What is the Certified Public Accountant (CPA)? As Magill, Previts and Robinson say, “a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is an individual who has been licensed by the state as having met a series of requirements which demonstrate competence to provide public accounting services” (5). The Certified Public Accountant started in 1896, when L. P. Morton, who was the governor of New York, signed the first CPA bill law, which allowed individual citizens to have the right to take CPA examinations, and the accomplished accountants could became CPAs without tests (Flesher, Miranti and Previts 51). This law caused a number of people to become enthusiastic about participating in the CPA exams. It is not easy to become a CPA; the accountants must pass the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and also have an on-the-job experience. From 1920 to 1960, many people prepared to pass the CPA exam (Langenderfer 302). However, only very few people made it. For example, in 1924, only twenty people in Florida became CPA members in the Florida Society. In 1956, 811 people were CPAs, and more than 300 people became Florida candidates in 1958 (Savage 662). According to statistics, in America only 12,892 accountants passed the fourth exam and became CPAs, and only two people in 2010 (Gonzalez). Although the number of CPAs was likely to rise sharply, they were still in short supply in a variety of industries.
The CPA profession was originally founded to urge the need of the capital market and companies in the process of development. Recently, the percentage of professionals seeking a CPA degree has been increasing sharply. In the past years, CPAs have become even more independent information professionals, which has the task of providing dece...
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...will hurt their reputation (Magill, Previts and Robinson). Personal credibility is the most important asset for everyone in society, the high integrity degree is available in every area. When the CPAs face the temptation of money, it is also a “warning sign” for the people.
The profession of CPAs has a complex history and has developed greatly over the years. CPAs not only work in many different areas such as government, corporations, and the education field, but they also offer a variety of services. They help individuals and companies solve problems with their professional experience and knowledge. Although CPAs have many opportunities, the personal and professional responsibility still is a major problem. They should discipline themselves and avoid dishonest gain. In the future, CPAs will become more important and wield a lot of influence in their working areas.
Besides, a CFO is responsible for providing investors with an accurate reporting. On the other hand, ethical responsibilities of the professional accountant is essentially important. As a CPA, they must take all the facts into consideration that which action are
The non-profit professional organization, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), was founded in the United States of America. The organization was founded in 1887, to help ensure that the accounting profession would gain the same respect as the other prestigious occupations had received from the public. The accounting profession, similar to the medical, legal, and engineering professions, is characterized by “…rigorous educational requirements [150 credit hours], high professional standards, a strict code of professional ethics, licensing status [Uniform CPA Examination], and a commitment to serving the public interest” (AICPA, 2016). These five characteristics
Benevolence instructs the accountant to serve in the best interest of the public. It is described as the extent to which a trusty will want to do good to the trustor aside from an egocentric profit motive (Power Point Presentation 7, n.d.). From a utilitarian perspective, some actions may not be deemed worth the effort when there is a lack of profit to be obtained from the action. The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct is set up to establish professional norms and standards that discourages this type of behavior.
In order to become a Certified Public Accounting (CPA) one must take and pass the CPA exam issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). In order to receive licensing, one must follow the guidelines of their respective state in order to obtain a license from that state’s Board of Accountancy to get into practice. With any practice there are rules and guidelines that a person must follow. The Code for CPAs is in place in order to ensure that licensees practice accounting without any problems or discrepancies. As we all know, with any law, rule, or guideline there are loopholes and people that try to work their way around the rules or blatantly not follow them. In the state of South Carolina, there are many people and firms that violate the Code. When the Code is violated, the state board will hold a hearing and decide on the matter and issue a penalty. The following explains a few of these violations made in the year 2008 and the penalties issued by the South Carolina State Board, along with an opinion on the decisions made.
Over one million people are employed as accountants, and most can be found in private business and industry. “Nearly 40 percent of all accountants are certified, and about 10 percent are self-employed’(Caruna, 1). In addition to openings resulting from growth, the need to replace accountants who retire or transfer to other occupations will produce thousands of job opening annually in this large occupation. The Occupational Outlook Handbook states that the expansion of accountants is related to: “increasingly complex taxation, growth in both the size and the number of business corporations required to release financial reports to stockholders, a more general use of accounting in the management of business, and outsourcing of a...
