By Joan Abaasa
Communications Officer
Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda
In a bid to uphold professional standards and protect the public from unqualified service providers, accountancy practice in Uganda is strictly regulated by law. Section 35(1) of the Accountants Act, 2013 clearly states: “A person shall not practise accountancy in Uganda without a Certificate of Practice issued under Section 28 or 29.”
This legal provision reinforces the mandate that only individuals and firms which have met the prescribed standards and obtained certification from the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU) are authorised to offer accountancy services in the country.
Accountancy services include financial reporting, audit and assurance, tax advisory, financial management, cash flow management, risk management and transaction services, restructuring and insolvency, and general business advisory.
Why it Matters to Use a Licensed Firm
When you engage an unlicensed firm, you are taking a significant risk. There is no guarantee that such firms adhere to the professional standards prescribed by ICPAU. Substandard output, fraud, and misrepresentation can go unchecked, potentially costing your business substantial sums and impacting the financial performance.
For accounting firms, being licensed is more than just meeting a legal requirement—it is a declaration of the firm’s commitment to professionalism, which manifests in service quality.
A Call to Action
When seeking accountancy services, members of the public are advised to always verify that the firm is licensed and the practitioners possess valid Certificates of Practice.
How can one access the list of licensed accounting firms?
ICPAU maintains and regularly publishes a list of licensed accounting firms and practitioners—those who have fulfilled all legal and professional requirements, including acquiring a firm licence (for the firm) and Certificate of Practice (for the practitioner) in line with the Accountants Act.
At any time, members of the public can verify the authenticity of an accounting firm or practitioner by checking against the list of licensed firms on the ICPAU website https://icpauportal.com/index.php/external_portal/firms
The 2025 list of accounting firms is also published in the New Vision newspaper and the Uganda Gazette.
