Before 1970 there was neither a local institution nor a framework to regulate accountants in Uganda. Accountants at the time were all foreign trained and their professional behaviour was regulated by the institutes they belonged to abroad.
In 1969 members of the East African Community realised the need to enact new local laws to regulate the profession accountants in respective countries. Therefore in 1970, the Registered Accountants Act No.5 was enacted in Uganda. Tanzania and Kenya followed suit in 1972 and 1977 respectively.
Act No.5 of 1970 provided for the establishment of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda and a Council responsible for management of the institute, the disciplining of accountants and maintenance of professional standards. The political instability that followed after the military takeover in 1971 made the operation of the law impossible.
I August 1992 after the establishment of political, the Accountants Act No.5 was repealed and The Accountants statute No 12 was enacted.
Accountants Act 1992
The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU) was establishment after The Accountants Statute No. 12, now the Accountants Act, and Cap. 266 of the Laws of Uganda, 2000, was enacted in August 1992.
The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU)
ICPAU is the national body for professional accountants in Uganda with the main functions including regulating and maintaining the standard of accountancy in Uganda and prescribing or regulating the conducts of accountants in Uganda.
The Institute is governed by a Council assisted by committees and a full time Secretariat to run the affairs of the Institute.
As part of the function of regulating and maintaining the standard of accountancy, ICPAU conducts examinations for the Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (CPA (U) and the Accounting Technicians Certificate of Uganda (ATC (U) courses. This function is executed by the Public Accountants Examinations Board (PAEB), on behalf of Council.