Naming a CPA firm and its letterhead in Kenya
The ICPAK rules on what a Kenyan CPA firm may call itself, which practice descriptions need which licence, and what its headed paper must show.
By Achekam · · 5 min read · For Accountants & audit firms in Kenya
A new practice wants a name that sounds established, a little bigger than two partners in a rented office. Something like "Summit Assurance Partners" or "Pinnacle Advisory". It reserves the name, prints the cards, builds the website, and then learns that ICPAK's rules do not allow it.
Kenyan CPA firms have less freedom over their names than ordinary businesses do. ICPAK requires the name to be confirmed in advance, limits what it may contain, ties the description of the practice to the licences its people hold, and sets rules for what the headed paper must show. This article covers each rule and how to apply it before anything is printed.
Confirm the name with ICPAK first
ICPAK says practising members must confirm the firm's name with ICPAK before setting up a practice. The order matters. Reserving a name at the Business Registration Service, registering a domain or ordering signage before ICPAK has confirmed the name risks paying for something that cannot be used.
ICPAK's directory helps at the research stage. Its search for CPA firms can be run by firm name, practising number or county, and offers downloadable lists of approved firms. Searching the proposed name shows whether a similar one is already in use before the request goes to ICPAK.
By-Law 36: whose names a firm may use
Under ICPAK's By-Law 36, as ICPAK describes it, a firm's name may only use:
- the names of existing or former partners;
- abbreviations of those names; or
- a name approved by Council.
So "Wanjiru & Otieno" built from the partners' surnames is within the rule, as is "W&O" as an abbreviation of them. "Summit Assurance Partners" is not built from any partner's name and would need Council approval. A firm that keeps a retired founder's name is relying on the "former partners" limb.
| Proposed name | Basis under By-Law 36 |
|---|---|
| The surnames of current partners | Existing partners' names |
| Initials of current partners | Abbreviations of partners' names |
| A founder's name after retirement | Former partner's name |
| A descriptive or invented name | Needs Council approval |
Practice descriptions tied to licences
The words after the name matter as much as the name. ICPAK links each description to a licence held inside the firm. It says a firm describing itself as an Audit and Assurance Practice must have a proprietor or at least one partner holding a valid Audit and Assurance licence.
The same rule applies to the other descriptions: a tax practice needs a T licence holder, an accounting, controls and consulting practice needs an M licence holder, and a composite practice needs a partner with a C licence or partners holding A, T and M between them. A firm adding a service line should check its description still matches. The licence categories themselves are explained in ICPAK licence categories A, T, M and C.
Misusing designatory letters
The name and description are not the only places a firm presents its credentials. Staff e-mail signatures, website biographies, proposals and business cards all carry designatory letters, and the Accountants Act takes misuse seriously.
Section 41 makes it an offence to use ICPAK titles or designatory letters without being entitled to them. The penalty is a fine of up to two million shillings, plus up to two thousand shillings for each day the offence continues. The daily element means an incorrect signature block left in place for months is expensive. Check what each person is entitled to use before it goes on anything public.
What the headed paper must show
ICPAK says every firm's headed paper must bear the names of each partner. That rule is easy to break by accident when a partner joins or leaves and the old template stays in use.
ICPAK also says a partnership must have a valid partnership deed. It is not shown on the letterhead, but it sits behind the names that are, and a firm should be able to produce it.
If the firm is considering a change of legal form, ICPAK's naming rules still need to be applied to the new entity; see converting a CPA firm into an LLP.
Particulars and letterhead in Achekam
Achekam produces many of the documents that carry the firm's name. A firm uploads its logo and records its particulars in the firm profile, and Achekam puts them on what it sends for the firm: client e-mails, staff signatures, invoices and the cover of financial statements. A field the firm has not recorded is left blank, not invented.
That last point cuts both ways. Achekam will not make up a missing detail, but it also cannot add one the firm never entered. After setting up the profile, produce a sample of each document type and check it against ICPAK's requirements, including the name of every partner on the headed paper. Repeat the check whenever a partner joins or leaves. Practical points on firm particulars more broadly are covered in firm letterhead and particulars.
For a Kenyan practice, set the practice country to Kenya and work through the country's set-up steps before activating the pack from Settings. Only a Partner or Admin can activate it, and activation shows each effect as done, not available yet or failed. A firm that chose Kenya at sign-up sees a banner until set-up is finished.
A naming checklist before anything is printed
- Draft the name from partners' names or abbreviations, or prepare the case for Council approval.
- Search ICPAK's firm directory for similar names.
- Confirm the name with ICPAK.
- Choose a practice description supported by a licence holder in the firm.
- Check each person's entitlement to the designatory letters they plan to use.
- Put every partner's name on the headed paper.
- Make sure the partnership deed is signed and current.
- Record the confirmed name and particulars in Achekam and check sample documents.
When the partners change
Treat every admission or departure of a partner as a trigger to revisit the name, the headed paper and the firm profile together. It is a short exercise, and it keeps the firm's public face in line with the rules.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