To get the CPA you have to have 150 hours in a college in order to be able to take the exam. Usually the accounting degree is about 124 hour so what people usually do is either double major or have a minor in something or get there master degree in accounting so they can get there 150 hours to take their exam. There are four different parts to this exam which are: Financial, Auditing, Regulation and Business. Depending on who you talk to for when you should take the CPA exam it could be right after college or after two years of working for a firm. Also you have 18 months to complete the rest of the exams and if you fail a part of the exam you have to retake
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) was formed in1921. The organization, however, does have history dating back to 1887. The AICPA is the face of the CPA profession. Rule-making and standard-setting for the profession is handled by the AICPA. The organization also serves an advocate before interest groups and legislative bodies. Besides developing standards and grading the Uniform CPA Examination, the AICPA also enforces technical and ethical standards. Being a member of the AICPA has many advantages to advance a profession’s career.
At a glance, accounting might appear as a repetitive cycle of preparing and examining financial statements. However, a brief exposure to accounting has taught me how chaotic it can be for accountants. An accountant captures and represents the information of businesses. By reviewing financial operations, an accountant helps a business run efficiently. This profession can be intellectually stimulating and rewarding. After learning about accounting, I cannot help but be interested and desire to work toward a degree in accountancy. In my studies, I have learned accountants require a plethora of qualities to be successful. And to mature from a student to a professional, I must resolve to strengthen my weaknesses. There is much I must learn and achieve, but a degree in accounting is well worth the time spent.
As a professional accounting firm, we strongly advocate professionalism. To achieve our vision of being the leader for exceptional client services, our staff must possess sharp business acumen and be updated of the latest rules, regulations and standards in the accounting or other related areas. To equip our staff to be fully-fledged CPA professionals, the firm offers abundant developmental opportunities to our staff through an array of human capital development policies and professional training programmes.
Professional accountants require an ethical code as they hold positions of trust because of which people put their faith on them. The accountability to act in the public interest is the distinguished mark of this profession.
Increased competitions and high expectations of the companies have put high pressure on the accountants. Making the most accurate decisions and helping the companies maximize their financial performances have become almost basics of the accountants’ duties. Many business owners question why they need to seek the services of an accountant when they can do many things themselves with the help of the technological tools. Today, an accountant must provide more than what technology can do for the company. They have to set business plans, goals and provide guide to achieve them with less cost and most profit. They have to advise business on their investments and project the most profitable decisions for the company. Beside the investments, accountants expected to consult the firms on their consolidations with other firms. Making decisions and researches on reducing costs, and sharing resource while providing variety of offerings puts lots of stress on the
The Revenue Act of 1924, which President Calvin Coolidge signed into law to give CPAs the recognition by the federal government to be a professional class. The AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accounting) has been given four different names throughout history. It began as the AAPA (American Association of Public Accountants) in 1887. In 1916, the AAPA was succeeded by the Institute of Public Accountants, which changed its name to the AIA (American Institute of Accountants) a year later. That name was taken in 1936 when the AIA merged with the American Society of Certified Public Accountants. The AIA renamed itself the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in 1957. In 1896, New York Gov. Levi P. Morton signed the first CPA bill into law. Twenty-two members were part of the AICPA when it was formed in 1887. The 16th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1913, permitted a federal income tax (Tysiac).
My second goal is to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). I plan to take the CPA exam immediately after my completion of Master’s program. The CPA certificate will not only to show my competence in independent work but also promote my opportunities to enter a managerial position. To realize my long-term goal of becoming a partner of Ernst & Young, I must be a role model who is familiar with advanced-level knowledge and certification exam.
"Accountants." WISCareers. University Of Wisconsin System Board of Regents, 2009. Web. 20 Nov. 2009. .
Change is inevitable. Yogi Berra once said “The future ain’t what it used to be.” It is clear that the future of the accounting profession ain’t what it used to be (Gormon and Hargadon 1). The changes occurring are happening fast, they are dynamic and they are completely and undeniably real. Since the world around the accountant is changing, the accountant has no option but to change as well. The field of accounting has always been one to know change and to know adjustment, but within the recent past and certainly within the next few decades, the changes that are occurring and will occur absolutely are the most dramatic and exponential yet. Obvious changes lie in the expanding scope of services performed by accountants, the increased use of