The profession of accountancy holds a place of honor in England, ranking with the ministry, medicine and the law. Its traditions have been built up over years of practice and they display a general air of austerity and conservatism. The English accountant should be viewed in relation to the activities of his profession, and in relation to the economic and social aspects of his country. To a marked degree his effectiveness is conditioned by existent legal and financial philosophies. Although the profession of accountancy in England is inextricably bound up with the various Companies Acts it is of interest to note that practicing accountants actually preceded their enactment. English economists and accountants constantly refer in their writings to the separation of ownership from control of company property and the necessity for an accounting to be rendered to the real owners of limited liability companies yet English law appears to be behind social and economic change as it does not, to any important degree, reflect this separation and its implications. The incorporated accountants are generally in favor of English Company Law reform particularly with reference to the profit-and-loss and holding company accounts.

The article focuses on the progression of accountancy in England. The English accountant is called upon to maintain during his professional career two sets of relationships. First, are those relationships, which are concerned with the accountant's immediate client with whom he comes in direct contact and by whom the accountant is hired. Such relationships are based upon contract and must consider the statutory provisions, which exist in reference to the audit. Second, there are intangible relationships, which involve indirect clients, those individuals whose presence is not disclosed to the auditor when he is preparing his statements and reports but of whose identity, at least as members of a class, he is aware. Direct clients include sole traders, partnerships and limited companies as well as all types of organizations, which according to English Law must submit their accounts to independent examination by auditors. Indirect clients encompass a much wider range of individuals, as they will include readers of financial statements and reports, potential investors, bankers, creditors, the public and the Government.