Who granted the royal charter to the Institute of Accountants in Glasgow on July 6, 1854, thereby creating the profession of Chartered Accountant?

• A. Queen Victoria
• B. The Industrial Revolution
• C. Luca Pacioli
• D. Benedetto Cotrugli

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is how royal charters formalize professional status and confer official recognition. A royal charter is a document granted by the monarch that creates or recognizes an organization as a formal, regulated body and often endows it with the right to use a certified title.

In this case, the Institute of Accountants in Glasgow received the royal charter on July 6, 1854 from Queen Victoria. That charter gave the body authority to regulate the accounting profession under the title “Chartered Accountant,” establishing formal recognition, standards, and governance for practitioners. It mark made the designation widely accepted and protected, helping to unify and elevate the profession.

The other options don’t fit because they refer to a non-person (the Industrial Revolution) or individuals who, while important to the history of accounting, did not grant this charter: Luca Pacioli contributed foundational ideas about double-entry bookkeeping, and Benedetto Cotrugli wrote about accounting and commerce, but neither granted royal charters to professional bodies.