ICB are the most recognised and highly regarded bookkeeping associations. So, when deciding to start my own bookkeeping practice it was a no brainer who I was going to qualify and have my licence with. Their motto is ‘not just a bookkeeper, an ICB bookkeeper’.

The ICB has a high level of criteria which you must pass in order to join their membership. Out of all the bookkeeping associations in the UK, ICB asks for the highest of pass marks to ensure that their bookkeepers are knowledgeable and know their stuff before being allowed to have an ICB licensed practice. 

As well as having a practice licence with the ICB we are supervised and regulated by them for Anti Money Laundering (AML) regulations. This ensures that everything we do is above board and that we only deal with legitimate businesses who want to abide by the rules of HMRC and the law.

The support we get from ICB is incredible. They have Facebook support groups where we can ask other members of the community for opinions, ideas and share our expertise with other bookkeepers. They regularly run webinars to keep us up to date with the latest news and changes to regulations. If we ever come across anything usual or something we’re not sure of, their team of experts are just on the other end of a phone.

We have local ICB branch meetings which I attend. They are great for networking with other bookkeepers and sharing information with each other. 

Every November they run the ICB summit which is the world’s largest conference dedicated to bookkeepers. Bookkeepers can attend in person or online. There are various inspirational keynote speakers and it’s the perfect place to find out about the latest software developments, regulatory announcements and technical updates.

I’ve been lucky enough to be invited to speak on various panels with ICB and you can watch the replays by visiting our news on page on our website.