By Zobia Zulfqar 
If you are studying for an accounting qualification in Ghana, you need to read this carefully. The Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana has issued a public warning that some institutions are handing out certifications they have no legal right to give, and anyone who enrols with them could be wasting their time and money.
In a statement released on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, ICAG told students, employers and the general public to stop recognising or enrolling in accounting qualifications issued by institutions that have no legal authority to certify accounting professionals in Ghana. The warning is not just a reminder. It is backed by a court judgment.
A High Court ruling has confirmed that everything falling under the umbrella of accountancy, including tax accounting, sits exclusively within ICAG’s regulatory territory. The court was clear. Training, certifying, admitting and regulating anyone in any field of accountancy in Ghana is a matter reserved for ICAG alone. No other body has that power under Ghanaian law.
The case that triggered this clarity involved the Chartered Institute of Certified Tax Accountants, Ghana. The court found that this body had been presenting itself as an institution authorised to regulate and certify Chartered Certified Tax Accountants, and it had no legal backing to do so. The court restrained the organisation from advertising, training, certifying and admitting people into its membership. The judgment was delivered in February 2022 by Justice Gifty Agyei Addo, and the legal position has only hardened since then.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana Act, 2020, known as Act 1058, gives ICAG the sole statutory authority to regulate, train, examine, certify and admit persons into the accountancy profession in Ghana. That law is not ambiguous. ICAG holds the mandate, and no other institution can legally claim to share it.
What makes this warning more urgent is that some institutions appear to still be operating in this space, attracting students who may genuinely not know they are enrolling with a body that has no legal standing. A qualification from an unauthorised institution does not just carry no professional weight. It may expose those institutions to legal consequences under Ghanaian law, and the people who enrolled with them may find themselves with nothing to show for their effort.
ICAG is asking employers to take this seriously too. Before recognising any professional accounting qualification or admitting someone into a finance role based on a certification, employers should verify that the certifying body is legally authorised. If it is not recognised by ICAG, it does not count.
The Institute says it will keep taking steps against individuals or institutions that misrepresent themselves as professional accounting bodies. That includes legal action where necessary. ICAG is not issuing this warning as a formality. They mean it.
It is also worth knowing why ICAG’s authority matters beyond the legal argument. Under the Companies Act, 2019, known as Act 992, only ICAG members are recognised to audit company accounts in Ghana. That means the qualification you hold determines what work you can legally do. A certificate from an institution with no lawful mandate does not open those doors.
ICAG has been Ghana’s statutory accounting body since its establishment by an Act of Parliament in 1963. Over six decades of regulatory authority is not something a newly formed, uncertified body can simply claim to share by printing a certificate and charging enrolment fees.
Do your homework before you sign up for anything. One check with ICAG could save you years of wasted effort.