ACCOUNTING PROFESSION

There are two primary kinds of accountants: private
accountants, who are employed by a business
enterprise to perform accounting services exclusively
for that business, and public accountants, who function
as independent experts and perform accounting
services for a wide variety of clients. Some public
accountants operate their own businesses, while
others are employed by accounting firms to attend to
the accounting needs of the firm’s clients.
A certified public accountant (CPA) is an accountant
who has
1) fulfilled certain educational and
experience requirements established by state law for
the practice of public accounting and 2) garnered an
acceptable score on a rigorous three-day national examination.
Such people become licensed to practice
public accounting in a particular state. These licensing
requirements are widely credited with maintaining the
integrity of the accounting service industry, but in
recent years this licensing process has drawn criticism
from legislators and others who favor deregulation of
the profession. Some segments of the business community
have expressed concern that the quality of
accounting would suffer if such changes were implemented,
and analysts indicate that small businesses
without major in-house accounting departments
would be particularly impacted.
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
(AICPA) is the national professional organization
of CPAs, but numerous organizations within
the accounting profession exist to address the specific
needs of various subgroups of accounting professionals.
These groups range from the American Accounting
Association, an organization composed primarily
of accounting educators, to the American
Women’s Society of Certified Public Accountants.