History

The growth of Professional Bodies

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) was established by royal charter. It brought together five professional accountancy bodies: Incorporated Society of Liverpool Accountants, Institute of Accountants in London, Manchester Institute of Accountants, Sheffield Institute of Accountants and Society of Accountants in England. The ICAEW now develops and supports more than 147,000 members worldwide.

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) formed

ACCA traces its origin to 1904, when eight people formed the London Association of Accountants, the forerunner of ACCA, to allow more open access to the profession. In 1909, Ethel Ayres Purdie becomes a member, the first woman to belong to a professional accountancy body.

Also around this time:

1901: Victoria dies and is succeeded by Edward VII
1903: The Women’s Social and Political Union is formed to campaign for women’s suffrage
1908: Olympic Games open at White City in London

The hard life of a Trainee Accountant

During this time, Charles Kohler chronicled his time as a London chartered accountant’s articled clerk. Typical of this era, he received no pay for his five years’ of hard work, and studied mostly using a correspondence programme with H Foulks Lynch. He found this “Thorough but narrow, practical rather than theoretical”. The salary-less position required one to study in one’s own time, and gave limited support when attempting to pass a set of demanding examinations. There were no exemptions and failing one paper at a sitting meant that you had to retake them all (a practice that continued well into the 1980s). Pass rates were, therefore, relatively low, compared with modern expectations, despite it weighing down on the student’s personal finances.

Residential courses begin with the purchase of Caer Rhun Hall

Face-to-face accountancy tuition is born when V.R. ‘Ronnie’ Anderson starts the first residential courses at Caer Rhun Hall in North Wales, a late Victorian pile of some 20 bedrooms in the Conwy Valley. In the 1950s, trainee accountants had to pay for their own training and even pay to work. This led to an exclusive profession, usually restricted to those who had wealthy families.

Anderson also introduced a unique personalised method of training. The whole process was based on an in-depth understanding of the concept of learning, backed up by tailored feedback. These are still the guiding principles that training providers, such as Kaplan, apply today.

A key decision that would change the face of accountancy

On 27th July 1967, HM Queen Elizabeth put quill to vellum and enacted the Companies Act 1967. Before 1967, no firm could have more than 20 partners. The Act of 1967 repealed this, resulting in a merger spree and allowing the growth of national and global accountancy firms. Also around this time, the ICAEW made firms responsible for their trainees’ contracts and also made a university degree an entry requirement

Also around this time:

1963: New universities open and students get state support
1965: Comprehensive education system is initiated
1966: England wins the Football World Cup

The expansion of Accountancy Training in the UK

Between the 70s and early 90s, accountancy tuition flourished with many new providers, mergers and acquisitions. Accountancy Tuition Centres (ATC) developed separately from the other major players out of publisher H Foulkes Lynch. In 1983, ATC and Caer Rhun Hall formed an alliance as a separate entity with tuition run under the ATC banner and in 1985 ATC was incorporated as a private limited company.

Also around this time:

1971: Decimalised currency replaces ‘pounds, shillings and pence’
1973: Britain joins the European Economic Community
1989: Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web
1992: Channel Tunnel opens, linking London and Paris by rail

Kaplan expands into Leadership and Professional Development

Kaplan widened its course offerings into leadership and professional development by purchasing Hawksmere Limited, a London-based management training provider. Now known as Kaplan Leadership & Professional Development, the division trains over 12,000 people a year, in the UK and globally. The training solutions offered by Kaplan Leadership & Professional Development help enhance the technical competence and behavioural confidence of employees from a wide array of companies.

Also around this time:

2003: Skype transforming communication
2007: Apple introduces the iPhone
2008: Beginning of the Global Financial Crisis

Kaplan launches a new type of classroom

The traditional classroom was under pressure with many predicting online as the only way forward. Kaplan took a different view and built ”the 21st Century Classroom”. This enhanced teaching environment provides the tutors with the latest technology, enabling them to facilitate creative and compelling learning, showing content using multi-board displays and interactive content.

Kaplan launches its OnDemand study method

Recent years have seen a shift towards both online and on demand learning, with companies, professional accountancy bodies and students requesting more and more flexibility. Kaplan adapted to this changing environment by launching OnDemand, a tutor-led online course with the flexibility to start studying anytime. Initially launched for CIMA, Kaplan plans to expand this new of new way of learning to other qualifications in the near future.