Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certification is the most important certification, and the highest professional designation for accountants in the United States. This certification allows accountants to prove their profound expertise and knowledge in accounting field upon successful competition of a set of requirements and ultimately certifying them as qualified accountants. Among other distinguished certificates available to professional accountants that would be just as beneficial for their accounting career depending on personal preference are: Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), Certificate in Financial Forensics (SFF), and Certified Internal Auditor (CIA). As far as my personal career achievements go, obtaining the CPA certificate is my immediate goal; pursuing the CGMA certificate is part of my ideal plan.
CPA Membership Requirements In order to be licensed in the state of Virginia, a CPA candidate needs to meet a few requirements set forth by Virginia Board of Accountancy (VBOA). According to VBOA, “an applicant must first meet the ‘3 E’s’” which are “Education, Exam, and Experience.”
• Prior to sitting for the CPA exam, a candidate should prove to have the required educational credentials. Having higher education with a minimum of 120 semester hours would qualify an applicant to sit for the CPA exam. However, to ultimately obtain the CPA certificate, recent changes in VBOA policy clearly state that an applicant must have a total of 150 credit
Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) – “Considered the gold standard of medical assisting certification, the CMA designation translates to a high level of prestige, better job security and greater career opportunities in the field.
One of the advantages to being a CPA within a large firm is that you have the opportunity to work in many areas of accounting for many varied company clients. This will give me a multifaceted experience level not easily obtained while working independently or for a smaller firm. I hope to have the opportunity to do some forensic accounting work where I would prove suspected embezzlement within a client’s company (S. Westfield, personal interview, August 1, 2008).
* Complete 30 semester hours or quarter-hour equivalents of upper level accounting courses from a board-recognized college or university, of which 15 semester hours or quarter-hour equivalents must be in traditional face-to-face courses. Within the coursework two-semester hours of accounting or tax research and analysis are required.
-Certified Public Accountant is the highest level for a tax professional. There are many bookkeepers and accountants, but only a small percentage of them are CPAs. Regular accountants and bookkeepers, regardless of how nice and pleasant they may be, can not, for example, represent the client with IRS, should any problem occur. Since many of the clients are successful
Therefore, if you are studying accounting in college you should have an idea of kind of accounting field you wish to enter. There is a quote that said, “CPA is always an accountant, but not all accountants are CPA.” Hence, there are a number of accountants who never pass the CPA exam and though they can perform a variety of accountancy task, they are not allowed to perform certain tasks that only a CPA can do. Hence, no matter if you are, a certified accountant or not you there will be a place for you in the accounting field. The larger companies will go out and hire a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) in order to maintain some form ethics within the company. However, the small businesses might hire an accountant to perform duties as a managerial accounting, cost accounting, and financial accounting.
The profession of accounting is a one that is highly regulated, due to the knowledge and power each accountant possesses. Although an accountants duties differ from one position to the next, the main sectors that accountants pursue are auditing or taxation. Auditing is ensuring the public that the information listed on the financial statements of public companies is free of material misstatements. While taxation is helping people or companies file their tax returns to the federal government or offering tax advice. In the world of auditing, you either follow the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), for public company audits, or the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), for other entities
The Board requires 150 semester hours earned to sit for the exam. One way to accomplish this is to complete a master’s degree or higher from an eligible institution. Another option is to complete a baccalaureate degree from an eligible
The purpose of the Uniform CPA Examination is to provide reasonable assurance to Boards of Accountancy that those who pass the CPA Examination possess a competence level of skills and knowledge necessary for licensure in protection of public interest. The Exam is governed by American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). The Exam has four sections:
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is a professional accounting organization whose members are certified public accountants (CPAs).
To officially become a CPA, it is a requirement to gain a certain amount of related work experience. Typically, states require the equivalent of at least one year of
There are two parts to the Certified Management Accountant's exam. The first part has 100 questions and 2 essay questions on the topics of external financial reporting decisions; planning, budgeting, and forecasting; performance management; cost management; and internal
Becoming a PREA Auditor will allow me to provide an important service that enables the correctional world to function in accordance with Federal Laws. PREA Auditors can help to identify and prevent incidents within the facility and minimize liability. Becoming a PREA Auditor will allow me to increase my network with other facilities. It will facilitate me in seeing different steps and procedures, creating a personal challenge by increasing my knowledge and experience auditing other facilities. By increasing my knowledge, it would become easier to conduct self-audits and, will allow me to hold myself accountable in every aspect of the PREA Audit Tool. It will also assist me in educating my staff and superiors when issues arise regarding
Class C License is the easiest contractor’s license to obtain in Virginia. This requires 2 years’ worth of experience but does not require any exam or a specific net worth limit for your business. You will be able to take projects that range in price from $1,000 to $10,000 or whatever price you select, as long as your annual earnings remain under $150,000.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition) points out that while most accountant's positions require "at least a bachelor's degree" there will be job opportunities in fact the job picture for accountants is "favorable" for those who have earned "professional recognition" either through certification of licensure, or by receiving designation as a certified public accountant (CPA) (BLS.gov).
Following the undergraduate degree, an accounting student would choose an exclusive area to specialize in and work towards a completion of an additional year in university to finalize the 150 credit hours required in accounting to be eligible to sit for the Certified Public Accounting board exam. The 150 credit hours are needed to obtain the required body of knowledge and to develop the skills and abilities needed to be a successful CPA. After the theory portion of the educational experience is completed, the most important aspect becomes practical experience. Practical experience is what drives the market. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants requires that either a one tier or two tier systems is required to obtain the CPA designation. This requires that relevant work experience is needed to become certified. This hands on experience helps to position a potential certified public accountant for a long and successful career. This professional curriculum is very detailed and requires a lot of individual steps entailed to reach the point of designation. If it were made into a professional school these segregated steps combined together would not only help to make things simpler, but it would allow the accounting profession to be similar to the curriculums of medicine, pharmacy and law. With an undergraduate degree, graduate theory and practice for four