If you run a UK accountancy practice, your website is one of the first places a prospective client, a regulator or an AI assistant will look to work out who you are and who stands behind your work. Each professional body has its own rules on what you can call yourself, which logos you can use and what you must tell clients. This guide pulls the main ones together into one checklist, with links to each body's own guidance so you can check the wording yourself.

We have already written separate guides on ICAEW firms and the "Chartered Accountants" description, ACCA practice names and AAT licence status. This one is different: it is a cross-body checklist for the pages and footer of your site, covering ACCA, ICAEW, CIMA, AAT, ATT/CIOT and ICAS in one place.

A quick caveat before we start. This is a practical summary, not regulatory advice. Rules change, and your own body's regulations always win. Where we quote a rule, we link to the source as we read it in October 2026.

Why your website matters to your professional body

Most professional body rules were written with letterheads, engagement letters and office notices in mind. Your website now does the job of all three for a lot of people. A visitor deciding whether to trust you will look for:

  • who the firm is, and what legal form it takes
  • which professional body regulates the firm, if any
  • who supervises it for anti-money laundering
  • how to complain
  • whether the qualifications shown are real and checkable

Getting this right is not only about compliance. Clear, checkable information also helps search engines and AI tools describe your firm accurately, which is something we cover in our AI visibility checker.

The information every practice website should show

Before looking at each body, start with the general disclosures. ICAEW's services directive helpsheet sets out the information that must be made available to clients and potential clients under the Provision of Services Regulations. It is written for ICAEW firms, but the regulations themselves apply to service providers generally. The list includes:

  • the name of the firm
  • its legal form (sole practitioner, partnership, LLP, limited company)
  • postal address, email address and telephone number
  • registered office, where applicable
  • VAT number
  • details of any professional body registration for regulated activities such as audit, insolvency or probate
  • general terms and conditions, if the firm uses them

Professional indemnity insurance details

The disclosure that firms most often miss is professional indemnity insurance. ICAEW's common pitfalls for firms page says that under the Provision of Services Regulations you must give clients the contact details of your insurer and the territorial coverage of the policy, and that you can do this in several ways, including on your website.

A short line on a "Regulatory information" page usually does the job. Update it whenever your insurer changes.

Company details

If your practice is a limited company, Companies House rules on displaying your company name, registered number and registered office apply to your website as well as your paperwork. A footer that shows the trading name, the legal entity behind it, the company number and the registered office is the simplest way to cover this.

ACCA

Practising certificates

ACCA's guide to starting your own accountancy practice says that any ACCA member who is a principal in an accountancy practice must hold an ACCA practising certificate. It defines public practice widely, covering annual accounts and tax returns, but excluding pure bookkeeping. ACCA students cannot start and run an accountancy firm.

ACCA's practising certificate eligibility page adds that you need one if you are joining a firm as a principal or intend to hold 5% or more of a firm's shares.

Which body regulates the firm

This is where websites often go wrong. ACCA explains that where partners hold different qualifications, the regulatory body for the firm is decided by where control lies. A firm with two ICAEW directors and one ACCA director, all with equal votes, is regulated by ICAEW, not ACCA.

ACCA's Find an ACCA firm directory also warns that not every firm listed is regulated by ACCA. A firm appears if it has at least one ACCA principal.

What to put on your site

  • Name the ACCA member and state whether they hold a practising certificate.
  • Only say the firm is regulated by ACCA if it actually is.
  • Link to your firm's entry in the ACCA directory rather than just showing a logo.

ICAEW

The "Chartered Accountants" description

ICAEW sets out when a firm may describe itself as Chartered Accountants, and acts against firms that use the description or the logo when they are not entitled to. Our separate guide covers the ownership test in detail. For the website, the short version is: check your firm's entitlement before you put "Chartered Accountants" in the header, the page title or your Google Business Profile.

PII and the services directive

ICAEW's PII Regulations page states that PII is compulsory for all ICAEW members who hold a practising certificate and are engaged in public practice, regardless of practice income. Combined with the services directive disclosures above, that means an ICAEW firm's website should normally carry insurer details and territorial coverage, or the firm should be giving them another way.

Registered auditors

If you are a registered auditor, the ICAEW helpsheet suggests wording such as "Registered to carry on audit work in the UK by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales", along with your audit register reference. Use the exact wording your body suggests rather than paraphrasing.

ICAS

ICAS members in Scotland and elsewhere face similar rules. ICAS's guidance on when a practising certificate is required says members are engaging in practice if they provide accountancy or related services to someone other than their employer for a fee, or are a principal in such a firm, and must then hold a practising certificate unless exempt. Members holding a practising certificate must also meet ICAS's PII Regulations.

The ICAS Public Practice Regulations (Part 7) state that a sole practitioner member may describe the practice as Chartered Accountants, and a firm in which more than 50% of principals are Chartered Accountants is entitled to the description. The regulations also say a firm must not include the letters "CA" in the registered name of a limited company or LLP.

CIMA

CIMA members who provide accountancy services directly to clients need to register as a Member in Practice and hold a practising certificate, with anti-money laundering supervision and other compliance requirements attached. Read CIMA's own Member in Practice rules before setting up your site, and state clearly that the practitioner is a CIMA member in practice rather than implying the whole firm is "chartered" if it is not.

AAT

AAT issues two licences: AAT Licensed Accountant and AAT Licensed Bookkeeper. Our separate guide explains who needs a licence. On your website, use the licence title you actually hold, and do not describe yourself in a way that suggests a different category.

ATT and CIOT

The Association of Taxation Technicians and the Chartered Institute of Taxation publish joint Professional Rules and Practice Guidelines. ATT's Compulsory PII Regulations apply to members in practice who provide tax services.

On engagement letters, CIOT and ATT's engagement letter guidance strongly recommends that members issue them. CIOT's setting up in practice page says the same and links to sample letters.

Logos: a practical rule

Every body treats its logo as something you earn the right to use, usually with conditions on placement and size. Rather than repeating each body's brand rules here, follow three habits:

1. Download the logo from the body's member area, not from a Google image search. 2. Check the conditions that come with it, especially whether it is a firm logo or an individual member logo. 3. Link the logo to your entry in the body's directory, so anyone can confirm it.

A badge on a page is a claim. A link to the directory entry turns it into something a reader, or an AI tool, can check.

Complaints and engagement letters on your website

Most bodies expect firms to have a complaints procedure and to tell clients how to use it. Your website is a natural place for a short complaints page that explains:

  • who to contact first at the firm
  • how long you aim to take to respond
  • which professional body a client can go to if they are not satisfied

Engagement letters are not usually published on a website, but your onboarding pages can explain that every client receives one before work starts, and what it covers. That reassures prospective clients and sets expectations early. If you would like this to happen automatically, our AI automation work includes onboarding flows that send the right documents at the right time.

A one-page checklist

Use this to review your site this week:

  • Footer: trading name, legal entity, company number, registered office, VAT number.
  • Regulatory page: which body regulates the firm, who supervises it for AML, PII insurer details and territorial coverage.
  • Team page: each qualified person, their body and designation, with a directory link.
  • Descriptions: "Chartered Accountants", "Chartered Certified Accountants" or "Licensed Accountant" only where entitled.
  • Logos: official files, used within the body's conditions, linked to directory entries.
  • Complaints page: process, timescales and escalation route.
  • Onboarding page: mention of engagement letters and what happens before work starts.

Need a hand?

If you would like your practice website reviewed against this checklist, or rebuilt so the regulatory information is clear without cluttering every page, have a look at our website development and SEO services, or get in touch. We work only with accountancy practices, so this is familiar ground. You can see examples on our work page.