The Cayman Islands Society of Professional Accountants (CISPA) is a professional association of accountants in the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

, a

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remna ...

in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. CISPA is responsible for licensing accounting practitioners, supports education of accountants and participates in decisions about the financial industry in the

offshore financial centre An offshore financial centre (OFC) is defined as a "country or jurisdiction that provides financial services to nonresidents on a scale that is incommensurate with the size and the financing of its domestic economy." "Offshore" does not refer ...

Authority

CISPA was founded as a professional association in 1970. By 2007 the society had grown to 1000 members. The passage of the Public Accountants Law and its associated regulations in 2007 gave increased regulatory responsibilities to CISPA. Under the new law, CISPA became responsible for regulating the profession in the Caymans, including members and other accountants. CISPA has been an associate of the

International Federation of Accountants The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) is the global advocacy organization for the accountancy profession; mainly for the financial accounting and auditing professions. Founded in 1977, IFAC has more than 175 members and associates in ...

(IFAC) since 2008. As of 2008 the

Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean The Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean (ICAC) is an association of accounting organizations in the Caribbean region that promotes professionalism and standards of best practice in the region. Purpose The ICAC was incorporated as ...

(ICAC) was continuing membership discussions with CISPA from the previous year.

Education

CISPA works with the

University College of the Cayman Islands The University College of the Cayman Islands (UCCI) is a tertiary educational institution in the Cayman Islands. History The original Community College was established as a part-time institution in 1975, and was the first government-sponsore ...

(UCCI) in defining the college's accounting program, and as of September 2007 to offer

Certified Public Accountant Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United Sta ...

(CPA),

Certified General Accountant Certified General Accountant (CGA) is a professional designation granted to Canadian accountants. A person who meets the education, experience and examination requirements of the Certified General Accountants of Canada (CGA-Canada) is entitled to ...

(CGA) and

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Founded in 1904, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is the global professional accounting body offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification (ACCA). It has 240,952 members and 541,930 future members worldwid ...

(ACCA) review classes. Reviewing the first year of UCCI's Certified Accounting Technician program, CISPA considered that it had been successful, although some changes could be made to better prepare students for their first work experience.

Financial industry participation

Accounting is an essential activity in the Cayman Islands: in 2006 it was estimated the banking sector contributes about 25 percent of the Cayman Islands GDP. CISPA is a member of the Cayman Islands Financial Services Association (CIFSA), formed in November 2003. In 2005 the

Cayman Islands Monetary Authority The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) is the primary financial services regulator of the Cayman Islands and supervises its currency board. The CIMA manages the Cayman Islands currency, regulates and supervises financial services, provides ...

(CIMA) requested that a working group be formed to review the recommendations of CIMA's Policy and Research Division, which had been examining regulation of the mutual funds industry. CISPA was invited to participate, as were the Cayman Islands Fund Administrators Association, the Cayman Islands Law Society and the Cayman Islands Bar Association.

References

{{IFAC Members Organizations established in 1970 Professional associations based in the Cayman Islands 1970 establishments in the Cayman Islands Member bodies of the International Federation of Accountants