American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
Encyclopedia
Founded in 1887, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is the national professional organization of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, with more than 370,000 CPA members in 128 countries in business and industry, public practice, government, education, student affiliates and international associates. It sets ethical standards for the profession and U.S. auditing standards for audits of private companies, non-profit organizations, federal, state and local governments. It also develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination
Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination
The Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination is the examination administered to people who wish to become Certified Public Accountants in the United States....

. The AICPA maintains offices in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

; Washington, DC; Durham, NC; and Ewing, NJ. The AICPA will celebrate the 125th anniversary of its founding in 2012.

The AICPA’s founding established accountancy as a profession distinguished by rigorous educational requirements, high professional standards, a strict code of professional ethics, and a commitment to serving the public interest.

History

The AICPA and its predecessors have a history dating back to 1887, when the American Association of Public Accountants (AAPA) was formed. In 1916, the American Association was succeeded by the Institute of Public Accountants, at which time there was a membership of 1,150. The name was changed to the American Institute of Accountants in 1917 and remained so until 1957, when it changed to its current name of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The American Society of Certified Public Accountants was formed in 1921 and acted as a federation of state societies. The Society was merged into the Institute in 1936 and, at that time, the Institute agreed to restrict its future members to CPAs.

History of Committees

The use of committees began even before the AAPA was formed in 1887. At the first meeting of what would become the AAPA on December 22, 1886, those present authorized the appointment of a committee to draft rules and regulations. Beyond this first preliminary committee the first Bylaws of the AAPA in 1897 established three committees: Finance and Audit Committee, Committee on Elections, Qualifications and Examinations, and the Committee on Bylaws. The number of committees grew continually over the years. In the 1940s there were 34 committees, by 1960, there were 89, and by 1970, the number had grown to 109.

In 1999 the nearly 120 existing committees underwent a re-organization with approximately half of the standing committees being replaced with a volunteer group model that placed an increased emphasis on the use of task forces. The increased use of task forces allowed for more targeted efforts with the task forces being given a specific assignment then disbanding upon completion of that assignment. Also, in 1999 the first tracking and management of task forces began. Collectively, more than 2,500 volunteers contribute to the AICPA, fulfilling its mission.

Mission

The AICPA's mission is to provide members with the resources, information and leadership that enable them to provide valuable services in the highest professional manner to benefit the public, employers and clients. In fulfilling its mission, the AICPA works with state CPA organizations and gives priority to those areas where public reliance on CPA skills is most significant.

Professional standards setting

The AICPA sets generally accepted professional and technical standards for CPAs in multiple areas. Until the 1970s, the AICPA held a virtual monopoly in this field. In the 1970s, however, it transferred its responsibility for setting generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to the newly formed Financial Accounting Standards Board
Financial Accounting Standards Board
The Financial Accounting Standards Board is a private, not-for-profit organization whose primary purpose is to develop generally accepted accounting principles within the United States in the public's interest...

 (FASB). Following this, it retained its standards setting function in areas such as financial statement auditing, professional ethics, attest services, CPA firm quality control, CPA tax practice, business valuation, and financial planning practice. Before passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley law, AICPA standards in these areas were considered "generally accepted" for all CPA practitioners.

In the early 2000s, federal public policy makers concluded that where independent financial statement audits of public companies regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are concerned, that the AICPA's standards setting and related enforcement roles should be transferred to a government empowered body with more enforcement authority than a non-governmental professional association, such as the AICPA could provide. As a result, the Sarbanes-Oxley law created the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is a private-sector, non-profit corporation created by the Sarbanes–Oxley Act, a 2002 United States federal law, to oversee the auditors of public companies. Its stated purpose is to 'protect the interests of investors and further the public interest...

 (PCAOB) which has jurisdiction over virtually every area of CPA practice in relation to public companies. However, the AICPA retains its considerable standards setting, ethics enforcement and firm practice quality monitoring roles for the majority of practicing CPAs, who serve privately held business and individuals.

Credentialing

Due to private sector demand, the AICPA has created credentialing programs to allow designation of expertise in certain subject areas to establish through testing, experience and continuing education. The credentials are similar to state board certification for attorneys, which also recognize subject matter specific expertise. The AICPA credential for expertise in valuation is the Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) designation. For financial planning, it is the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) designation, and for forensic accounting, Certified in Financial Forensics
Certified in Financial Forensics
Certified in Financial Forensics is a designation of subject matter expertise in forensic accounting issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants .-History:...

 (CFF). Beginning on January 31, 2012, the AICPA in joint venture with the British Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants is a United Kingdom-based professional body offering training and qualification in management accountancy and related subjects, focused on accounting for business; together with ongoing support for members.CIMA is one of a number of professional...

 (CIMA) will issue the Chartered Global Management Accountant
Chartered Global Management Accountant
Chartered Global Management Accountant is a professional management accounting credential to be issued beginning on January 31, 2012.CGMA is intended to be a worldwide standard designation for management accountants...

 (CGMA) credential to voting members with appropriate experience.

