What is a Professional Banker?
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. In the United States, the CPA is a license to provide accounting services to the public. It is awarded by each of the 50 states for practice in that state. Additionally, almost every state (49 out of 50) has passed mobility laws to allow CPAs from other states to practice in their state. State licensing requirements vary, but the minimum standard requirements include passing the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination, 150 semester units of college education, and one year of accounting related experience.
State laws vary widely regarding whether a non-CPA is even allowed to use the title “accountant.” For example, Texas prohibits the use of the designations “accountant” and “auditor” by a person not certified as a Texas CPA, unless that person is a CPA in another state, is a non-resident of Texas, and otherwise meets the requirements for practice in Texas by out-of-state CPA firms and practitioners.
CPAs can operate in virtually any area of finance including:
- Assurance and attestation services
- Corporate finance (merger and acquisition, initial public offerings, share and debt issuings)
- Corporate governance
- Estate planning
- Financial accounting
- Governmental accounting
- Financial analysis
- Financial planning
- Forensic accounting (preventing, detecting, and investigating financial frauds)
- Income tax
- Information technology, especially as applied to accounting and auditing
- Management consulting and performance management
- Tax preparation and planning
- Venture capital
- Financial reporting
- Regulatory compliance