| Description | By 1832 the number of Liverpool accountants had increased to 37 and with the Companies Act of 1844 the profession grew dramatically in numbers. In January 1870, the Incorporated Society of Liverpool Accountants (later known as the Liverpool Society of Chartered Accountants) was formed by a meeting of "14 gentlemen engaged in accountancy" called at the request of Messrs. Harmood W Banner and A W Chalmers, and held on Tuesday, 25 January 1870 at 24 North John Street, Liverpool. The Society agreed a set of objectives including "the protection of the character, status and interests of the accountants of Liverpool and the promotion of honourable practice".
Ten years later this Liverpool body was the oldest of the societies that joined together to form the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). The ICAEW was formed from the five associations that existed in England prior to its establishment by Royal Charter in May 1880: the others being the Institute of Accountants in London (November 1870), the Manchester Institute of Accountants (February 1871), the Society of Accountants in England (1872) and the Sheffield Institute of Accountants (1877).
The Liverpool Society of Chartered Accountants (LSCA) has an illustrious history and has provided in Harmood Banner, Arthur Green and Ian Morris, three National ICAEW Presidents. The first member's signature is that of Harmood Banner.
The Students' Association of the LSCA was formed on 28 February 1883.
Founder member, Harmood Banner (1782–1865), played a key role in the development of accounting and finance in Liverpool, and was practising as an accountant in Liverpool as early as 1805. Banner was a philanthropist and was involved in raising the funds to build new hospitals and orphanages in Liverpool, including Liverpool Ophthalmic Infirmary (1824), Liverpool Dispensary (1829), Liverpool Female Orphans Asylum (1841), Liverpool Eye and Ear infirmary (1845) and Liverpool Infant Orphans Asylum (1859).
In 1885, the Society of Incorporated Accountants and Auditors was established, the Parent Body of the Incorporated Accountants’ District Society of Liverpool. In 1901 C. Heweston Nelson the then Hon. Secretary of the LSCA became the first Liverpool member of the Council of the Parent Society.
In 1958, the Incorporated Accountants District Society of Liverpool (formed in 1895) merged with the Liverpool Society of Chartered Accountants.
The LSCA now plays a key role in training and in the development of accountancy standards, having strong branches in Southport and Chester & North Wales. The Isle of Man Society still maintains its traditional links with Liverpool Society, although since Regionalisation, is now administered from the Centre. Chartered Accountants in Business, General Practitioners, Younger Members and Students all have special groups to look after their interests, and there are a wide range of technical and other sub-committees.
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