I would like to know, if a person decides to work as a self-employed bookkeeper, and if he does register as a student with ICB, what actually happens? Does he need, to complete the first and second level of the ICB courses and pass the exams, in order to get his practicing licence and so be able to start his work as a bookkeeper, or, can he start working as a bookkeeper from the moment he registers with ICB as a student, even while he is studying, and has not yet completed any of the courses, and has not passed any exams?
Also, while studying with ICB, does it mean, that he is automatically covered for the MLR and the PII?
as soon as you sign up for ICB you are restricted in your ability to offer services to the public as under the ICB banner a certain level of competence is required which you must prove before you can use their letters.
It does not matter that you do not mention ICB in your adverttising as if they are your representatives for MLR then they dictate what you can do.
If after joining the ICB you atempt to get MLR cover from HMRC it will be refused (but they will still keep your money) as you are covered under your ICB membership but you will not be allowed to practice under ICB until you have a practice certificate.
For PII that is an insurance that you must purchase in order to get a practicing certificate. It is not something that comes as part of your ICB membership.
Once you have passed AICB then you apply for PII via trafalgar or arlington or similar. Once you have proven to the ICB that your business has sufficient PII cover then the ICB will issue a practice certificate.
Hope that this clarifies matters but please do not hesitate to ask follow up questions,
kind regards,
Shaun.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Just would like to add that if you already have clients you might be able to get temporary MLR supervision cover whilst you study and pass the examinations.
You must have MLR supervision if you have clients, and as Shaun said the HMRC will not cover you if you are registered with any of the professional supervisory bodies.
If you do have clients contact the ICB on 0845 060 2345 and ask about the temporary MLR cover.
You wrote, that if a bookkeeper has clients, he can practice while he is a student, with ICB, even before passing his exams. But is it not necessary for that bookkeeper to first get his practicing licence from ICB, and then be able to practice, because as much I understood, he is not allowed to practice, while he is a student with ICB, before obtaining a practicing licence? ICB, would not allow him to practice before getting his practicing licence, regardless of the fact, that he is a student at ICB? How can ICB give you a temporary Supervision MRL licence, if you already have clients, if they do not allow you to practice, without a practicing licence?
Thank you!
Kind regards!
dga
-- Edited by dga on Monday 18th of July 2011 11:51:39 PM
-- Edited by dga on Monday 18th of July 2011 11:53:43 PM
-- Edited by dga on Tuesday 19th of July 2011 07:42:22 AM
I think that there's a bit of confussion being caused by this clause about pre qualification clients.
Think of it in a different way.
There are a lot of very competent bookkeepers out there who have been trading for years but want to be part of a supervisory body. With some institutions you would have to give up your existing client base that was acquired before becoming part of them but with the ICB there is a sort of amnesty for wayward bookkeepers who want to come in from the cold.
My understanding is that this is only a facility available to long standing bookkeepers and is at the discretion of the ICB rather than being an automatic right.
I assume (although James will probably correct me on this) that where such is the case you will need to obtain a reference (or two) prior to acceptance.
This whole scenario is a quite specific work around for a quite specific problem and should be considered as an exception rather than the the norm.
Hope that this helps until James is around later to clarify matters properly.
kind regards,
Shaun.
__________________
Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
You should not confuse the Practice License with Temporary Supervision.
Lets say you are working self employed, with 10 clients, registered for MLR under HMRC. If you wanted to join a professional body the rules state you would have to cease your clients, terminate your MLR supervision with HMRC (as they wont supervise you if you are registered with a professional body, even as a student), then study and wait till you passed your examinations to start working again.
To solve this problem the ICB came up with the Temporary Supervision License, given to some in certain circumstances.
Therefore you could register as a Student with the ICB, swap your MLR supervision over to the ICB, continue with your examinations. As soon as you are eligible the licence will be upgraded to a Practice License.
Like I say though only in certain cercumstances, so you cannot register as a Student, decide you want to get clients, and get the temporary license.
You also cannot mention the ICB in anyway as your professional body, cannot use the crest, letters after your name, etc. You also wont receive any of the benefits of the ICB's Practice License (appart from MLR support and documentation).
This license is time restricted, as if you have experience it should not take long to pass the required examinations for the full license.
This process was started because in 2009 a large number of bookkeepers who though HMRC MLR was the simplest cheapest option realised it was not in the long run and wanted to swap over to the ICB.
Can I ask an associated question please, sorry if I'm hijacking the thread just thought it might be of use to others too.
Can you clarify what the situation is re practising license and MLR etc if someone was already qualified with another body and covered for licence, PII MLR etc and was doing ICB as a refresher course? Does it make any difference which body it is IAB, AAT, ICAEW, ACCA, CIMA, IFA, AIA etc?? Assuming the person has clients at this tme.
Thanks!
-- Edited by GinnyBee on Tuesday 19th of July 2011 09:47:48 AM
