversight Board report ‘Key Facts and Trends in the Accountancy Profession 2010’ is published annually can be downloaded at http://www.frc.org.uk/pob/press/pub2300.html
• The Professional Oversight Board is an operational unit of the Financial Reporting Council, the UK regulator responsible for promoting confidence in corporate reporting and governance
• The Report covers recognised accountancy bodies in the United Kingdom.