BCS was previously a member organisation of the Science Council, through which it was licensed to award the designation of Chartered Scientist.

The major ethical responsibilities of BCS are emphasised by the leopard's face, surmounting the whole crest and depicting eternal vigilance over the integrity of the Society and its members.

[11] Sir Maurice Wilkes, Professor of Computer Science at Cambridge University, served as its first president.

[11] The Advisory Council provides advice to the Trustee Board on the direction and operation of BCS; in particular, it is consulted on strategic plans and the annual budget.

[13] The Fellow of the BCS (FBCS)[14] title is conferred on individuals to recognise their outstanding achievements and contributions to Information Technology (engineering, product management, business leadership, etc.).

[19] F-TAG provides technical thought leadership governance for BCS, informing policy positions [20] and content.

[22] Other Professional membership bodies apply to the BCS for a licence that enables them to award CITP to their eligible members.

The society provides several awards to recognise outstanding computer scientists, engineers, experienced and young IT professionals.

BCS offers qualifications that cover all areas of IT, including understanding Spreadsheets and Presentation Software, Animation, Video Editing and Social Networking safety.

These programs had an early history of success, with participants coming from all parts of the world, including Asia.

Many private computing schools outside the UK have hosted students in preparation for BCS Part 1 and 2 examinations.

The average user can save up to 21 days a year by improving their typing speed as well as preventing repetitive strain injury (RSI).

e-type comes with full support materials and computer-based courseware before allowing the user to assess their skills using a simple online test.

The qualification has been designed to provide a basic understanding of the Internet and to start using the web safely, from reading email to shopping online.

[41] BCS magazines include: Their journals are mostly published by Oxford University Press and include: Electronic Workshops in Computing (eWiC) is a series for conference and workshop proceedings, published by the BCS, also available open access via ScienceOpen.