How to find and check an accountant in Zambia

Who may practise as an accountant in Zambia

The Accountants Act, 2008 (Act No. 13 of 2008) protects certain descriptions. Using them without being registered is an offence.

Under section 256 of the Companies Act, 2017, nobody may be appointed auditor of a company unless qualified and registered to practise as an auditor. The Accountants Act defines an auditor as a person holding a practising certificate or a firm registered under the Act.

The text of the Act does not forbid a person from keeping books or preparing returns as such. It forbids the protected descriptions, setting up as a chartered accountant without a certificate, and a business employing or engaging an unregistered person "as an accountant" (s.18(4)). Whether ZICA treats a particular bookkeeping shop as practice that needs registration is a question for ZICA.

The penalty for breaching sections 18(1), 18(2), 18(4) or 20(1), or for practising on an invalid certificate, is a fine of up to 500,000 penalty units, imprisonment of up to five years, or both. Forging a registration or certificate carries up to ten years (s.27).

• Section 18(1): only a person registered as a chartered accountant may call themselves a "chartered accountant", "registered auditor", "public accountant", "public auditor", "public tax consultant" or "public tax adviser".
• Section 18(2): only a person registered as a Member of ZICA may call themselves a "Member", "tax consultant" or "tax advisor". A legal practitioner may still set up as a tax advisor or tax consultant (s.18(3)).
• Section 20(1): nobody may set up in practice as a chartered accountant, or be a partner in such a practice, without a practising certificate or non-audit practising certificate from ZICA.
• Sections 21 and 22: the certificate must be displayed at the place of practice and renewed each year. One that is not renewed is invalid, and practising on it is an offence.
• Section 24: a firm registered under the Registration of Business Names Act must also register with ZICA, and a registered firm must carry professional insurance.

The bodies that matter

• ZICA is the statutory body. It keeps two registers by law: the Register of Chartered Accountants in Zambia and a separate Register of Members (s.26). Registered firms are entered with their partners' names (s.24).
• Membership and a licence to practise are different things. ZICA's lists group members as Fellows, Associates, Graduates, Licentiates and Technicians, but being a paid-up member does not show that someone holds a practising certificate.
• A practising certificate, for audit or non-audit work, is the licence to practise (ss.19-20). ZICA's audit practice page says members in public practice usually need a practising certificate and professional indemnity insurance, and fall under its Practice Assurance review.
• No separate licensing body for tax practitioners was found. The "tax consultant" and "tax advisor" descriptions are controlled by ZICA through section 18(2) of the Act.
• ZICA contacts: head office at Accountants Park, Plot 2374/a, Thabo Mbeki Road, Lusaka, telephone (+260) 211 374 551-9; regional office in Kitwe (Mukuba Pension House), telephone (+260) 212 222002.

How to check an accountant in Zambia

On ZICA's website, both "Verify a Member" and "Find A ZICA Registered Accountant" lead to the same page (zica.co.zm/members-list), which holds a PDF rather than a search box. Work through these steps.

1. Search the paid-up members list by name. The October 2026 edition (dated 21 October 2026, 283 pages) shows forename, other names and member number, grouped by category. Ask the accountant for their member number and match it to the name.
2. That list shows paid-up membership only. To check a practice, open the list of professional accounting firms registered with ZICA (linked from zica.co.zm/auditing-firms; the edition read is dated 4 May 2026). It has an Audit Practising Firms section and a Non-Audit Practising Firms section, with each firm's address, telephone, email and named practitioners.
3. Remember the firms list is dated. A firm registered after 4 May 2026 will not appear on that edition, so ask to see the current practising certificate.
4. Ask to see the certificate itself. The law requires it to be displayed at the place of practice and renewed annually, and an expired one is invalid.
5. For written confirmation of a person's status, email membership@zica.co.zm or call (+260) 211 374 551-9. The Act says the registers are open to inspection on prescribed conditions, which may include a fee (s.26(5)).
6. To complain about a registered accountant, write to complaints@zica.co.zm.

What a small business in Zambia needs an accountant for

• TPIN and ZRA registration: every business or individual earning income needs a TPIN, registered through ZRA's TaxOnline portal. Registering a company at PACRA generates the TPIN automatically.
• Choosing the tax regime: a business with annual turnover of K5,000,000 or less can use turnover tax; above that it pays income tax. Partnerships, mining and management or consultancy businesses cannot use turnover tax.
• VAT: registration is required for taxable supplies above K800,000 a year (standard rate 16%). Returns are monthly and due even when you did not trade. Input tax is lost after ninety days from the invoice date.
• Smart Invoice: e-invoicing is mandatory. Since 1 January 2025 input VAT can be claimed only against invoices issued from the electronic invoicing system, and records must be kept for six years, in English.
• PAYE, Skills Development Levy and NHIMA: paid by the 10th of the following month. NAPSA contributions are 10% of gross earnings, split equally between employer and employee.
• The annual income tax return: the tax year is 1 January to 31 December, and the return and balance are due on 21 June of the following year. The portal return needs a signed Certificate ITF 56 A or B, signed by you or by whoever prepared the accounts.
• The company annual return to the Registrar at PACRA: due within ninety days after the end of the financial year, signed by a director or the secretary (Companies Act, 2017, s.270).
• Audits: a "small private company" need not appoint an auditor (s.263), but if shareholders holding at least fifty percent of the shares give notice, it must (s.264). Where an audit applies, it must be done within three months after the financial year (s.265(1)). Financial statements must follow the standards set by ZICA (s.266).

Red flags specific to Zambia

• Someone who calls themselves a "chartered accountant", "registered auditor", "public accountant" or "tax consultant" or "tax advisor" without ZICA registration is committing an offence under section 18.
• No practising certificate on display, or one that has not been renewed for the year. It is invalid under section 22.
• A name found only on the paid-up members list. That list does not prove a practising certificate, so check the firms list or ask ZICA.
• An audit report that is not signed by a partner who is a qualified auditor (Companies Act, s.255), or an auditor who is not registered to practise as one (s.256).
• Hiring an unregistered person "as an accountant" is an offence for the employer as well as for the individual (s.18(4)-(5)).
• Supplier invoices not generated by Smart Invoice. Since 1 January 2025 they give you no input VAT claim.