What is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA)?

Educational Requirement
Most state boards of accountancy now require that CPA candidates have 150 college credits in specified accounting and business courses before they are allowed to sit for the Uniform CPA Examination. (You need to check with your own state's board of accountancy to determine what the requirements are. If you do not meet your state's requirements, you will not be allowed to sit for the CPA Exam. ) Reputable colleges and universities have accounting curriculums that meet their state's 150-credit requirement.

Because the CPA Exam is considered to be highly rigorous, it is to your advantage that you select a college or university with an equally rigorous accounting program that will adequately prepare you for the CPA Exam.

Other Requirements
After you've passed the CPA Exam, most state boards of accountancy require you to have at least one year of professional experience and pass an ethics test before you can be licensed as a CPA. Once licensed, you will be required to earn professional continuing education credits to maintain your license. Again, check with your own state's board of accountancy for specifics.


Membership Associations
In addition to the organizations targeted to non-CPA accountants, CPAs are eligible to join a state society of CPAs and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).


Tasks and Responsibilities during First Year at CPA Firms
In order for a CPA firm to be profitable, its CPAs must be highly focused individuals who can complete tasks within a reasonable amount of time. CPAs are often billed out to clients using a per-hour billing rate, and clients do not want to pay high fees for CPAs who spend time on non-essential tasks.

Some larger CPA firms assign newly hired college graduates to work in their tax departments or advisory services area. More common, however, is for firms to start new hires in the auditing department where they typically work audit engagements on a team comprised of a supervising or senior accountant, a manager, and one of the firm's partners.

Smaller CPA firms, however, perform relatively few audits, so there is likely to be more variety in the workload for the new hire. Responsibilities in a smaller CPA firm might include: reviewing a business client's financial statements, preparing a business tax return, preparing the business owners' personal tax returns, and tax planning.

Most CPA firms find their busiest season to be the months of January through March or April. The reason for this is that many clients are businesses with an accounting year ending on December 31. As a CPA, you would prepare and audit annual financial statements for your business clients during January and February. Additionally, your clients who are individuals will want you to complete their personal tax documents in time to meet the IRS deadline of April 15. Some CPA firms try to "smooth out" their annual workload by taking on clients whose fiscal years end in varying months. For example, school districts and some private non-for-profits have accounting years that end on June 30.

If you are a recent hire who is planning to take the CPA Exam, May through December is the time period during which you are most likely to study for the exam.

After the First Year at CPA Firms
After one year at a CPA firm, you may be assigned to work with new clients as well as with your familiar clients. The firm's goal is to deepen and broaden your range of experiences while offering clients efficient and professional service. Each subsequent year you are with the firm, you can expect more and diverse responsibilities in areas such as audit planning, supervising the work of other auditors and accountants, increased client contact, and additional training.