Member technical support

The AICPA has many technical and professional committees and task forces that deal with numerous issues facing CPAs, their clients and the public. The AICPA also provides a wide array of telephone technical support, educational material, conferences and technical publications for its members. In addition, it offers specialization credentials in several areas, such as the Personal Financial Specialist designation for CPAs in personal financial planning. Other specializations are offered in the areas of business technology and business valuation. The AICPA's national technical conferences are well known for their excellence. The AICPA also publishes the Journal of Accountancy, the nation's oldest technical accounting journal, The Tax Adviser, CPA Letter Daily, and has an extensive website supporting all of these activities.

The AICPA provides substantial support to the accounting programs of colleges and universities involved with educating future CPAs.

Public relations program

The AICPA runs a number of public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....

 activities that include: having members available to the media to provide technical support in the areas of CPA practice expertise; operating an extensive high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 and college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...

 student recruitment programs called "Start Here, Go Places." and ThisWayToCPA to encourage students to consider a CPA career; and getting the word out about the vital role that CPAs play in the U.S. economy in support of financial markets, small business
Small business
A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...

 and entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be defined as "one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods". This may result in new organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response...

.

360 Degrees of Financial Literacy

The professional organization also runs extensive public interest programs. One of the most important is an award-winning program called 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy. The program, launched in 2004, is a multi-faceted effort, spearheaded by the AICPA with the support of state CPA societies. It encourages CPAs to take a broad leadership role in volunteering to educate the American public, from school children to retirees, on financial topics that apply to their particular stage of life. This program has an extensive website with a variety of financial literacy resources.

Feed the Pig

In 2006, the AICPA and the Ad Council
Ad Council
The Advertising Council, commonly known as the Ad Council, is an American non-profit organization that distributes public service announcements on behalf of various sponsors, including non-profit organizations and agencies of the United States government....

 launched a national campaign to encourage young adults aged 25–34 to “Feed the Pig” as a key step toward building a solid financial future for themselves and their families. Feed the Pig is a national multi-media campaign, featuring Benjamin Bankes, a smartly dressed, adult-sized pig intended to evoke memories of the piggy bank, but has been widely criticized for looking creepy and scaring children. The campaign's purpose is to deliver a strong message about the importance and benefits of saving. A dedicated website provides free financial information and tools to help young "career builders" take control of their finances and build long-term financial security.

Government relations program

The AICPA has a Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 office and a political action committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...

. On behalf of its members, the AICPA monitors and advocates on legislative and other matters that affect the accounting profession. Working with state CPA societies and other professional organizations, the AICPA provides information to and educates federal, state and local policymakers regarding key issues. Whether serving as an information resource or offering recommendations, the AICPA represents the profession while protecting the public interest.

The AICPA's Political Action Committee is a contributor to U.S. Congressional representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 and Senators
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 from both parties who sit on various legislative committees of relevance to CPAs.

External roles

CPAs are licensed by individual states, so they must follow the laws and regulations of the state they are licensed in. Once achieving state CPA licensure, by federal regulation, CPAs are automatically licensed to practice before the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...

, with essentially the same rights and duties as attorneys. For audits involving federal monies, the Government Accountability Office
Government Accountability Office
The Government Accountability Office is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the United States Congress. It is located in the legislative branch of the United States government.-History:...

 has issued additional standards commonly referred to as the Yellow Book.

The AICPA is a leading member of the International Federation of Accountants
International Federation of Accountants
International Federation of Accountants is the global organization for the accountancy profession. IFAC has 164 member and associates in 124 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 2.5 million accountants employed in public practice, industry and commerce, government, and academe...

 and the Global Accounting Alliance
Global Accounting Alliance
The Global Accounting Alliance is an international coalition of accounting bodies that was formed in 2006.The GAA aims to promote quality professional services, support their members globally and share information and collaborate on international accounting issues...

.

A joint venture owned by the AICPA and the (British) Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants is a United Kingdom-based professional body offering training and qualification in management accountancy and related subjects, focused on accounting for business; together with ongoing support for members.CIMA is one of a number of professional...

 (CIMA) will issue a new Chartered Global Management Accountant
Chartered Global Management Accountant
Chartered Global Management Accountant is a professional management accounting credential to be issued beginning on January 31, 2012.CGMA is intended to be a worldwide standard designation for management accountants...

 (CGMA) professional credential beginning in 2012.

The AICPA is an affiliate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean
Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean is an association of accounting organizations in the Caribbean region that promotes professionalism and standards of best practice in the region.-Purpose:...

.

Expulsion

The AICPA can suspend or terminate membership for failure to meet continuing professional education requirements, felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...

 criminal convictions, conviction for any part in fraudulent filing of a tax return, or conviction relating to willful failure to file a tax return.

See also

  • Center for Audit Quality
    Center for Audit Quality
    The Center for Audit Quality is an autonomous public policy organization dedicated to enhancing investor confidence and public trust in the global capital markets...

     (CAQ)
  • GASB
    Governmental Accounting Standards Board
    The Governmental Accounting Standards Board is currently the source of generally accepted accounting principles used by State and Local governments in the United States of America...

  • IASB
    International Accounting Standards Board
    The International Accounting Standards Board is an independent, privately funded accounting standard-setter based in London, England.The IASB was founded on April 1, 2001 as the successor to the International Accounting Standards Committee...

  • Philosophy of Accounting
    Philosophy of accounting
    The philosophy of accounting is the conceptual framework for the professional preparation and auditing of financial statements and accounts. The issues which arise include the difficulty of establishing a true and fair value of an enterprise and its assets; the moral basis of disclosure and...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK