Three words come up constantly when looking for someone to keep your books in Belgium: accountant, tax accountant, accounting firm. Two of them are titles governed by law. The third is not. Here is what each one covers, and what the distinction actually changes for a business.
- What the law actually protects
- The titles in one table
- Why « fiduciaire » means nothing in law
- What only a statutory auditor may do
- Checking that a professional is registered
- Which profile for which need
- Internal or external member
- The activities the law governs
- Three questions for the first meeting
What the law actually protects
Until 2020 the profession was split between two institutes. The IEC governed accountants and tax consultants. The IPCF governed accredited bookkeepers and accredited bookkeeper-tax specialists. That duality created constant confusion, including among professionals themselves.
The law of 17 March 2019 on the professions of accountant and tax advisor merged the two institutes into the ITAA, effective 30 September 2020. It reorganised the titles around one simple distinction: certified or not certified.
The titles of certified accountant and certified tax advisor are reserved for persons entered in the institute's public register. The law also maintains non-certified titles, inherited from the former accreditations, with a narrower scope of assignments. Those inherited titles are no longer granted to new candidates: they will die out with those who hold them.
One point is worth knowing: the same professional cannot hold both the certified accountant title and the certified tax advisor title. They choose one path.
The titles in one table
| Title | Institute | What it covers in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Certified accountant | ITAA | Accounting, annual accounts, tax, advice, plus the specific assignments the law reserves to them |
| Certified tax advisor | ITAA | Tax advice, assistance and representation of the taxpayer before the administration |
| Non-certified titles (former accreditations) | ITAA | Routine accounting, VAT, annual accounts, tax returns, without the reserved assignments |
| Statutory auditor | IRE | Statutory audit of the accounts, an assignment separate from keeping the books |
Article 3 of the law of 17 March 2019 lists the professional activities concerned, from organising the accounts to preparing the annual accounts, by way of tax advice and taxpayer assistance. Some of those activities are reserved for certified professionals and statutory auditors alone.
Why « fiduciaire » means nothing in law
« Fiduciaire », « bookkeeping office », « accounting practice »: none of these terms is a protected title. They are everyday names for a structure, not a qualification.
An accounting firm is a company carrying out accounting and tax activities. To do so lawfully, it must be entered in the ITAA register as a legal entity, and the individuals working there must themselves be registered. A serious firm therefore employs registered accountants or tax accountants.
The consequence is direct: the fact that a firm calls itself a « fiduciaire » tells you nothing about its qualifications. The only information that counts is the registration, and under which title.
What only a statutory auditor may do
A statutory auditor belongs to a different institute, the IRE, and to a different profession. They do not keep your books: they audit them. The statutory audit of the accounts, which results in the auditor's report, is reserved to them.
Not every company is concerned. The obligation to appoint an auditor depends on the size of the company within the meaning of the Code of Companies and Associations. A small company escapes it in the vast majority of cases.
There are also specific assignments, provided for by the same code, that require a report from a certified accountant or an auditor: certain capital transactions, contributions in kind, converting a company. That is where the certified or non-certified distinction becomes concrete, and it is the only case where it changes anything for an SME.
Checking that a professional is registered
The ITAA maintains a public register available online. You look up a person or a firm and see their title and registration number. It takes a minute and should precede signing any engagement letter.
Using a protected title without being registered constitutes unlawful practice of the profession, which the institute pursues. It remains rare, but the check is free and immediate, which makes skipping it hard to justify.
A useful detail: members are required to report any change of their details to the institute. A register entry inconsistent with what the firm's website shows deserves a question.
Which profile for which need
For a self-employed activity, with VAT, annual accounts if you operate through a company, and a tax return, the question of the title is secondary. A registered professional, whatever their title, covers that scope.
The question becomes real in three cases. If you are planning a capital transaction, a conversion or a contribution in kind, go straight to a certified accountant. If your main need is tax-related, with structuring or a dispute, a certified tax advisor is better placed. If your company exceeds the thresholds, you will have to appoint an auditor alongside your accountant.
In every other case, the criteria that really matter lie elsewhere: availability, knowledge of your sector, the software used, and the scope written into the engagement letter.
Internal or external member
Here is a nuance almost nobody explains, and one with a direct consequence when looking for an accountant.
Professionals registered with the ITAA are listed either as external members or as internal members. The external member works on behalf of third parties: that is the firm you entrust your accounts to. The internal member exercises their skills within a single organisation, as an employee or director, and is not there to take on outside clients.
A finance director registered as an internal accountant is therefore a fully qualified professional, but not a provider for your company. The list a person appears on in the public register answers that question before you even ask it.
That distinction also explains why the number of registered professionals in Belgium is markedly higher than the number of firms actually available on the market.
The activities the law governs
Article 3 of the law of 17 March 2019 lists the activities that fall within the profession. They include organising accounting services and advising on them, opening, keeping, centralising and closing the books, determining results and preparing the annual accounts, accounting expertise, as well as tax advice and assistance, up to representing the taxpayer before the administration.
Some of those activities are reserved: they may only be carried out on a self-employed basis for third parties by registered professionals, and some of them only by certified professionals and statutory auditors.
The practical consequence is twofold. On one hand, entrusting your accounts to someone unregistered exposes you: there is no professional indemnity insurance facing you, no disciplinary remedy, no guarantee of continuing education. On the other, raw data entry by an internal employee or an administrative provider does not fall under that monopoly, which explains the legitimate presence of unregistered accounting assistants in many businesses.
Three questions for the first meeting
- Under which title are you registered, and on which list: internal or external?
- Who will actually handle my file, and is that the person who is registered?
- Which assignments fall outside your scope and would require another professional?
The second question is the most revealing. In a firm, day-to-day work is often carried out by staff who are not themselves registered, under the supervision of someone who is. That is entirely proper, provided the supervision is real and you know who you are talking to.
Sources
- Law of 17 March 2019 on the professions of accountant and tax advisor, Belgian Official Gazette
- ITAA, Institute for Tax Advisors and Accountants, titles and public register
- High Council for the Economic Professions, regulated professional titles
Information verified on 29 August 2026.
Further reading
- What does an accountant cost in Belgium in 2026?
- Changing accountant: the procedure and the deadlines
- Browse Belgian accounting firms
This article is for information only. It does not replace the advice of a registered professional on your specific situation.