An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certified Accountant or Certified Public Accountant, or Registered Public Accountant. Such professionals are granted certain responsibilities by statute, such as the ability to certify an organization's financial statements, and may be held liable for professional misconduct. Non-qualified accountants may be employed by a qualified accountant, or may work independently without statutory privileges and obligations.
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is the national professional organization of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) in the United States, with more than 428,000 members in 130 countries. Founded in 1887 as the American Association of Public Accountants (AAPA), the organization sets ethical standards and U.S. auditing standards. It also develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination. The AICPA maintains offices in New York City; Washington, DC; Durham, NC; and Ewing, NJ.
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. 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, all states except Hawaii have 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.
Certified Management Accountant (CMA) is a professional certification credential in the management accounting and financial management fields. The certification signifies that the person possesses knowledge in the areas of financial planning, analysis, control, decision support, and professional ethics. There are many professional bodies globally that have management accounting professional qualifications. The main bodies that offer the CMA certification are:
- Institute of Management Accountants USA;
- Institute of Certified Management Accountants (Australia); and
- Certified Management Accountants of Canada.
HEC Montréal is a bilingual public business school located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1907, HEC Montréal is the graduate business school of the Université de Montréal and known as the first established school of management in Canada.
The Bachelor of Accountancy, also known as Bachelor of Accounting, is the principal academic degree in accountancy in several countries, and is often the only (undergraduate) degree recognised for subsequent practice as a professional accountant; see First professional degree. It is abbreviated as B.Acy., B.Acc., or B. Accty.. It is also sometimes titled Bachelor of Accounting Science (B.Acc.Sci.) or "Baccalaureus Computationis" (B.Compt.).
Chartered accountants were the first accountants to form a professional accounting body, initially established in Scotland in 1854. The Edinburgh Society of Accountants (1854), the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries (1854) and the Aberdeen Society of Accountants (1867) were each granted a royal charter almost from their inception. The title is an internationally recognised professional designation; the certified public accountant designation is generally equivalent to it. Women were able to become chartered accountants only following the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 after which, in 1920, Mary Harris Smith was recognised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and became the first woman chartered accountant in the world.
Founded in 1904, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants(ACCA) is the global professional accounting body offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification (ACCA). It has 240,952 members and 541,930 future members worldwide. ACCA's headquarters are in London with principal administrative office in Glasgow. ACCA works through a network of over 110 offices and centres in 51 countries - with 346 Approved Learning Partners (ALP) and more than 7,600 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide employee development.
The Fisher School of Accounting is the accounting school at the University of Florida.
The School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) at University of Waterloo is a professional school within the Faculty of Arts. The School was established in 1980 under the name 'School of Accountancy'. Its name was changed in 2008 to better reflect its program offering. Today, more than 1,600 students are enrolled in the School's programs. In September 2009, a new 52,000 square feet (5,000 m2) building was officially opened to house the School.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia was the professional accounting body representing Chartered Accountants in Australia before it merged with the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants to become Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
The Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination is the examination administered to people who wish to become U.S. Certified Public Accountants. The CPA Exam is used by the regulatory bodies of all fifty states plus the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands.
The College of Business is the business school of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. It is a fully accredited business school that offers undergraduate degrees in accounting, computer information systems, business analytics, economics, finance and business law, international business, management, marketing, and quantitative finance. Additionally, the College of Business offers two master of business administration programs – an Innovation MBA program and an Information Security MBA program. The college also offers a master of science in accounting. It has received recognitions and awards from multiple organizations, including being listed in BusinessWeek's Top 5% Undergraduate Programs and the 40th best business school in the United States. Its facilities are located in Zane Showker Hall on the southwestern part of JMU's campus.
Walsh College is a private college in Troy, Michigan. Founded in 1922, the college is primarily focused on business education.
The Goodman School of Business is the business school of Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The business school offers programs at both the undergraduate and graduate level of study.
The National Association of Black Accountants, is an American nonprofit professional association that represents the interests of more than 200,000 black professionals in furthering their educational and professional goals in accounting, finance, and related business professions. Student members are served throughout the organization's 200 chapters around the country.
The RMIT School of Accounting is an Australian university business school located in Melbourne, Victoria, which is responsible for undergraduate and postgraduate education and research in accounting at RMIT University. The School was established in 1943 and its name was changed to the School of Accountancy in 1948.
The Registered Professional Accountant (RPA) is a Canadian accounting designation granted by the Society of Professional Accountants of Canada (SPAC), a federally chartered non profit organization. The designation requires completion of university or college courses set by SPAC and passing four Mandatory Professional Exams (MPE): Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, Taxation, and Data Analytics and Technology. The Registered Professional Accountant has five pathways to designation, making it an accessible choice for accounting students.
The Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka, is a professional body offering qualification in management accountancy in Sri Lanka.
Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada is the national organization representing the Canadian accounting profession through the unification of the three largest accounting organizations: the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA), the Society of Management Accountants of Canada and Certified General Accountants of Canada (CGA-Canada), as well as the 40 national and provincial accounting bodies. It is one of the largest organizations of its type in the world, with over 217,000 Chartered Professional Accountants in Canada and around the world.
