ICAEW hits a century of ABS licences

THE ICAEW has issued its 100th alternative business structures (ABS) licence to Tiffin Green Limited, one year after being granted powers to regulate firms wishing to conduct probate and form an ABS.

Tiffin Green, a Brentwood-based five-director practice, made it a century for the ICAEW, just 12 months after the institute awarded its first licence to Kingston Smith.

Stephen Mitchell, a director at Tiffin Green, said: “Having significant experience in the area of inheritance tax planning, trusts and estates already, it was a logical step for the business to apply for a probate licence.”

The ICAEW is now urging bodies and companies to review and update their guidance and procedures to recognise the changes.

Peter James, head of ICAEW regulatory policy said: “ICAEW became a regulator and licensing authority for probate and ABS in the hope it would give more choice to the consumer, who might want their accountant to handle their legal services too.

“One year on, accountancy firms are seeing the advantages that ABS and probate can bring to their business. It is disappointing however that some organisations have failed to recognise this change in the market place and not updated their guidance accordingly.

“Kingston Smith, a top 20 firm, was the first to be awarded a licence and I am pleased that Tiffin Green has been awarded the 100th licence. It is a positive step that firms of all sizes are developing a strategy to go beyond traditional accountancy service and offer their clients a holistic approach to probate services.”

In addition to the 100 firms licensed as ABS’s, the institute now has 147 firms accredited to perform probate.