The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) is the world's first professional body of Chartered Accountants (CAs). It is a regulator, educator, influencer and thought leader. ICAS act as a thought leader and voice of the professional business community. Although other British accounting bodies use the title Chartered Accountant, the CA designation is unique to ICAS in the UK. ICAS has more than 21,000 members and students worldwide. ICAS provides support, advice and services to its CAs throughout their professional lives. ICAS members are business advisors, business leaders and entrepreneurs. They play leading roles in 80% of the FTSE 100 companies. Half of ICAS members are based in Scotland; the other half work in England and around the globe. History The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) is the world's first professional body of accountants, receiving its Royal Charter in 1854. The institute originated from: The Institute of Accountants in Edinburgh, formed in 1853; The Institute of Accountants and Actuaries in Glasgow, formed in 1853; The Aberdeen Society of Accountants, formed in 1867. These three bodies merged to form the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland in 1951. It was the first to adopt the designation "Chartered Accountant" and the designatory letters "CA" are still an exclusive privilege in the UK for ICAS members. Anton Colella was the chief executive of the ICAS for about ten years, until retiring in 2018. Membership and Qualification ICAS has over 20,000 members worldwide working in public practice, industry, commerce, the public sector and education. Membership is generally obtained by entering a training contract with an accountancy firm (although it is possible to train within industry), during which the student gains experience and sits a number of exams. The CA designation is reserved exclusively for their use in the UK. ICAS is the only UK chartered accountancy body to provide professional education and training, as well as examinations, for all its students. Since the mid-1990s, ICAS has trained students located in England & Wales, and in that respect competes with ICAEW. In addition to the CA qualification, ICAS delivers the ICAS Tax Professional (ITP) qualification in partnership with Tolley Tax Training. Those completing the qualification are awarded the designiation 'ITP'. Admission to membership It takes generally 3 years to qualify as a CA during which students will combine structured work experience with classroom-based study of relevant education syllabus. The training programme enables