Various countries in the world have various designations used to refer to those individuals qualified as to work as accountants. The title CPA is normally used to refer to local public accountants. In the United States for a CPA accountant must have sat and passed a certified public accountant examination that is normally uniform besides having all the requisite education and experience to be certified as a CPA and a member of professional accounting bodies.
Designation CPA can only be used by an individual certified in that particular state. Out of state accountants have to be licensed in other states before they are allowed to use the designation. In the states there exists other designations for low tier accountants such as PA (public accountants) and LPA (licensed public accountants)Certified public accountants can work in the private as well as public sector. They may occupy positions such as chief executive officers, chief financing officers or head finance departments depending on their business knowledge and practice. They have a responsibility to ensure that accepted accounting principles that are applicable are adhered to.
CPAs play various functions. They may work as chief operations officers, chief executive officers or even as heads of financial departments subject to their business practice and knowledge. In the delivery of their services, they ensure adherence to generally accepted accounting principles which are applicable. Their primary roles entail financial audit services or what is commonly referred to as assurance services.
Accountants may opt to be business consultants. However this line of work limits the scope of jobs an individual can do since professional standards and the law provide that those people carrying out business audits must maintain a certain level of independence from those an attestation is being carried on. Therefore most accountants who are consultants are bound not to provide auditing services.
Certified public accountants, whether employed in public or private institutions, operate in virtually all fields of finance. They may include areas such as financial analysis, cooperate finance, financial planning, tax preparation and planning, assurance and attestation services, management consulting, forensic accounting (analyzes matters like tax evasion, embezzlement, securities fraud and money laundering), financial reporting, venture capital, estate planning, regulatory reporting, environmental accounting (deals with matters of environmental disputes, monitoring green initiatives, noting compliance audits) information technology( combines aspects of accounting and IT. It deals with activities like checking systems to ascertain accuracy, security and compliance with set regulations)The examination CPAs sit for is the same in many parts of the world although other requirements for one to be certified may vary from country to country. In United States, besides a pass in examinations, different states have the prerogative to set requirements an applicant has to meet before one can be certified as an accountant. These are normally captured in the law or regulations provided by accounting bodies in those particular states.
The state set requirements can be generalized as being education, experience and a qualification in the uniform certified public accountants examination . Some of the requirements such as the minimum education levels are met as an individual seeks to meet the eligibility criteria for the examination. Requisite experience is normally the last hurdle an accountant has to overcome in order to be certified.
Accounting examinations have four main parts; audit and attestation( covers topics such as communicating audit findings, evaluating evidence, ethics, professional responsibilities, performing and audits)Regulation(tests candidates on business law, federal tax procedures, tax ethics business law and more) Business Environment and Concepts (deals with things like information systems, strategic planning and corporate governance.) and financial accounting and reporting. Though a number of aspects of this examination may vary depending on the country, the examination is principally based on these areas.
Ethics remain a critical area of study for an accounting student. In fact before one is a certified public accountant, he or she must sit a special ethics examination which evaluates ones understanding of professional ethics and might be a mandatory requirement when joining accounting professional bodies.
Designation CPA can only be used by an individual certified in that particular state. Out of state accountants have to be licensed in other states before they are allowed to use the designation. In the states there exists other designations for low tier accountants such as PA (public accountants) and LPA (licensed public accountants)Certified public accountants can work in the private as well as public sector. They may occupy positions such as chief executive officers, chief financing officers or head finance departments depending on their business knowledge and practice. They have a responsibility to ensure that accepted accounting principles that are applicable are adhered to.
CPAs play various functions. They may work as chief operations officers, chief executive officers or even as heads of financial departments subject to their business practice and knowledge. In the delivery of their services, they ensure adherence to generally accepted accounting principles which are applicable. Their primary roles entail financial audit services or what is commonly referred to as assurance services.
Accountants may opt to be business consultants. However this line of work limits the scope of jobs an individual can do since professional standards and the law provide that those people carrying out business audits must maintain a certain level of independence from those an attestation is being carried on. Therefore most accountants who are consultants are bound not to provide auditing services.
Certified public accountants, whether employed in public or private institutions, operate in virtually all fields of finance. They may include areas such as financial analysis, cooperate finance, financial planning, tax preparation and planning, assurance and attestation services, management consulting, forensic accounting (analyzes matters like tax evasion, embezzlement, securities fraud and money laundering), financial reporting, venture capital, estate planning, regulatory reporting, environmental accounting (deals with matters of environmental disputes, monitoring green initiatives, noting compliance audits) information technology( combines aspects of accounting and IT. It deals with activities like checking systems to ascertain accuracy, security and compliance with set regulations)The examination CPAs sit for is the same in many parts of the world although other requirements for one to be certified may vary from country to country. In United States, besides a pass in examinations, different states have the prerogative to set requirements an applicant has to meet before one can be certified as an accountant. These are normally captured in the law or regulations provided by accounting bodies in those particular states.
The state set requirements can be generalized as being education, experience and a qualification in the uniform certified public accountants examination . Some of the requirements such as the minimum education levels are met as an individual seeks to meet the eligibility criteria for the examination. Requisite experience is normally the last hurdle an accountant has to overcome in order to be certified.
Accounting examinations have four main parts; audit and attestation( covers topics such as communicating audit findings, evaluating evidence, ethics, professional responsibilities, performing and audits)Regulation(tests candidates on business law, federal tax procedures, tax ethics business law and more) Business Environment and Concepts (deals with things like information systems, strategic planning and corporate governance.) and financial accounting and reporting. Though a number of aspects of this examination may vary depending on the country, the examination is principally based on these areas.
Ethics remain a critical area of study for an accounting student. In fact before one is a certified public accountant, he or she must sit a special ethics examination which evaluates ones understanding of professional ethics and might be a mandatory requirement when joining accounting professional bodies.
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