Professional Association

A professional association, also called a professional body, professional organization or professional society, is a group that usually seeks to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that profession, and the public interest. The cited article says that in the United States such an association is typically a nonprofit business league for tax purposes, and that in the United Kingdom professional associations may take a variety of legal forms. Architecture organizations recorded in the atlas as professional associations are grouped under this concept.