Related Keywords: Certified Public Accountants, CPAs, Accountants, Public Accountant, Accountant
Certified Public Accountants (or CPAs) are accountants (see more accounting links), in the United States, who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination as well as met additional state requirements for CPA Certification. CPAs are the only licensed accountants that are able to provide to the public, attestation (this includes auditing) opinions on financial statements.
There are many states that prohibit the use of the designations certified public accountant or public accountant (or the abbreviations CPA or PA) by an individual who is not certified as a CPA. As for the term public accountant, the "public accountant" does exist nationwide but is subject to certain exceptions by state.
CPAs are typically known by the general public for their tax expertise (see IRS Forms and Tax Prep.) on subjects such tax audits, capital gains, etc. and for keeping the books of organizations. However, they are rigorously educated for the "attestation" function discussed above. Because public accountants are educated on the foundational levels of a business, they are often called upon for general business knowledge.
Due to the recent rise in technology, accountants have become more efficient in what use to be tedious manual record keeping. CPA and general accountants are not solely number crunchers, but also work as business analysts or upper management executives, in a variety of disciplines in addition to finance.