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The Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA) has taken over rival professional organisation the Federation of Tax Advisers (FTA) ahead of the latter's annual conference.
Formed in 1997, the FTA’s main objective has been to support tax advisers in practice through a code of conduct and disciplinary processes, enabling members to offer an approved service to clients. In 2006, the FTA introduced an exam qualification that new applicants must pass to qualify at associate member level.
The takeover by its fellow trade body has come because the FTA felt it could ‘no longer grow organically with the available resources,’ said IFA chief executive David Woodgate.
His organisation believes it will benefit from the move by the addition of additional tax expertise, enabling the newly expanded IFA to compete with others for membership, as well as extending the range of qualifications on offer.
Mr Woodgate’s counterpart at the FTA, Paul Harmsworth, reiterated the need for additional support to aid development.
He said: ‘The IFA will enhance the benefits of membership for [our] existing members and provide the best framework within which to grow’.
The FTA’s annual conference will go ahead on 3 June as scheduled at the Holiday Inn, Birmingham, with a keynote speech from Mike Warburton, tax partner at Grant Thornton.
Places can be booked by emailing Varuna, or by calling 0113 274 8237.
The situation at the moment with the FTA as it is with the ATT and CIOT is that members of these tax bodies can prepare non statutory accounts for clients. However now that the FTA is to be associated with a professional accountancy body, the IFA, how will the IFA view FTA members who do not have an accounting qualification, although having a tax qualification, who prepare accounts?