Bookkeeping associations are founded to provide support and standards for the

bookkeeping Bookkeeping is the recording of financial transactions, and is part of the process of accounting in business and other organizations. It involves preparing source documents for all transactions, operations, and other events of a business. Tr ...

industry. This is achieved by creating common standards for the industry that bookkeepers can work towards and that allow the users of bookkeepers to know what level of knowledge a bookkeeper they hire has. The definition of a bookkeeper is broad and wide and open to interpretation. Each country can have its own standards and anyone can call themselves a bookkeeper while not having any qualifications or knowledge of the industry. The method of obtaining a bookkeeping qualification vary. A person can to pay a fee and not have to sit exams, obtain a qualification based on your experience, sit examinations without supervision, or sit examinations fully supervised in an exam hall or in a computer environment training exam centre. In many countries there are competing bookkeeper associations, but their qualifications are achieved in different ways and their knowledge levels can be different. Bookkeeping associations can provide help on bookkeeping issues, tax issues, legal issues and professional development for their members. They can also lobby on behalf of their members to help promote their interests. They can as a body promote the standards of bookkeeping and market the benefits of using a qualified bookkeeper.

List of bookkeeping associations from around the world

{, class="wikitable sortable" border="1" , - ! Country ! Body ! By Unsupervised Exam ! By Supervised Exam ! By Experience ! By Licence , - , Australia , Association of Accounting Technicians (Australia) , Yes , Yes , Yes , No , - , Australia , Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (Australia) , Yes , Yes , Yes , No , - , Canada , Canadian Bookkeepers Association , No , Yes , Yes , No , - , Canada , Institute of Professional Bookkeepers of Canada , No , Yes , Yes , No , - , Denmark , Foreningen Freelance Bogholdere , No , No , Yes , No , - , India ,

Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (India) The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers ("ICB") is a British not-for-profit organization. Its objective is to promote the bookkeeping profession worldwide and offer its students and members trusted bookkeeping qualifications. Founded in the United ...

, No , Yes , Yes , No , - , Ireland ,

Institute of Certified Bookkeepers The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers ("ICB") is a British not-for-profit organization. Its objective is to promote the bookkeeping profession worldwide and offer its students and members trusted bookkeeping qualifications. Founded in the Unit ...

, Yes , Yes , Yes , No , - , Ireland ,

Irish Bookkeepers Association Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, No , Yes , Yes , No , - , Israel ,

Israel Bookkeepers Association Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, No , Yes , Yes , No , - , New Zealand
NZ Qualified Bookkeepers Association
, Yes , No , Yes , No , - , New Zealand
NZ Bookkeepers Association Inc
, Yes , No , No , No , - , Nigeria ,

Association of Bookkeepers Nigeria Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

, No , Yes , Yes , Yes , - , Norway ,

Norwegian Association of Authorised Accountants Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

, No , Yes , No , No , - , South Africa ,

Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (South Africa) The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers ("ICB") is a British not-for-profit organization. Its objective is to promote the bookkeeping profession worldwide and offer its students and members trusted bookkeeping qualifications. Founded in the United ...

, , , , , - , UK ,

Association of Accounting Technicians The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) is the world’s leading professional body for Accounting Technicians, with over 150,000 members worldwide. AAT has 150,000 members according to official records from the Financial Reporting Counci ...

, No , Yes , Yes , No , - , UK ,

International Association of Book-keepers The International Association of Bookkeepers (''IAB'') was founded in the United Kingdom in 1973 and, as a non-profit organisation, in its early years focussed purely on being an international professional and examining body for bookkeepers. Buil ...

, No , Yes , Yes , No , - , UK ,

, Yes , Yes , Yes , No , - , USA ,

American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

The American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers
/ref> , No , Yes , Yes , No , -

Explanation of table headings

;Country :The country the bookkeeping association represents. Where a bookkeeping association is represented in more than one country, there should be a separate entry for each country it represents. ;Body :The full registered name of the bookkeeping association ;By Unsupervised Exam :An exam where no independent verification is made that the exam was taken without help. ;By Supervised Exam :An exam is taken and supervised by independent personnel ;By Experience :The qualification is issued based on the experience of the person and no exam is taken. That person has provided the required evidence of their experience. ;By Licence :The person buys the right to use a title identifying them as a bookkeeper but no evidence of experience or examinations is requested or required.

References

Accounting organizations Bookkeepers