Glossary

ACA
The acronym ACA stands for Associate Chartered Accountant. Look for this on a C.V. This means the accountant is certified.

Accountant
Accountants maintain financial records for a company or enterprise while taking care of a wide area of responsibility that includes balancing budgets, payroll, taxes, audits, accounts payable and receivable, invoices and many more.

ACMA
The acronym ACA stands for Associate Chartered Management Accountant. Look for this on a C.V. This means the accountant is certified.

CA
The acronym CA stands for Chartered Accountant. Look for this on a C.V. This means the accountant is certified.

Chartered
This means that the accountant is a member of the institute of chartered accountants. Accountants in good standing with this organisation are credible, as well as current on the latest accounting practices. It is essential to hire an accountant that is chartered.

Client
This is the accountant’s customer. It is on behalf of this party that the accountant takes care of a company’s finances, and the accountant receives payment for this service.
Audit
A review of an individual or company’s financial records and tax payments. This is done to ensure that they are paying the correct amount of taxes. Accountants will take care of audits for you. They go over the records with governments accountants that conduct the audits.

FCA
The acronym FCA stands for Financial Corporate Accountant. Look for this on a C.V. This means the accountant is certified.

FCMA
The acronym FCMA stands for Financial Corporate Management Accountant. Look for this on a C.V. This means the accountant is certified.

Firm
This is the accountant's office. Generally comprised of a group or team of accountants that work together. Usually businesses will hire firms, which then assigns one of their accountants to take care of the client.

Invoice
Bills, or invoices, are sent to clients when it is time to pay for a service or product that was provided to them by company issuing the invoice. Accountants are often responsible of creating these for companies.

Payroll
This is the list of employees of a company that are paid. This ideally includes all the employees. Accountants keep this information current and consistent with the present staff of the company. Accountants maintain the payroll system, taking care that it is accurate.

Value-Added Tax (VAT)
VAT is a tax of 17.5% on sales in the UK, applicable to all taxable goods and services when they are made in the UK or the Isle of Man. A company’s profits are taxable when they exceed £56 000 per year. This tax only applies to services and goods when they are sold within the UK.