As members of the Accounting Technicians Ireland body, individuals are entitled to use the letters MIATI after their name. After eight years members may be eligible to apply for fellow membership. Fellow members use the designation FIATI after their name. Other professional accountancy bodies recognise the qualification and offer exemptions from their examination to Accounting Technicians Ireland graduates. Accounting Technicians Ireland is a not-for-profit organisation. They are a partner body of Chartered Accountants Ireland and an associate member of the International Federation of Accountants. They have offices in Dublin and Belfast and links with local networks throughout Ireland. Accounting Technicians Ireland is the trading name for the Institute of Accounting Technicians in Ireland Limited.
History
Organisational structure
Accounting Technicians Ireland is managed and operated by a board of directors and 26 executive staff. The Board is responsible for managing the business of the organisation and for implementing a strategic vision. The board of directors is made up of eight directors and a secretary. Four of these board directors are members of Accounting Technicians Ireland that have been elected and the other four board directors are nominated by their partner body, Chartered Accountants Ireland. The Board meets at intervals during the year and also for the AGM which is held in June. The board of directors is led by the Officer Group. This group is made up of the President, Vice-President and Immediate Past President. These positions are only held by Board members and the term of office is one year. The day-to-day management of Accounting Technicians Ireland is handled by Accounting Technicians Ireland Chief Operations Officer. Working under senior management the following departments support students' and members' needs:
Member Services
Education
IT
Finance
Marketing
Professional standards
Accounting Technicians Ireland has a Code of Professional Ethics and a set of Disciplinary Procedures, the purpose of which is to ensure confidence in the organisation and its members. The board of directors produced the Code of Professional Ethics for use by members and students, and it was adopted on 26 June 2007. Accounting Technicians Ireland publish both their Code of Professional Ethics and Disciplinary Procedures on their website.
Membership structure
Accounting Technicians Ireland has four levels of membership including a Student level.
Student Members: all who have enrolled in an Accounting Technicians Ireland course and have yet to finish their final exams are classified as Student Members. They may be studying for the qualification by attending lecturers or through distance learning, or might have deferred sitting exams.
Affiliate Members: Affiliate membership is open to all who have passed the Accounting Technicians Ireland exams but do not yet have the two years work experience required to complete the qualification and become Full members. Students can proceed straight to full membership once they pass their exams, if they have already gathered the required two years of relevant work experience. They are not required to become Affiliate Members first.
Full Members : a Full Member of Accounting Technicians Ireland is someone who has completed the Diploma for Accounting Technicians qualification. They will have passed all their exams, completed at least two years approved work experience within an accounting or finance environment, and have been conferred at a graduation ceremony. They are entitled to use the professional letters MIATI after their name.
Fellow Members : Fellow membership is open to anyone who has been a Full member of Accounting Technicians Ireland for eight years and has at least five years' experience of working in a senior position within their employment. They are entitled to use the professional letters FIATI to differentiate their senior experience and expertise within the accounting profession.