Who may practise as an accountant in Ghana
Act 1058 protects the title "Chartered Accountant". Under section 28, nobody who is not registered may use it, or "Registered Auditor", "Public Accountant", "Public Auditor" or any similar description, or hold themselves out as a member of ICAG. The penalty on summary conviction is a fine of 500 to 10,000 penalty units, or 6 months to 5 years in prison, or both.
Public practice means doing accountancy work for pay: auditing or verifying books and records, preparing or certifying financial statements, or advising on accounting procedure (section 35). Under section 34, only a full ICAG member, or the holder of an ICAG public practice licence or non-audit practice licence, may do this.
A Chartered Accountant who practises without a licence, or after it has expired, commits a separate offence under section 39: a fine of 250 to 5,000 penalty units, or 6 months to 3 years in prison, or both.
Bookkeepers who are not ICAG members are not named in the public practice list, but section 35(4) says they may not sign an account or a financial statement. Section 44 also makes them subject to ICAG's ethical requirements when they provide accountancy services in Ghana.
The bodies behind the title
ICAG is a statutory body under Act 1058. Its office is Accountancy House, off Trinity Avenue, Okponglo, East Legon, Accra. Members use "CA" (full members) or "FCA" (fellows, who have been full members for at least 10 years).
Membership and licence are two separate things. Under sections 36 and 37, a practising Chartered Accountant needs a licence that expires every 31 December and is renewed subject to a fee and continuing professional development. Section 38 requires the licence to be displayed in a conspicuous place at the place of practice.
ICAG's own page says a practising licence needs a member in good standing with at least 4 years of practical experience, 2 of them after qualifying.
The Chartered Institute of Taxation, Ghana (CITG) is a separate body. It keeps and publishes a register of Chartered Tax Practitioners and Tax Practitioners, and requires continuing professional development to renew practising certificates.
How to check an accountant in Ghana
- Ask for the ICAG membership number, the practice licence number and the firm name. Section 42 of Act 1058 requires a Chartered Accountant to give a client or prospective client the firm name, places of business, the full names of the partners, and the accountant's own name and nationality.
- Open the ICAG home page (icagh.org) and download the PDF lists of Members, Associates and Fellows in Good Standing. There is no search form, so open the file and search it by name. Good standing shows membership, not a practice licence.
- For a firm, open the List of Licensed Firms page on icagh.org. It carries a 2026 list (dated 24.07.2026) and a 2025 list (dated 31.12.2025). The page does not explain the columns, so if the firm is missing, do not assume the worst or the best: call ICAG.
- Ask ICAG directly for an extract of the register of persons in public practice. Section 24 of Act 1058 requires ICAG to keep this register open to the public, with inspection and extracts during business hours on payment of the prescribed fee. The lists on the website show firms and members, so ask ICAG whether an individual holds a current licence.
- Ask to see the current year's licence. It must be displayed at the place of practice, and a licence from an earlier year has expired.
- For tax practice, ask for the CITG registration. CITG links a Members in Good Standing PDF on its site and has a member portal at member.taxghana.org. No search tool was found there, so confirm by phone on +233 0531 099445 or +233 0531 099449.
- Before hiring an auditor, read the Disciplinary Sanctions 2026 notice that ICAG publishes. The sanctions listed include two-year suspensions of firm licences and fines of GH₵15,000 to GH₵100,000 for issuing audit opinions without sufficient evidence.
What a small business needs an accountant for in Ghana
- Financial statements and audit work. Preparing, verifying or certifying financial statements counts as public practice, so it must be done by an ICAG member or a licence holder (section 35).
- Company annual returns. The Office of the Registrar of Companies states that annual returns are mandatory for all incorporated companies.
- Tax clearance. The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) told professional bodies in January 2022 that they must require a Tax Clearance Certificate before renewing a member's practising licence. A practising accountant should therefore hold current tax compliance of their own.
Red flags specific to Ghana
- Someone calls themselves a Chartered Accountant, Registered Auditor, Public Accountant or Public Auditor but is not on ICAG's lists. That is an offence under section 28.
- A person who is not an ICAG member signs your accounts or financial statements. Section 35(4) forbids it.
- No practice licence on display, or a licence from a past year. Licences expire on 31 December (section 37).
- A firm that is not registered with ICAG. Section 41 requires a firm of Chartered Accountants to register, and section 43 requires registered firms to carry professional indemnity insurance.
- A firm with no Ghanaian citizen among its principals. Under section 36(4), ICAG cannot license it.
- An individual who has not lived legally in Ghana for at least three years. Section 36(4) also bars ICAG from licensing them.
- A refusal to give the firm name, partners' names and places of business. Section 42 obliges a Chartered Accountant to provide them.