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chartered accountant

chartered accountant

1 5.5
An officially certified accountant who checks and advises on company finances
  • noun
  • /ˈtʃɑːtəd əˈkaʊntənt/
  • UK
translation icon : contable titulado
  • She hired a chartered accountant to help her with her tax returns and financial planning.

Examples

  • Data were gathered from 399 participants who responded to a nationwide postal survey of British chartered accountants.

    Academic text (1994)
  • The man chosen to be her husband was a chartered accountant four months away from being posted to England.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Letters written, accounts paid, a query from his chartered accountant clarified and answered.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • A chartered accountant is one who specializes in accounting, auditing, and assessment.

    Blog text (22)
  • The chartered accountants in Canada appear to be extremely cooperative in trying to get around this situation so that they can, from the bottom up, arrive at consistent regulation of certified public accountants and chartered accountants.

    Academic text (1990)
  • After years of study, he finally became a chartered accountant and started his own practice.

  • The company decided to appoint a chartered accountant to ensure compliance with financial regulations.

Synonyms

CPA
vschartered accountant
  • Specialized
29 4.2

A person who passed exams to be a public accountant in the United States

is the British or Canadian professional membership authorized by royal charter not state licensing
certified public accountant
vschartered accountant
  • Specialized
3 3.9

An accountant who passed exams and got a state license to work professionally in the United States

is the British or Canadian qualification granted by a royal charter rather than state license

How Senior

senior status
  • Formal
1 4.9
chartered accountant
  • UK
1 5.5
accountant
212 2.7
junior-grade
1 4.1
trainee
50 2.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

charter + accountant

The adjective 'chartered' is built from 'charter' (to authorize), so a learner who knows both words can derive a basic sense of an 'authorized' or formally recognized accountant. However, the phrase refers to a specific professional/status (membership of a chartered body, legal/regulatory nuances) that goes beyond simple composition and may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without background knowledge.

Etymology

The term chartered accountant comes from an old practice when expert accountants belonged to a group that received an official 'charter', a special licence from the king or government, and its members were called chartered. So today chartered accountant means 'an accountant with official permission and membership in a professional group', someone trusted to offer accounting services to the public.